CONCORD, NH – With a continued focus on providing consumers with opportunities to taste high-end, premium products, the New Hampshire Liquor Commission (NHLC) will host an exclusive wine tasting event on Sept. 15, featuring more than 100 fine wines at the Bedford Village Inn, 2 Olde Bedford Way, in Bedford.
The “Cabernet & Merlot from Around the World” event, which will take place from 6-8 p.m., will boast 15 tables of premium wines retailing for a minimum of $45, along with a sampling of gourmet hors d’oeuvres from the Bedford Village Inn. Tickets cost $65 per person with event proceeds benefitting the Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter.
Click here for more information and tickets.
In May 2015, NHLC hosted an exclusive Italian wine tasting event in an effort to test the concept of a fine wine tasting series. The event drew a capacity crowd of 150 guests, generated nearly $14,000 in wine sales and raised more than $2,000 for Granite United Way. Since May 2015, NHLC has hosted four tasting events as part of its Fine Wine Tasting series.
Like other select NHLC events, guests will have the opportunity to purchase wine via a state-of-the-art, award-winning web ordering application — a first of its kind in the wine industry — which guests can access via mobile devices. A discount of 15 percent will be offered for purchases of six or more bottles, allowing event attendees to stock wine cellars at the most competitive prices.
“The Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter is very excited to partner with the New Hampshire Liquor Commission for this special Cabernet & Merlot from Around the World wine tasting event,” said Lisa Christie, executive director of the Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter. “We provide food, shelter, and services to homeless and low-income adults and families with children. We rely on community support for all of our programs and plan to use the funds raised during this event to support our soup kitchen and food pantry.”
During Fiscal Year 2016, NHLC broke its previous sales record reaching $678.4 million in total sales, an increase of $36.3 million — or 5.65 percent — over the previous fiscal year. During the same time period, wine sales jumped by 3 percent to $292.4 million. In particular, during Fiscal Year 2016, sales of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignons and high-end red blends priced $20 or more grew by 2.4 percent, to $11.5 million.
A sampling of featured wines include:
- M by Michael Mondavi – This iconic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is crafted from a single vineyard atop Atlas Peak on 15 acres of rocky, volcanic soil. This wine, complex and subtle, is a reflection of Michael Mondavi’s vision for a great wine—“made to be enjoyed with a meal, revealing itself slowly over time and inviting you back for a second glass.” – www.michaelmondavifamilyestate.com
- Cakebread Cellars Dancing Bear Ranch – “Beautifully balanced and structured for long-term aging, this intense, complex mountain cabernet is just beginning to unfold its many splendors and will age beautifully in bottle for at least a decade.” Produced in very limited quantities, tasters will enjoy dense, perfumed aromas of bright black cherry, blueberry and blackberry fruit, mixed with floral and forest-floor scents. – www.cakebread.com
- Cakebread Cellars Benchland Select – Another limited selection by Cakebread, this wine is “dense, rich and supple on the palate, with deeply concentrated black cherry, blackberry and black fig favors…this singular vintage…will grow even more sumptuous over the next six to eight years.” – www.cakebread.com
- Paul Hobbs Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – The Paul Hobbs Winery is known for “meticulous vineyard management followed by minimally-invasive techniques.” Wines are fermented with native yeasts, aged in French oak, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. “This deep crimson wine displays sophisticated aromas of lavender, pencil shaving and black fruits.” Tasters will note a “long polished finish” that is “graced with subtle notes of cigar box and is fully rounded by velvety tannins.” – www.paulhobbswinery.com
- Inglenook Rubicon – The historic Inglenook property has a history dating back to the 1800s. It was in 1975 that Francis Ford Coppola bought the property. Within three years, the winery was producing Rubicon, its flagship wine. Rubicon is produced from the best estate grown fruit, including the historic Gustave Niebaum Cabernet Sauvignon selection, which was first planted on the property in the 1880s.” – www.inglenook.com
- Ornellaia Bolgheri – One of Italy’s most famous wines and one of the world’s most sought after wines has luscious black cherry, blackberry, cedar, vanilla and leather flavors. Elegant and concentrated, presenting a core of fruit, accented by edgy tannins that should come together in the short term. Earth and hints of tobacco ply the lingering aftertaste. The wine is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc and is best enjoyed from 2018 through 2032. Just 2,150 cases of this wine were imported to the United States. The 2012 vintage received 93 points from Wine Spectator. – www.winespectator.com
- Opus One – A product of a joint venture between Robert Mondavi and Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, this wine is characterized by “dark fruit aromas accentuated by subtler notes of florest-floor and graphite. The wine’s round mouthfeel and satiny tannins wrap around classic flavors of cassis, blackberry and black cherry. This refined and age-worthy wine offers lively acidity and a sturdy structure with a long lingering finish.” – www.opusonewinery.com
During the last year, the Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter served more than 86,000 meals and provided more than 12,000 nights of emergency shelter to 290 homeless individuals, including 45 children. In addition, the Soup Kitchen & Shelter provided 52 families with 43 children financial assistance during the last year.
In the last three years, NHLC has worked with suppliers and brokers to raise $720,000 for nonprofit organizations making an impact in New Hampshire. Homes for Our Troops, the Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire, Operation Care for Troops, Easter Seals New Hampshire, Toys for Tots, New Hampshire Food Bank, Granite United Way, Concord Hospital and the Wildlife Heritage Foundation of New Hampshire have all benefitted from NHLC’s support.
