Reserve Your Super Bowl Kegs NOW!
Don’t Sleep… Get Your Kegs… Accepting Keg Orders Until 5pm on Thursday For All Super Bowl Keg Orders…
We Have a Huge List Of Available Kegs…
Harvest Wine & Spirits is a little wine shop with a big heart! Located at 842 Farmington Avenue in West Hartford, Connecticut, Harvest is a relaxed, laid back space where we go to buy wine, shop the best selection of beer in Connecticut's capital city and get our swerve on... always a great tasting going on, some great artists being featured and boss tunes playing.
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Don’t Sleep… Get Your Kegs… Accepting Keg Orders Until 5pm on Thursday For All Super Bowl Keg Orders…
We Have a Huge List Of Available Kegs…
This is really an exceptional gin that deserves seeking out, or calling by name in any proper mixed drink.
92 proof.
Complete botanical list: Angelica root *, Apple Mint, Birch leaves, Bog Myrtle leaves, Cassia bark *, Chamomile (sweet), Cinnamon bark *, Coriander seed *, Creeping Thistle flowers, Elder flowers, Gorse flowers, Heather flowers, Hawthorn flowers, Juniper (prostrate) berries, Juniper berries *, Lady’s Bedstraw flowers, Lemon Balm, Lemon peel *, Liquorice root *, Meadow Sweet, Orange peel *, Orris root *, Peppermint leaves, Mugwort leaves, Red Clover flowers, Sweet Cicely leaves, Tansy, Thyme leaves, Water Mint leaves, White Clover, Wood Sage leaves. (* = Non Islay Botanical)
Join us for Harvest Wines Friday
We’re Tasting from 5:30pm…
842 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, CT 06119
Featured Wines…
Story
Pacific ocean breezes gently cool the vineyards of southern Dry Creek Valley producing Chardonnay fruit that is refreshingly juicy and sweet. The result isa wine that’s full bodied with a twang of cool acidity. Fermentation in oak barrels and a second malolactic fermentation also give it a delicate, creamy texture. This is one well pampered Chardonnay.
Taste
Vibrant aromas of melon, pear, and lightly baked apples hover above notes of vanilla bean and flaky pastry dough. the wine’s plump texture is balanced by flavors of fresh orchard fruit and a dose of minerality. It begs to be served alongside grilled scallops, creamy pasta, or roasted chicken, but is equally happy hanging out by itself.
Cuvee
100% Cabernet Sauvignon, Alcohol 13.9 %
Appellation and Vineyard
Tom Larson once owned this single vineyard in the mountains of the Red Hills. This Vineyard is where for the past 10 years, all grapes have been organically grown and sustainably farmed. This appellation sits at the highest section between the Vaca mountain range and the Mayacamas mountain range. The Mayacamas are famous for great Cabernet wine, due in part to ancient pyroclastic soils that contain volcanic glass.
Winemaker Notes
Forward complex blends with ripe fruit flavors; black currant and spicy berry fruit with gentle oak nuances.
Quick Sip Clips with Dogfish Head: Tweason’ale (by dogfishheadbeer)
The Enduring Spirit (by TheEnduringSpirit)
Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt is a meticulous re-creation of the original malt whisky shipped to Antarctica in 1907 by the explorer Ernest Shackleton to fortify his ‘Nimrod’ expedition.
The story of how several wooden crates of this precious whisky were abandoned to the Antarctic winter in early 1909, then rediscovered over a century later, is one that celebrates the enduring spirit of both man and malt.
We’re tasting from 5:30pm to 7:30pm… All Weekend!
Harvest Wine & Spirits
842 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, CT 06119

We’re Tasting from 4:45pm… Thursday December 15th 2011!
842 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, CT 06119
We’re Tasting from 4:45pm… Thursday December 15th 2011!
842 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, CT 06119

Provided by Ommegang & The Hoffman Lane Bistro, Cooperstown, NY
(If You bring this to the tasting you get a free hug!)
Braised Duck Legs in Apple-Rare Vos Reduction with Prosciutto and Portabella Mushrooms
8 duck legs
½ lb. Prosciutto
8 large Portabella mushroom caps
5 cloves garlic
1 onion
4 apples (of choice) peeled and diced
1 750ml. bottle of Rare Vos
2 qt. chicken stock
½ cup honey
salt and pepper to taste
thyme
Dust the duck legs with flour and sear in hot pan with oil until golden brown. Remove from pan. Discard the leftover duck fat. In same pan sautee garlic, onions, Prosciutto, mushrooms and apples. Add a 750ml bottle of Rare Vos to mixture and reduce by ½. Add the chicken stock and duck legs. Bake at 350 uncovered for 45 minutes or until sauce thickens. Drizzle with honey. Season with salt, pepper and thyme.
Serves 4


A Special Thanks To shopcookmake.blogspot.com
We’re Tasting from 5:45pm… Tonight!
842 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, CT 06119

Wine is not the only drink that can be aged for maturation. Many beers benefit from extended aging. We’re not talking about your average beer with a mere shelf life of 3-6 months, tops — before quality begins to degrade. We’re talking about beers that beg for maturation and strict storage like vintage beers, barleywines, imperial stouts, Belgian strong ales, lambics, old ales and so on. Ideally, any type of beer that can be laid-down for a year or two, or even more, in order to build a slew of complexities and thus further its character in a positive way.
If you’re interested in starting your own beer cellar it’s actually pretty easy. First, you’ll need to maintain enough patience and will-power to not drink them too early. This, beyond anything else, is the public enemy number one to your attempts. There’s nothing worse than thinking about that special beer, just sitting there, as it whispers its sweet song to the pleasure portion of the brain, “Drink me”.
Next, you’ll need to buy at least two of each beer. One of the beers you’ll want to drink immediately so you’ll have a comparison in which to judge the aged one - taking some notes if you want. The other beer should be cellared for at least a year.
Now there’s a lot of debate surrounding storing a beer upright vs. laying it down like a wine, specifically towards corked bottles. Some “experts” have faith in the old school wine way, that a corked beer should be kept on its side in order to keep the cork from drying out, while others believe that it doesn’t really matter. In our opinion, ALL beer should be stored upright. Here’s why we believe so, along with some other interesting facts about storage and cork:
So now you have a better understanding on how to store a beer. Next, where to store? First, beer should never come into contact with heat or light. Both will wreak havoc on your delicate stash of brews, and we’re sure everyone has heard of the term “skunky”. This is often a sign of a “light struck” beer.
We recommend that you store your beer in a cool area, away from direct light, sources of heat and in a constant temperature environment. Speaking of which, temperature is very important, and a major factor in the storing and serving aspects of beer. It also can become a real balancing act. Beer benefits from cool constant temperatures; usually around 50-55 degrees F is ideal for most beers, and most beer collectors. Higher temperatures and you’ll risk shortening the lifespan of your beer, lower and you’ll induce chill haze (cloudy). For you beer geeks out there, we’ll break it down a bit further …
There are 3 storage temperatures used to lay beer down for maturation and/or storage. Not only will you want store your beers at these specific temperatures, but also you’ll want to serve them at the same. Your strong beers (like barleywines, tripels, dark ales) will be their happiest at room temperature (55-60F), most of your standard ales (like bitters, IPAs, dobbelbocks, lambics, stouts, etc) will be at cellar temperature (50-55F) and your lighter beers (like lagers, pilsners, wheat beers, milds, etc) will be at a refrigerated temperature (45-50F). Usually the higher alcohol, the higher temperature and lower alcohol, the lower temperature … you get the point.
Obviously it’ll be near impossible to regulate some of the above temperatures, unless you have a second fridge for beer or a cool basement. A compromise is to at least store those beers that are ideal at slightly higher temperature in a closet, away from light and environmental changes, or stay within the 50-55F range. As you get into beer cellaring, you’ll probably see many variations of these recommended temperatures, but ours are good averages to go by.
Note on refrigerators: Long-term use is not recommended. Refrigerators are designed to keep food dry, so dehydration of cork can become an issue (laid-down or upright). Corked beers that you wish to age long-term should be kept in a cellar, where moderate humidity levels might be more appropriate.
Cool. Now that you have an idea as to what to cellar and how, what can you expect a year or more down the road when you’ve patiently waiting to crack open your aging beers? The answer = who knows? There are way too many variables that come to play, on top of the variations within the different styles. Some beers age very well, others don’t. Some beers need only a year, while others can age for 25+ years. And, many breweries have no idea what their beer will taste like years down the road, while others can make pretty damn good predictions. It’s all part of the fun.
Some final advice: if you cellared your beer too cold, then serve it immediately you’ll get less carbonation, less aroma and less flavour. You’ll also risk numbing your palate. Use the store temp = serve temp rule and you’ll be fine.
Kind of sad how rye whiskey has fallen so far out of favor. I have always blamed Don McLean for this. “Good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye,” is the lyric. I call shenanigans - rye IS a whiskey. We’ve got some dichotomy to work out.
Whiskey is any distilled beverage made from fermented…
***Dave will be a special guest of Harvest December 16th; that weekend will be the Second Spectacular Harvest Whiskey Tasting @Harvest
Thanks Dave!
Some Interesting and Special Brew arriving everyday, it seems…
Picked up some very cool vintage bottles this week including Avery/Russian Rivers Collaboration Not Litigation Ale (Batch 2, From 2009), Avery Czar (2009 or 2007), Avery Mephestopholies (Nov.2008) Some big bottles of Great Divide Espresso Oak and Chocolate Oak-Aged Yeti (Both closing on their first birthday), and a bunch of cool Barleywines we’ve had mellowing in the basement in anticipation of the soon to be announced (Second Annual) Split Thy Skull Barleywine Tasting!
Loads of great christmas and Winter Seasonals as well… From Fantome Noel & Moinette Posca Rustica to Anchor Christmas & Shipyard Prelude & EVERYTHING! in between!
Pumpkin Beers one of our favorite seasonal treats is yummy, festive, and here today, sold out tomorrow… Last year we learned that pumpkin beer wasn’t likely to stick around long enough to make Halloween, (the perfect time for a pumpkin beer) in fact, most wouldn’t even be here much past August… Not so cool!
This year… we wanted to have some of your favorite spicy, sweet pumpkiny treats on hand for all your Halloween festivities… so today, the Monday before Halloween, We declare… Pumpkin Beer Week officially here! We have saved some of your favorite pumpkin beers, ales, and imperials, for sale this week… so come on in and share the bounty before the Pumpkin King says goodbye for another year…

Instead of pottage and puddings and custards and pies,
Our pumpkins and parsnips are common supplies;
We have pumpkin at morning and pumpkin at noon;
If it was not for pumpkins we should be undone
… Hey down, down, hey down derry down….
If barley be wanting to make into malt
We must be contented and think it no fault
For we can make liquor, to sweeten our lips,
Of pumpkins and parsnips and walnut-tree chips.
(Poem From The Beer Nerd!)