Sacre Bleu Wine Network

Sacre Bleu Wine presents the Minneapolis premier of the acclaimed documentary film MERLOVE, Thursday, February 19th at the Ritz Theater in Minneapolis

2009-01-13T07:04:00.000-08:00

The evening begins with a very special wine tasting at 6:00 P.M. Haskell's is presenting 6 outstanding Merlots and Sacre Bleu's Pinot Noir. Here's a tidbit of the kind of Merlots you're going to experience:

TRACE MERLOT (CALI)
LA FORGE MERLOT (VIN DE PAYS)
ANDEAN RIDGE MERLOT (CHILE)
RIVE GAUCHE MERLOT (BORDEAUX)
TRAVANTO MERLOT (ITALIAN)
CHATEAU MILLE ANGES (BORDEAUX)
and of course SACRE BLEU PINOT NOIR

MERLOVE, an Indie film about your favorite grape, Merlot, was written and directed by Rudolph McClain. Get ready to fall in love with Merlot all over again.

MERLOVE and our tasting will help you learn more about wine, but it is your own experience that will guide your personal journey. As you try new wines you will gain love and appreciation for the gifts that wine can bring. Like anything in life, wine can be enjoyed and enhanced by sharing it with others. The bottom line is good wine is good wine and bad wine is bad wine, but that should not stop the adventure. The message of MERLOVE is that no single grape varietal should be singled out as superior or inferior to others.

If you enjoyed SIDEWAYS, this film helps to restore the balance. Sorry, Miles.

The wine tasting begins at 6:00 P.M. The screening begins in the theater at 8:00 and afterward McClain will conduct a special Q&A session. It's your opportunity to discuss film and Merlot with a gifted film maker who happens to know plenty about both subjects.

This is sure to be the most fun, special wine tasting event of the winter season. Join Haskell's and Sacre Bleu Wine for the Minneapolis debut of MERLOVE.

This is a 21 event.

Cosmic Questions for Galen Struwe of Sacre Bleu

2008-12-19T07:10:00.000-08:00

From Mutineer magazine...(article link)

What is Sacre Bleu?

Sacre Bleu is no more or no less than a clever name for our wine. Most people get that it is a bit of a gag or innocuous curse word. The fact is that the literal French translation is “Sacre Bleu” and is an old reference to the Virgin Mary in Renaissance paintings.

How is Sacre Bleu different from more traditional French wines?

Sacre Bleu still tips its hat to the French traditions in that our Meritage Cuvee Gustave Fayet tastes out like a classic Bordeaux and the Pinot Noir still bears an earthy presence with the new world wine nod to being fruit forward. Our Chardonnay is unoaked so I’m not sure that we could be defined as radically un-French.

Talk about the production process and vineyard sources for Sacre Bleu wines.

Gustave Viennet is our winemaker. His estate is Chateau de Raissac in Languedoc. It’s been in his family for six generations so all of Sacre Bleu wines are entirely estate bottled. We’re pretty damn lucky to have Gustave Viennet making this wine. He’s a young man connected firmly to French winemaking but spent a couple of years attending high school in New York. So he knows what the American consumer prefers in a wine. He’s actually merged two distinct styles of winemaking; kind of an old world meets new world presentation.

How does Sacre Bleu use new media to connect with its drinkers?

We are fully committed to Web 2.0 or as the wine industry has come to embrace it as Wine 2.0. Look, there is no question that the brands of tomorrow are going to emerge from these platforms. Twitter, Facebook, blogs, Myspace and others have become the central conduits for the credible flow of information and entertainment content. ROI’s [Return On Investment] for big ads in Network television and major market newspapers are hard to rationalize anymore. The audience is not spending their time there anymore….big companies are slow to realize this.

Explain your unique partnership with the Fillmore.

The Fillmore Miami Beach is a Live Nation venue. Our promotional partnership with the Fillmore is a beautiful thing. We have been given great access to brand in the venue and to our credit we have done so quite tastefully. The Fillmore’s have great tradition so it was incumbent upon us as a corporate citizen to establish a presence there without seeming to intrude. Brand, be cool, be effective in getting your message out but do it with the same integrity found in the musical history of the Fillmore. I like what we have done there. So much of the credit for our presence there goes to our Jill Elliott and Matt McKenna from Live Nation.

Where are Sacre Bleu wines available?

Here’s the good news. The brand is expanding in 2009. We’ve made consumer impacts in Florida and the Mid West but plans for 2009 will enable us to be far more accessible.

Maria De Los Angeles takes us on a video tour of the Fillmore and the Sacre Bleu wine bar

2008-12-15T07:53:00.001-08:00

We opened the Sacre Bleu Wine Bar inside the Fillmore Miami Beach last Saturday to help celebrate the music of David Byrne and Brian Eno. Maria streamed live from the Fillmore and we made it accesible through out Twitter page for everyone to enjoy. If you missed her check it out here. This is a world class concert venue. We love being there.

A wine blog that honors irreverence

2008-12-12T09:25:00.000-08:00

Wine blogs are plentiful. There are literally hundreds to choose from. They come from wine industry insiders, wine consumers and often casual wine observers who use wine as simply an occasion to blog. Blogging about wine has become a bit of a cottage industry. In fact, it has it's own Top 100.

With a few exceptions,what's been lacking in this growing landscape is humor and personality. No one inside takes on the bloggers to suggest that they may be a bit too serious and polite. We couldn't possibly mock ourselves. This is wine, after all...until now.

We give you Wine-ing 2.0. This is the perhaps the most original writing out there today. It is irreverent. It is unapologetic. It wants to bite the hand that feeds it. It wants to instigate. In short, it is refreshingly entertaining. It is not, however, prolific. Its author seems to have the output of Guns n Roses. Posts come way to infrequently.

2008 has been a good year for writing about wine. We've seen a number of good blogs come on the scene. We really enjoy Katie Pizzuto at Gonzo Gastronomy She is both insightful and persuasive. We love what Courtney Cochran is doing with Hip Tastes. and Mutineer Magazine completely changes the alcohol beverage magazine game.

Read on. All of these writers are to be savored and paired to wonderful wines. If we're on a roll here then 2009 is gonna be a great year to read and drink.

Jill with Gary Vaynerchuk in Miami

2008-12-11T07:32:00.000-08:00

Say No More...

2008-12-11T07:31:00.000-08:00

The Sacre Bleu Wine Bar @ The Fillmore Miami Beach

2008-12-11T07:11:00.000-08:00

New photos from the Sacre Bleu Wine Bar at the Fillmore in Miami Beach. More photos to come...

Sacre Bleu Presents Ari Herstand's CD Release Party: Whispering Endearments

2008-08-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

ARI HERSTAND
This explosive artist, blending genres from acoustic pop/rock, folk, hip-hop and jazz, busts down the walls of the tired acoustic rock, singer/songwriter box and has forced the world to take notice. Ari's unforgettable live shows display his talents on the guitar, piano and trumpet. Fusing them with his vocal percussion and beautifully angelic vocals - with the help of his loop station - Ari stuns every person that has the opportunity to catch his performance.

Play This Pinot Louder!

2008-08-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

Many people have described our Pinot Noir as "different" and that's okay. What I think they are really saying is that the style is not perhaps as fruit forward as many Oregon or Napa Pinot Noir's that they may be more familar with.
What they encounter with Sacre Bleu is a real meger in styles. The traditional French wines are sometimes described as "earthy" and this is where old and new world meet. Our Pinot Noir is the best of both of these worlds.
Our winemaker, Gustave Viennet, has produced a Pinot Noir that really embodies these two very different approaches. If you love Pinot Noir then experiment. Try as many as you can. Flex your taste limitations.
Ultimately, there is no right or wrong here. This is the subjective moment of your life. Beauty here is indeed in the eye of the beholder. So behold.

Sacre Bleu Wine @ The Langerado Music Festival

2008-03-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

Sacre Bleu's CVM Signature Blend

2008-02-07T09:15:00.000-08:00

The 2008 Sacre Bleu ad campaign will be electric

2007-12-02T17:11:00.000-08:00

The video wine ad is reborn

2007-11-30T18:15:00.000-08:00

Sacre Bleu Chardonnay on a Beautiful Fall Day

2007-11-13T12:57:00.000-08:00

A classic wine review blog emerges

2007-10-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

Wine reviews/tastings are among the most subjective of all criticisms. How else can one explain the vast distance between a Robert Parker praised chardonnay for $89.00 and the Charles Shaw chardonnay (award winning) for $1.99? That example, though perhaps not typical, may serve as the ultimate proof that the customer is always right.

Enter Ben Saltzman and Andrew Stuart of Chateau Petrogasm. www.chateaupetrogasm.com We are delighted to have found this particular wine review blog. Without exception, it is the most interesting, creative wine review blog today and there are most certainly many to choose from. Wine blogging has become a cottage industry. The makeover is at hand.

Ben's team has opted to honor the extreme subjectivism that is wine reviewing by admitting that written words often struggle to adequately define the wine tasting experience. In contrast, they have cleverly chosen to use pictures or drawings. That's right. Pictures and drawings. Let the visual image serve to sort it out when words cannot or will not. When a taste can no longer be defined with tired wine review cliches, then an appeal to a higher order is necessary. Let the eyes have it.

Go to their site and see for yourself. Chateau Petrogasm is a wine review blog that exults wine in a most refreshing way. Bravo, Ben.

The impact of the Internet on Sacre Bleu as a new wine brand

2007-10-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

We began with our Internet site www.sacrebleuwine.com just this past spring. Shortly thereafter we put up our Myspace platform then quickly followed that up with podcasts via The Sacre Bleu Wine Network through iTunes, blogs, creative videos from our master winemaker on Youtube, newsletters and most recently Facebook. The impact of all of this has been nothing less than profound.

There is little doubt that Sacre Bleu's core consumer could have discovered the brand outside of these media venues. It would not have been likely since we did no conventional advertising whatsoever.

As a brand the wine is not yet available in Germany, UK, Finland and Australia yet we receive email every day from those countries asking about our wine. The Internet has made us the brand on the corner. These inquiries speak directly to the new reality in the process and methods for how many new products are now brought to market. But here, to us, they specifically speak to wine.

Emails arrive each day from new customers with details on what store they purchased the wine from and in what state and even the varietal. Our consumers share the most relevant marketing information with us that any supplier could hope for. We hear suggestions on topics like subject matter for podcasts, access to retail outlets and wonderful, innovative marketing ideas. This speaks to the savvy of today's new/young wine drinkers. They have grown up with the Internet and seem instinctively to know that all this information matters to business. This begins to describe for all of us in the global marketplace who make, market or sell anything the framework for the most sophisticated consumer in history. How fortunate are we?

What is happening to Sacre Bleu as a brand is becoming a case study in marketing. Last week I had the opportunity to speak to the University of Wisconsin's MBA wine club. Many of the students are studying marketing/branding. As I told them our story and shared our vision for the brand, I was met with some interesting comments. This was a group of young men and women who not only understood the fundamentals of our strategy but have their own concepts rolling around in their minds that take things one step further. I knew I was in a pretty sharp ideas incubator. More than anything the students affirmed for me that we are moving in the right direction. I was given assurance that if we continued to put great wine in our great packaging and stayed relevant through the various Internet mediums that we utilize that we would most likely be met with success.

I want to offer a special thanks to the students at the University of Wisconsin MBA wine club. I learned a great deal.

Galen

Sacre Bleu Wine Network ~ Episode 5

2007-10-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

Tapes n Tapes. Vicious Vicious. Bassist, producer, raconteur, Erik Applewick is one very busy man. He opens up to Sacre Bleu in a telling interview on the merits of modesty, the joy of producing and the phenomenal impact of the Internet on his bands. This is an audio portrait of a thoughtful and engaging artist. Erik Applewick is on the Sacre Bleu Wine Network.

Sacre Bleu Wine Network ~ Episode4

2007-10-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

Behind Jenny Dalton’s music are lyrics her fans describe as melancholy, plaintive and heartfelt. Her music captures romantic essences and invites comparisons to Kate Bush. We invited Jenny to sit down with us and talk about her work, her inspirations and where she feels this very unusual sound is taking her. Chef Ben weaves magic with his takes on wine and food and Doni Walker gets the pop culture integration of wine with rare insight.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THEPODCAST

Sacre Bleu and Autumn 2007

2007-09-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

We have an incredible fall season of promotional activity to tell you about. Sacre Bleu wine is going to be engaged in CD release parties, art exhibitions and concert events that serve to put our wine at the center of some pretty cool things.

We begin on October 25th. We are hosting Echo Through the Waves, A New Vision of Art with 50 Entertainment and Brick by Brick in the Minneapolis Warehouse District. www.brickbybrick07.com www.50entertainment.com We encourage you to attend because the art featured is from Dick Simonsen, Yuri Arajs and Lonnie Lovness, some of today's most provocative and compelling artists.

The following night, October 26th, we are working with the Kitty Cat Club to sponsor Jenny Dalton's CD release party. Jenny is unveiling the Carbon Lily Remixes. We love Jenny Dalton. In fact, she is featured on the Sacre Bleu Wine Network podcast episode 4 coming October 4th. She sat down with us to talk about the project as well as her affection for Kate Bush and the recent collapse of an intimate relationship.

All of this leads up to our gala night on November 16th at the Varsity Theatre. www.myspace.com/varsitytheater The night is the brainchild of Ari Herstand who cleverly dubbed it The Unknown Order. Ari's concept is generous. The four top bands in Minneapolis appear on the same bill with no pre-ordained headliner. The bands agree to pull a name out of a hat 10 minutes before stage time and go on in random order against the pure chance of the draw. It struck us as pure selfless fun. No egos. Just chance. So Sacre Bleu wines are sponsoring The Unknown Order, a line up that includes This World Fair, The Alarmists, Ari Herstand and White Light Riot. This may be the Minneapolis equivalent of a Thanksgiving holiday SXSW, Woodstock/Lollapalooza soiree. Whatever one chooses to call it, our wine will be there with you.

Add it all up and Fall 2007 is going to be immersing. It is an honor to have the brand aligned with so many talented artists and an absolute joy to watch its growth inside this amazing environment. Cheers!

The Unknown Order

2007-09-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

Gustave Viennet Takes us Directly to the Harvest in the South of France

2007-09-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

Gustave Viennet takes us directly to the harvest in Languedoc where he guides us through the vineyards and right into the cabernet sauvignon grapes. Here the grapes are harvested and prepared to become an intregal part of our Decanter 2007 award winning Cuvee Gustave Fayet.
Sacre Bleu wines are made by one of the world's most gifted winemakers. Cheers!

Jeremy Reaches Out to Sacre Bleu Wine, Again.

2007-09-24T08:42:00.000-07:00

I kinda feel like I owe you an explanation. A few weeks ago I felt inclined to write you a letter that was, at least in part, pretty nasty and ripped on you wine folk a bit. Yeah, I still think the worst of you are a pretentious lot, but more than anything I was raging against an ideal or something from my past that wine embodies. And what could have turned me against your people if it wasn't the wine itself, you ask? The same reason that any man becomes jaded about anything: a woman....

I have to back up. A few years ago I dated this girl. She had the qualities that most guys like; she was smart and beautiful and had a wonderfully quirky sense of humor, nice breasts. But she also had a sort of rich soccer mom attitude about her, without having money or the soccer. Hell, she wasn't even a mom. We got along great nonetheless; so much so that we ended up getting engaged.

It was even a great "how did you guys get engaged" story too. We had taken a trip to the Bahamas and one night I had planned a real romantic dinner. It was a great meal at a fancier restaurant and we had wine with dinner. I remember it specifically because this was the first time I had ordered wine at a restaurant and needed help choosing it. I never did need help with beer.

After dinner I'm feeling pretty good. We were walking and talking along the beach near the resort. I was nervous as all get out and tired of carrying the ring around in my pocket plus I really wanted to nail her. There was an area where this rope bridge connected two parts of land separated by a cove of fish and little sharks and whatnot. We got to the middle of the bridge and I stopped her. I got on one knee and fumbled around for the ring. While I was taking it out of my pocket, I nervously dropped the ring box on the lathing of the bridge. I started freaking out because it was in danger of falling into the shark infested water below and I'm no crocodile hunter. So there I am, on my hands and knees, in the dark, trying to grab this ring while this flimsy bridge is starting to sway back and forth. She doesn't have a clue what the hell is going on and turns and starts laughing, asking what the hell I'm doing writhing around on the ground. I told her I dropped something so SHE gets on her hands and knees, in a dress, helping me look for something that she has no idea of. I finally grab the box. I breath a sigh of relief and just sit there as she is on her knees sitting on her heals, confused. She was always hot to me when she was confused and asks what the hell is going on. Exasperated, I hold up the box. "I got you something before we left," I said.

Her reaction was that of any woman in that situation. She was turned on. She still thought I was joking and slapped my arm and said "Shut up." Shit, I dropped the ring again. I am getting annoyed because this isn't turning out like I had planned. "No, listen; seriously. I got this for you before we left and I opened the box. She finally realizes what is happening and breaks down and starts crying. She takes the ring, says yes, and the rest of the night I look like Tom Brady at a Victoria's Secret shoot.

We broke up nine months later. I found out she was strange. That was six years ago.

Every six months or so she calls me to see how things are going, probably hoping for a way back in. There is always some kind of catch or hook to get me to meet up with her. One time it was to ask if I wanted a blender. Just recently it was to see if I wanted a cat she found from the shelter (she is an avid animal lover). She thought it was the perfect companion for my cat. Even if it was old and blind. The following is the disclaimer she used to sell it to me: "Don't worry, it won't run into walls or anything". This one was crazy as a loon. Can't imagine why we didn't make it…

Anyway, back to you guys. During the conversation where she tried to give me a near dead, blind cat, she asked if I drank wine any more than I used to. I said no. She informed me that she still does and mentioned that she went out recently with some girlfriends and found a wine brand that she thought I'd like because it was different than the wines I'd drank in the past and something she thought I might like. Yeah, yeah get to the point. What kind? Wouldn't you know it - Sacre Bleu. I didn't give it a second thought until I stumbled on to your wine from the Monopoly man a few weeks back. Between my apparent distaste for you winos to be, and the forceful remembrance of the crazy cat lady, I just kind of snapped. I still feel kind of unhinged. That doesn't change my thoughts from my first letter; this just explains it a bit more. I wanted to explain.

I still have the wine I got last month and have no immediate plans on trying it any time soon. If I did, there would have to be a damn good reason for it. You've got a lot of history to overcome. I'll let you know.

Whatever,
Jeremy

Sacre Bleu Wine Network ~ Episode3

2007-09-19T13:23:00.000-07:00

Ari Herstand talked to us about his debt to the Dave Matthews Band as well as his affection for doomed romanticist Nick Drake and when he expects work to begin on his next CD. This is a reflective look at a consummate musician who believes passionately that music matters beyond the immediate moment.

Photo by Mike Minehart

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE PODCAST

Doni Walker Takes Us Inside Champagne

2007-09-18T05:58:00.000-07:00

We asked our wine & pop culture consultant, Doni Walker, to find out how champagne became such an important part of our celebratory lives. She always brings back great insights.

Legend has it that Marilyn Monroe took baths in 350 bottles of champagne. To that, her biographer adds, “She drank and breathed champagne like it was oxygen.” I think she was on to something!

Many people have said that champagne isn’t a just region, it’s not just a drink… it’s a state of mind. And I completely agree.

My last roommate and I spent one evening a couple of years ago sitting at our kitchen table with a couple of bottles of champagne, a notebook, and a pen. If champagne was for celebrating, then we were going to find things to celebrate, just to have things to toast to! There was nothing specific – no recent major milestones specifically to cheers to.

Oh, but we found things! We toasted to random Tuesday nights we were both home and could have dinner together. We toasted to “Sex and the City” in syndication. We toasted to having jobs that paid the rent, to friends, to healthy families, to having good hair days. And while the point wasn’t one big event in particular, it just further proved the natural partnership of champagne and celebrations that you just done see with, say… a Gewürztraminer.

But what is it about champagne that was made for celebrations? Why is it so elegant? Why do we associate champagne toasts with weddings, on New Year’s Eve, for promotions and housewarming parties?

Is it the bubbles? Is it more expensive to make? Is it something in the region, Champagne, France?

Why is champagne so romantic? Why are strawberries and champagne sexy (and they are!)? Did some great novelist decide it was the drink of love? Did ancient gods and goddesses believe something strange about its powers? Was there a song written about it?

Either way, all of this made me wonder – where did our cultural obsession, fascination, romance and affair with champagne begin?

It actually turns out that while it might romanticize and glamorize the idea of it, the elegance and mysticism in our love affair with the bubbly actually is – ahem – rooted (thank you) in its own attributes. Oh, and some clever marketing.

Champagne is distinctively unique because of where it comes from. The Champagne region of France has a unique northerly climate and chalky soil. Other regions can’t boast this lucky combination, and therefore real Champagne – the drink you get from that region – is truly one of a kind. Sure there are other sparkling wines, but “Cava toasts” or “Spumante and strawberries” just doesn’t sound as pretty.

Scientifically anyway, and according to Karen McNeil in The Wine Bible (where I found a good bit of this information), champagne’s story begins 65 million years ago when a (cue deep Discovery channel narrator voice) vast prehistoric sea covered Northern France and Britain. As the waters receded, they left behind a great crescent of chalk, making the soil rich in minerals and fossils. It is here on this soil that the region of Champagne originally emerged.

When wines were first being developed in this region, it wasn’t at all what its producers had in mind. Since the region is one of the coolest in the world, this impacted the way the grape sugar fermented. The cold temps would almost freeze the yeasts, which slowed down the fermentation process. When spring would come and warm them back up, they’d begin a second fermentation – this is where the sparkle comes from.

It sounds crazy, but this was NOT well-received. The end product was hardly drinkable; it was fizzy, gritty, and extremely tart. Heavy sweeteners were even added to try to disguise the bitter flavor.

Burgundy, another region of France and Champagne’s toughest rival in wine production and sales, was dominating the wine production at this time. Champagne (the region) tried for decades to try to improve their wine. Finally, instead of trying to change it, they took a fresh approach. They no longer were trying to disguise the sparkle, but now actually realized what a unique quality that was. They eventually found ways to produce and improve all of the steps in the process, and this changed the flavor into the drink we know and love.

I know this is great historical information and all, but it still doesn’t explain why champagne has the reputation it does today. Now we get why it’s special, but how did the bubbly earn its place in so many traditions and celebrations?

It turns out that this has a lot to do with the way it was originally marketed. Champagne makers (known as champagne houses) originally touted it as being a preferred drink of the royal, aristocratic, and other community higher-ups like knights and military officers. However, despite that prestige, they also made sure to portray it as a luxury for anyone and any occasion.

This absolutely worked (and still does! You know your designer purse makes you feel a little more Paris Hilton than you really are). By the turn of the [20th] century, most champagne drinkers were a part of the middle class!

Next, in another smart marketing move, they made an effort to target women (the household money-spenders!). The labels had pictures of love, romance, marriage, special occasions like baptisms, and other family events that the woman in the family would emotionally connect with.

Later, wine label images took a political spin. They commemorated the centennial anniversary of the French revolution, appealed to people across political persuasion – conservative folks loved the depiction of Marie Antoinette, while their more liberal counterparts celebrated the revolutionary scenes. World War I soldiers were pictured, usually with their country’s flag; this particular image would be tailored specifically for the country to which it would be imported. Talk about geo-targeting!

You can draw your own conclusions, but all these events and pictures highlight milestones in life, relationships, and a country’s history. And still today, the tradition of champagne for celebrations continues.

So, even though it turns out that champagne owes its popularity not to mythology or literature, but in fact to capitalism, as someone in the advertising industry, I think sometimes good marketing is worth celebrating!

Dear Sacre Bleu

2007-09-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

We receive a great deal of email and now and then some of it stands out as a bit unusual, perhaps even quirky. We decided to share this particular email from a young man named Jeremy. He seems to be in transition.

This may not be the best way to start a letter to a wine company but I don't know much about wine. I gotta be honest I don't even particularly like it. It's not so much wine itself, but in my experience the people who drink it are pretentious snob pricks who I typically can't stand. The glass sniffing, the wine swirling, the cork smelling - these idiots live in their own little world, don't they? No offense of course, I just don't understand it. And my 'ignorance' prevents me from dicking around with anything that involves that much work just to spit it out. It's not for me. Just let me enjoy my drink - key word being DRINK, as in, to ingest liquid. Fucking around with it and treating it like a baby only to end up not even consuming it makes absolutely no sense. Hell, even the friends of mine who have started drinking it kind of suck anymore. Don't give me the high and mighty. We used to do beer bongs like it was our job. And now you want to come at me with this grandiose, highfalutin attitude? Screw that. With all that being said, I stumbled onto your some of your wine recently and that whole deal was sorta strange.

Last weekend, I went out of town with some of the guys to get a change of scenery. Nothing special, just five dudes getting out of town for a night of debauchery. We like that. All we wanted to do was pony up to a local bar, have a few drinks, and get loaded. We started off going to dinner. My buddy Mike offered to pay for the meal for helping him move a few weeks earlier. We obliged and the rest of us went outside to grab a smoke while they were paying. On our way out to the truck, Lamont (our other buddy), decides it would be a good idea to keep the night alive by shotgunning a beer in the parking lot while we're waiting. I like that about Lamont. He's always thinking. When we got to the truck, we found that I was apparently the only one who could successfully puncture the beer can with my keys without cutting my hand off or spilling it everywhere, so I was in charge. I like to think I have leadership qualities. The first beer sprayed all over our driver. He didn't see the humor in it. I wanted to keep the peace so the other beers were pointed away from him while I readied the cans. Only problem was that instead of spraying all over our driver they were spraying all over a truck parked next to us. Yeah, it was kind of a dick move, but nothing I would lose any sleep over being a leader and all.

So Ryan, Lamont, and I are slamming these beers. We all kind of stop midway through to catch our breath and here comes a guy walking from across the parking lot towards us. I said to Ryan, "There is no fucking way this is his truck."

He and Lamont see the guy, freak out, and take off running like a bunch of thieves to hide. I walk over to see them hiding and giggling like a bunch of schoolgirls by the tire. I just shake my head, and lean over the bed of the truck to finish my beer. While all this was happening, sure as shit, this guy walks up to the truck. He doesn't say a word but he keeps giving me the stink eye. Then he finally starts to walk around to the other side. I look down and act like I can't see him. He sets his bag down and checks out the truck, then…"What the fuck did you guys do to my truck?" I act like the village idiot. "Oh, sorry we were just drinking beer and some probably sprayed a little on your truck. They've been in this cooler all day so they were probably shook up. Sorry man."

This guy is nicely dressed; slacks, white button down shirt, loosened tie, neatly shaven with a moustache, so I am thinking he will accept my pseudo apology and move on, annoyed. He kind of turned on us instead. He looks right at me and almost yells, "You owe me money for a car wash." What, what; car wash? You know how when you lie to someone and get busted out how your first instinct is to get pissed at them because they don't believe you? That's pretty much what happened here. I kind of have a confused look on my face and I think this pissed him off even moree. "Give. Me. Money. For a fucking car wash!" he yells at me again. I started walking around the truck to talk to him face to face. Now Mike has come out of the restaurant and doesn't know what the hell is going on. I get right in front of the guy and say, "Can someone give the Monopoly man $5 bucks so he can get back to Park Avenue and we can get out of here." I reach in my wallet and grab $5 so we can end this little tea party. I go to hand it to him and our driver says, "Dude, I already gave him $5." The guy gets a crazy, cross-eyed look about him. "Here's what I think of your goddamn money," and he tears the $5 bill in about 20 different pieces. Shit, I've had it with this guy. "If you're just going to tear it up, what was the point to all of this?" He launches into a speech about respect and "You wouldn't have said anything if I didn't call you on it first," and, "It's a matter of principal," and blah, blah, blah. I tell him that I am out the money either way and if all he wanted was to preach, it was worth $5 to see him get punked out and act like a fucking idiot. He gets in his truck and peels off. We all kind of stand around wondering what the hell just happened.

Then we see his bag sitting on the ground. We look around to make sure he is all the way gone and run over to grab it. Lamont kneels down around the sack and starts rooting around like a badger. He yells out, "Sacre Bleu!" "What, so you're gay now Frenchy?" Mike says. "No fuck hole, its wine. As in Sacre Bleu Wine." The rest of the bag had some grocery items, a couple candles, two bottles of the wine, and The Notebook on DVD. So it wasn't enough that he was going to be a shitty date, but he had to start his night by schooling us with a little lesson in R-E-S-P-E-C-T. How nice of him.

I kept the wine, but have yet to try it. At this point it's a matter of principle. That prick is the exact reason I can't stand you winos in the first place. I kept the tore up $5 bill to remind me of the story and I'll keep a bottle for the same reason. If I get hard up some time, maybe I'll give it a try. I wouldn't count on converting me but I'll let you know.

Whatever,
Jeremy

Eric Lovold Loves The Beatles and The Alarmists

2007-09-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

The Alaramists new CD The Ghost and the Hired Gun is being met with critical praise and commercial success. The whole of the CD feels like a seminal work. We sat down with Lovold for an in-depth conversation about his work as producer and frontman for one of today's most innovative acts.

Rockthewine.com is Coming

2007-09-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

We first brought it to your attention last week in our newsletter. Within weeks you will be notified that our new site www.rockthewine.com is up and ready for business.
When I say business, I'm talking about the introduction of some of the coolest wine gear that you have ever seen. For some time now, we have had a growing demand for gear displaying our logos, labels and posters. Our ace graphic design team is on the case.

Wine Snobs

2007-09-07T22:01:00.001-07:00

Wine Snobs

I recently came upon some thoughts published by Melanie Armstrong. Melanie is a wine lover/author/teacher who loves both wine and the people who enjoy wine. Her attitude is very much like ours and I wanted to share it with you. Here is Melanie:

Turn Up Your Nose..When you see a wine snob coming, go the other way

By Melanie Armstrong

Wine snobs are everywhere. They lurk in the dark corners of fine dining establishments and behind the French section at retail stores. Whether it's the snotty sommelier who snarls with disgust when you order the house white or a friend who drones on about his self-proclaimed superior knowledge of varietals, they pounce, project and leave you feeling puny.

As a wine educator, I feel it is my duty to expose the wrongs inflicted upon the wine-drinking public by these arrogant egomaniacs. They are a hindrance and an embarrassment, further alienating potential wine lovers from an already daunting world of wine. "Down with the wine snobs!" I say.

Yes, wine can be overwhelming. Consider there are only 22 certified Masters of Wine in the United States. To understand wine comprehensively is to study geography, history, culture and science. But wine snobs make the undertaking even more excruciating. It seems in wine there is a tendency for those with knowledge (especially just enough to be dangerous) to leverage that knowledge to make others feel inferior. Knowledge—especially wine knowledge—is powerful. There's a certain refinement associated with vino, and knowing about wine exudes sophistication. The result is wine snobbism: people using their little bit of information to make themselves look or feel good, at the expense of others.

Not sure if you're in the presence of a true wine snob or just an overzealous wine lover? Here's a guide to help you decide:

1. Wine snobs make you feel bad

Wine lovers make you feel smart, while wine snobs make you feel inferior. Wine snobs are ultimately projecting their own feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt onto you, an innocent wine-drinking victim. When you truly know a lot, you've got nothing to prove. The people I respect most in the wine business—the people with the most knowledge and passion—are also the most humble. They could bury that snotty sommelier in their wine wisdom, but they don't. They help people navigate through wine in a friendly, non-threatening way, and they only give as much info as they gauge their company wants. They know when to keep it simple, and when to shut up. They foster new wine drinkers, providing them with a gentle nudge when they need it, empowering them with information.

2. Wine snobs don't drink cheap wine

Their loss! It's true that most life-altering, stop-you-in-your-tracks wines come with a hefty price tag. But some of my most memorable bottles have been great because they were cheap. As in,

"Wow, this is really great juice. I can't believe it's only $12." Wine lovers love a bargain. Wine snobs who discount wine because it's not expensive enough are missing the boat.

3. Wine snobs buy "penis wines"

Selling premium wines for six years to retail and restaurants, I quickly learned to weed out the wine lovers from the wine snobs. Wine snobs bought wine based solely on ratings—usually from Robert Parker or Wine Spectator. True wine lovers bought based on passion and taste: their own. They trusted their palates, and their ability to sell something they loved to their customers.

The same can be said for end users. The average wine snob cellar is full of what I like to call "penis wines." Penis wines score big in the ratings, metrics that go over well with people who don't know that much but want to seem like they do. They buy less for enjoyment and more for bragging rights—as in, "Have you seen my 100-pointer?" It's hard to prove these guys are overcompensating for anything in particular, but just like that bald guy in the corvette convertible, it's seems pretty obvious.

A note on numerical wine scores: There are certain things a wine critic can help you evaluate, such as a wine's balance and complexity. But when it's all said and done, there's a lot of personal preference that goes into a numerical rating. Wine is like food or cars or women—totally subjective. Drink what you like, not what a critic tells you that you should. I know some people say they rely on critics' reviews because they can't possibly drink enough wine to sort out all the good from the bad. I hear that. So instead of leaning on Bob Parker, whom you have never met and who cares nothing about you, how about trusting your favorite wine retailer? Tell them what you like and why you like it. They can find you other similar wines.

4. Wine snobs don't drink merlot or chardonnay

Wine is like fashion in that grape varietals occasionally go in and out of style with the general public. I can just see Heidi Klum pouting into her glass of merlot, "You're either in or you're out." When a wine goes out of fashion, wine snobs are the first to jump on the bandwagon and start bashing.

Ever since the movie Sideways, merlot has been pummeled by the public. The antagonist Miles, a bona fide wine snob, set the course by continually denouncing merlot and praising pinot noir. Believe it or not, that movie had a major effect on the wine business and left producers scrambling to keep up with the demand for pinot. The irony comes at the end of the movie however, when Miles drinks his coveted 1961 Cheval Blanc out of a styrofoam cup. Cheval Blanc is a wine from Bordeaux, France, comprised of about half and half cabernet franc and, you guessed it…merlot!! The truth about merlot is that it has a plump, fleshy character which most of the time benefits greatly from blending with a more structured grape like cabernet sauvignon or cabernet franc. However, to write off the entire grape completely is ridiculous. There are serious, classic, beautiful wines made from merlot.

Similarly, California-style chardonnay (the dripping-with-oak and movie-theater-buttered-popcorn breed) has been out of fashion for a while now. I find it so amusing when wine snobs think they are gaining entrance into an exclusive club by proclaiming, "Uhhhhh, I hate chardonnay." If they were true wine lovers they could never say that. They would know that chardonnay is a chameleon, taking on a huge range of styles depending on where it's grown and how it is treated in the winery. They would know that some of the most glorious white wines in the world—including white Burgundy and Champagne, are made of chardonnay. But then again, they are more concerned with showing off and trying to appear sophisticated than being humble and asking the questions they need to know to come to that realization.

All that being said, if you drink wine on a regular basis, you are likely to encounter a wine snob from time to time. Now you know how to recognize their kind. When you find yourself in the presence of one, the best reaction is to stay calm and still, smile and nod as if you are thoroughly enraptured in their geek speak, and then quickly make your stealthy exit when they pause for breath. (They have to at some point.) You might want to make an excuse they can relate to, like needing to refill your glass. In an emergency situation, you may be forced to spill wine on yourself or someone else in order to provide distraction, and certain escape.

Friends of Sacre Bleu

2007-09-07T15:49:00.001-07:00

Sacre Bleu a Hit at Minneapolis Guthrie Theatre

2007-09-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

When Lee Dean, Food Editor of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, wrote and asked if Sacre Bleu would consider being a feature wine while the Star Tribune hosted 60 of the nation's leading food and wine writers for a special dinner prepared by the city's top 10 chefs, the answer could not have come faster. Yes. Yes. Yes. This was, in fact, an offer we couldn't refuse.

The Guthrie (http://www.guthrietheater.org/) is one of the premier venues in the world. That our wine would be featured in such illustrious company is a tremendous honor.

Perhaps the best part of the evening were the comments we received from the attendees. Quite simply, they loved the wine. We served our CVM (Chardonnay, Viognier and Muscat) and the Cuvee Gustave Fayet. The CVM probably received the most praise with most people commenting that they had literally never tasted anything like it. When elite chefs, wine and food editors note that they have never tasted anything like it, one takes a deep breath.

We wanted to share our moments from the Guthrie with you perhaps because the evening served as a warm affirmation and an important nod of approval from some new found friends. Yes, we made new friends.

Cheers!

Our Podcast Debut!!!

2007-09-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

The Sacre Bleu Wine Network is now on iTunes and Mypodcast.com with the debut episode. We've succeeded in increating a decidely different wine podcast. We promise that you will not be subjected to boring tasting notes and wine industry insider banter that works just slightly better than Ambien CR. Our podcast is designed to function in your immediate world and touch your genuine interests.

You will hear music and you will hear food and wine conversations that are relevant.

The podcast is available at iTunes and Mypodcast.com. Subscribe today. Our debut episode features Mike Schwandt from White Light Riot in an in-depth conversation about his band's new CD Atomism. Mike talks from the heart about White Light Riot and the importance of being real to an audience.

Chef Ben McCallum takes us inside Wine and Food pairing and makes them both accesible and possible. You will hear Doni Walker report on Wine and the Internet.

We've made a wine podcast like no other. Cheers!

Pairing the Right Wines with our Favorite Movies

2007-09-07T15:20:00.001-07:00

We asked Doni Walker, special correspondent from the Sacre Bleu Wine Network, to pen a special blog on pairing wine and movies. We make conscious choices when we pair wine and food and to a similar extent we want to have a wine that fits the mood of whatever type of film we choose to watch. A big, bold Cabernet might not sit as well with The Notebook as say Sacre Bleu's CVM. Well, you get the idea.

Doni has her own thoughts about this and when you are fnished reading hers we welcome yours. Tell us what wine works best with your favorite film and why.

Pairing wine with food is fun; pairing wine with life is even better! And as entertainment is an important aspect of the life/work balance, I've picked out some of my all-time favorite movies and have here listed the wine's I'd grab to go with them.

In my opinion, the best movies are the ones that make you feel good, ones that often have the most likable characters and memorable, timeless quotes. This makes wine the perfect pairing for movies for all of the same reasons – it makes you feel good (the effect of the alcohol itself), the characteristics (flavors and tastes) are likable, and in vino veritas ("in wine, there is truth") has not become an oft-repeated adage for no reason!

With that, three of my absolute favorite, never-get-old, will-be-classics-in-my-book movies are these:

The Breakfast Club
Clueless
The Philadelphia Story (the 1940 romantic comedy with Cary Grant, James Stewart, and Katherine Hepburn, not to be mistaken for the 1993 Tom Hanks' drama, Philadelphia)

I think one of my all-time favorite movie scenes is the moment The Breakfast Club sees Ally Sheedy's Extreme Makeover - Molly Ringwald Edition. Watching barely-pubescent Emilio Estevez drooling over her is one of the cutest boy-meets-girl cheesy moments in all of Hollywood's cheesy moments. Almost as good as the part at the end when Molly Ringwald gives Judd Nelson her precious diamond earring in dramatic, forbidden lovers' fashion, and everyone walks off in the sunset to Simple Minds' "Don't You Forget About Me."

That being said, the best wine for The Breakfast Club would easily be a Beaujolais Nouveau. (Beaujolais is a historical province in France and is a region that produces a lot of wine, so wine with that name just means that it came from that region.) Nouveau (which means "new") is the first wine of the new harvest every year, and is released the third Thursday of November. It's ripe, young, and fruity - some critics even call it immature. Often misunderstood, but with so much potential, the barely-of-age Beaujolais Nouveau brings us all back to our own teenage years and seemed the natural choice for the quintessential coming-of-age movie.

Speaking of such movies, I might as well move on to Clueless next. This movie arrived at the pinnacle of my adolescent years (ok, fine, I was 12 when it came out in 1995, but like Cher, was a bit precocious…). This movie was seen by pre- and mid-teen girls everywhere as more than a fun take on SoCal life in the '90's, but as having some actual relevance in our own lives. Granted, growing up in suburban St. Paul was obviously a bit different than growing up in Beverly Hills, but I honestly believe that the milestones and emotions of puberty transcend location.

It took some thought to determine what the right wine would be for re-living Cher, Dionne, and Tai's high school antics and tribulations. One the one hand, it's a light-hearted, sometimes silly account of high school life and lexicon, so I didn't want to pick anything that would be taken too seriously. On the other hand, high school can be tough! I wanted something that would make the walk down memory lane a smooth one. With these thoughts in mind, the choice became clear – champagne. What better imbibe to enjoy with Clueless than a sparkling wine, which, like the movie's lead role is bubbly, fun-loving, optimistic, and sometimes a little precocious.

Next, we move onto a timeless, classic – The Philadelphia Story. This is an amazingly hilarious and witty romantic comedy, set in the 1940's, starring three of my absolute favorites – Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, and James Stewart. Watching those two gentlemen vie for the attention and affection of the upper-class Tracy Lord is one of the best and funniest ways I could ever imagine spending a couple of hours of my life.

With this one, I'm going a tiny bit more obvious and choosing something that was a part of the movie. The most obvious choice would be champagne because of its role in the best-written and funniest sequence of the film, but I already paired champagne with Clueless, so I went with Sherry instead. Sherry is a bit pretentious and snobby (ever watch Frasier? Kelsey Grammar's Frasier Crane was a big fan), and can be delicate but bites back a little.

It is a fortified wine; naturally dry because it's fortified after fermentation (I can't aptly explain that science, that's what Wikipedia told me). Any sweetness tasted is applied later. I'm not sure if the symbolism in this attribute as compared to Tracy Lord's personality was intentional, but it sure is clever. She's quite a bit rough around the edges to begin with, snobby, authoritative. The day before her wedding was planned, when a guest said to her younger sister, "I sure hope it doesn't rain tomorrow," her sister responded, "Oh, it won't. Tracy won't have it." By the end of the movie though, as she seeks out to determine which of these men is her true love, she's an absolute sap.

So put yourself in the shoes of Tracy Lord or her ex-husband (Cary Grant), C.K. Dexter Haven, don an important-sounding moniker like "Lord," or with all those extra initials, and grab a bottle of sherry and a fun little snifter to sip it from. This will surely whisk you back in time, and introduce words such as "yar" into your vocabulary.

I'm going to make one honorable mention, not because it's a favorite necessarily (though I did enjoy it!), but because it's a recent wine movie worth noting – Sideways.

With this movie, I could really go one of two ways. The instinct is to say to "find a good pinot [noir]" because of its relationship with the lead character, Miles (Paul Giamatti) in the movie. However, I'm not a wine snob, so I'd say to stick it to him and instead "grab a good Merlot." I've had my share of great Merlots and refuse to let a movie tell me they're not "quaffable!" So take that, Miles Raymond.

Actually, you know what? On second thought, grab both. He was right about Pinot Noirs – they're special. But it's a long movie. Two bottles may be a good idea!