Entries by Eric Faiola

Brewery of the Month: Harpoon Brewery

It’s almost that time of year again! Warm weather, blue skies, sandy toes, BBQ’s with friends and family. Summer is quickly approaching and what better way to kick it off than with Harpoon’s Summer Ale’s? Harpoon was born in 1986 by three friends, Dan Kenary, Rich Doyle and George Ligeti. They all shared the same […]

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Nothing dry about Dry Creek Valley

Wine tasting is an endeavor of sheer endurance.  That is a lesson I have learned through sheer, hard work. Let me start at the beginning.  Sonoma County, 90 minutes north of San Francisco, is gorgeous wine country.  Picture rolling, lush green hillsides, covered in orderly and beautifully staked and grown grape vines interspersed with aspens, […]

Good wine for a great cause

Parkinson’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disease that slowly moves from tremors to stiffness to cramping, eventually leaving its sufferers entirely disabled – in a wheel chair or even bedridden.  It is painful and horrifying, knowing that it will only bring more and worse suffering.  The most famous face of Parkinson’s in our lifetime has been […]

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Crab Salad & Sparkling Wine

The warmer weather is slowly arriving and the Sophora NV Cuvee Sparkling Wine and crab salad (see below for recipe) combo is the perfect combo to welcome spring! Sophora NV Cuvee Sparkling Wine Tasting Notes: Don’t confuse NV – non-vintage – with lower quality.  Non-vintage just means that the wine in the bottle has been […]

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Oak, smoke, toast…vanilla?

Wine makers and wine drinkers love to talk about oak.  And given that oak-use is incredibly complicated, it is not surprising.  Oak barrel fermentation, aging in oak, the flavors that oak imparts, the amount of oxidation you get through the porous oak barrels, the type of oak that is used – American, French, Slavonian – […]

Our Mother’s Day Cocktail

New to Mystic Wine Shoppe is the fancy and oh so drinkable, Pommery POP Rose Champagne 4-Pack. These fun champagne bottles make a lovely Mother’s Day gift as well as the perfect addition to any spring celebration. We love these little Pommery Pop bottles not just because they’re adorable, but they’re also delicious, bright and lively. […]

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Brewery of the month: Cisco Brewers

Located on the beautiful island of Nantucket, Cisco Brewery is a must-see when visiting the famous New England Island.  Guests are invited to sip their delicious Cisco beer, enjoy wine from their sister company Nantucket Vineyard, sample liquors from their second sister company, Triple Eight Distillery, and take a tour! It’s truly a great experience. […]

A Personal Journey

When I began studying wine several years ago, I really just wanted to know the difference between a Rhone and a Burgundy, a Napa Cabernet and a Bordeaux. I did not have any grand ambitions. However, as I progressed through the classes, I realized that wine brings so many subjects together – you have to […]