Good Tuesday afternoon!
We hope you have heard about how Denton is officially the Halloween City of Texas! We have 31 days of spookiness ahead of us here in the Downtown area and we hope you will come on down and check out all the fun!
We are participating in the excitement with special wines, a special weekend beverage, and all-around fun. We will have our skeleton friends, Stephen and Stephanie, here to take pictures with you and your friends.
Our featured wines for the month lean heavily into the Halloween theme through the names and labels of the wines. These are now available for you to enjoy by the glass today! Check out our Blog for the October Wine Club Wines to learn more about each of these fun wines.
The special "cocktail" created for our weekend fun is lovingly named, "The Bloody Spritz". It will be served on the weekends through October. A sparkling wine spritzer with a sugared rim and drowning in the glass is an eyeball!!! Well...a gummy eyeball. ;-)
Tonight, come over for a special musical experience with Lady Cass and the Fellas as we hit Halloween with their fun and spooky night of music. It's also a costume party and for those ready to get out and show off their character, there will be prizes for the best costumes.
Thursday nights, all month long, we have free music on Industrial with Twilight Tunes. We have set up the opportunity for you to reserve your seats at tables we are placing out front. Reservations will include your seat and your first beverage from a select list of wines and beers. Visit our Reservations page to reserve your seats in advance.
We also have 10 select wines we are doing at Half Price each Thursday to enjoy during your visit.
Monday Night Live Music on the 7th, with the great Brad Leali Tentet and Carla Helmbrecht featured on vocals. Brad is off on another gig that night, but the band will be swinging without him
You can still reserve your seats for tonight and Monday's musical events.
Reserve your seats online at RESERVATIONS.
It's Festival Month here in Denton and this weekend starts off with the Arts and Jazz Fest. We hope you will make Steve's your stop before, during, and after your time at the park. We have wine and beer to go by the bottle and the glass. Yes, you can grab a glass of something from Steve's to walk with here in Downtown Denton. Bring your cooler by and let us fill it with chilled beer and cool wines, and we'll toss in some beverage cups in case you forgot yours. :-)
October 12th is Geezer Palooza, aka Industrial Street Pop Fest. We will have our large tent set up on the street for our customers to come and sit in the shade and enjoy the festivities.
October 25th - 27th is Day of the Dead. Saturday the 26th we will have a tent out front serving ice-cold beers and chilled wines to walk with. Of course we will have our full menu available inside. And we will be showing the Coffin Races on our TV's inside and on the back patio for those who don't want to stand in the crowd.
Did you know that Steve's was voted as having the best wine list in Denton,
as well as a top shop for wine.
Have a great week and we look forward to seeing you soon!
Cheers! From all of us here at Steve's Wine Bar.
Oct 1, 2024 at 10:00 AM
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The tagline for the Diablo ‘Cystal’ Sauvignon Blanc is to “make a pact with the extraordinary” (we promise you don’t have to be devilish to enjoy this wine). Hailing from Chile’s Curicó Valley, this region is known for granitic soils with clay and quartz (thus, ‘crystal’). Of course, France, New Zealand, and California have carved out unique niches for Sauvignon Blanc; Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, Bordeaux, Marlborough, and Napa are world-famous for their cultivation of the grape. But Chilean wine is on the rise, and you may have seen wines from Chile added in great measure to our very own list since such wines are generally value-driven and offer a new perspective. The ‘Crystal’ is light and refreshing, with notes of white peach, grapefruit, other citrus, pineapple, and a touch of herbaceousness characteristic of the grape. To complement the tangy acidity, a handful (or more!) of Skittles will taste delightful with this wine.
Winemaker Cris Legrandjacques was born in France, grew up in Africa, and now calls California home. His various international encounters, including time in Bordeaux and Burgundy, helped hone his craft, and now he consults for several brands, including ASV Wines, which is located in Monterey County. Legrandjacques’ passion project is Séance, which selects the very best grapes throughout the state to formulate showstopping but accessible wines. This Pinot Noir experienced a cold, rainy growing season, resulting in an extended hangtime. In the glass, the taste is all rich red berries: pomegranate, cherry, and strawberry pie infused with baking spices. Time in French oak along with the Pinot’s softer tannins help round out the palate. For a truly supernatural experience, melt some colorful M&Ms in your mouth as you sip on the Séance.
St. Vincent is the patron saint of winegrowers, mostly because the first syllable of his name, ‘Vin,’ means wine (some even say that the second part of his name sounds like the French word for blood, ‘sang,’ further cementing his standing in the wine world). While he serves as a symbol of fortune and prosperity for vineyards, the saint himself did not face such good times. A deacon in the 4th century in Saragossa, Spain, St. Vincent was sentenced to death by the vicious Emperor Diocletian for being a proselytizer. He was tortured over numerous days on both the rack and the gridiron, which is a device that inflicted intense burns (ask your server for a picture with further explanation if you are intrigued). Yes, this is a gruesome time in history, but St. Vincent is honored every year on January 22, during which many vintners, including Mission St. Vincent, prune the vines back to encourage bud break. Such a haunting legend deserves a delicious wine like this Bordeaux Rouge, a blend of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet. Blackcurrant, cherry, vanilla, spice, and oak envelop the mouth, resulting in a pleasing, rich rendezvous, which can only get better if paired with some luscious licorice.
Skyfall, a grandiose name for a winery, is so called due to the massive boulders that lay scattered among their Columbia Valley vines, appearing to have fallen out of the sky. This enormous debris was left by the ancient Missoula floods after the last ice age, which ultimately cut the Columbia River. The floods deposited silty loam soil mixed with volcanic ash, thus creating conditions for complex, elegant wines all these years later. Superstar winemaker Nicole Walsh, who spent nearly two decades at Boony Doon working with Randall Grahm (the alien guy!), also honed her craft in the Michigan and New Zealand wine industries. She is a leader in the Women-Owned Winery movement and was instrumental in putting another woman, Mother Nature, on each Skyfall label. Her expertise has resulted in an opulent red blend of Cabernet, Merlot, and Syrah. Cherry, blackcurrant, blueberry, hints of brown sugar, and mulling spices explode on the palate. Having a crisp Butterfinger alongside the Skyfall Red Blend will make for an alluring escape.
French-born Alex Remy, winemaker for Omen Wines, is a food scientist by training who publishes nutrition facts and ingredients (grapes, yeast, and oak, by the way) on every label. The idea behind such transparency is that the American market deserves to have delicious wines that don’t break the bank, just like in France. Committed to sustainability, he has pledged to create wines that are low in sulfites, vegan-friendly, and have no added sugar or additives. He has also been named one of Wine Enthusiast’s 40 Under 40. But back to the label—it does depict a creepy, abandoned monastery that sits atop one of the vineyards used for grapes…perfect for Halloween. This Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from two different AVAs in California: 60% comes from Paso Robles while 40% is derived from the Sierra Foothills. Together, both AVAs offer a balance of juiciness and structure, fitting together like a perfect little Tetris game. Cassis, blackberry, cedar, smoke, and graphite engage the senses, feeling indeed like a “good omen.” Consuming a glass with some Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups will create a succulent flavor bomb.
3 Rings is named after the magic trick of interlocking metal circles. In the brand ambassador’s round-about words, “The wizardry that the sum of the interlocked parts far outweighs the individual elements. If any single ring is removed, the two remaining rings will fall apart, but there is power in unity.” To further the metaphor, 3 Rings also depicts the past, present, and future, and they must be quoted again: “[3 Rings is] historic place, extraordinary fruit, and skilled modern winemaking in enchanting combination and captivating balance to make spellbinding wine.” Their wizardry is more than just words; this 100% Shiraz sums it all up in one sip. A plethora of aromas and flavors magnetizes the senses, from rich dark fruits like plum, cherry, and blackberry to savory bits like black pepper, fennel, and spice, all wrapped up with dark chocolate and some oak char. This magical adventure can be elevated even more with a taste of a minty peppermint patty.
The tagline of SLO Down Wines is “Seriously good wine that doesn’t take itself too seriously.” They are wanting to shake up the wine industry and encourage people to drink wine just for the pleasure of it (hopefully these wine notes aren’t too snobby and cerebral for them!). Based in San Luis Obispo (thus SLO), the brand also has some other colorful wine options like Slo Jams, a Sauv Blanc; Love Hammer, a Cab; and Send Nudes, found in both a rosé and Pinot (confession, Cheryl served Send Nudes at her 50th birthday party!). This wine, chosen this month for its nod to both naughty and sweet, is a blend of Syrah, Zinfandel, and Malbec. And if the name sounds familiar at all, it does come from the Eddie Murphy movie, Coming to America. Abundant in dark fruits, the palate is lifted by plum, blackberry, and black cherry. Black pepper and spice linger on the finish. The wine is so sensual that paired with some Snickers, you might indeed desire to give winemaker Brandon Allen a call at 707-492-6365.
There was a real James Stokes who lived a very fascinating and dubious life. But it sounds like he got what he deserved in death (ask your server for the full story!), but his ghost is said to haunt his former home in Monterey. Thus, you are imbibing a small part of that legacy, all wrapped up in an inky, tooth-staining hue. Made from Petite Sirah, the Stokes’ Ghost has been aged for 14 months in an assortment of different oak profiles, including Hungarian, French, and American, to add layered complexity. Every mouthful is rich and full-bodied, with balanced tannins and a lingering finish. Fruits like black cherry, blackberry, plum, and cassis intermingle with hazelnut and mocha to create a very satisfying ending (unlike Stokes’ goodbye). And you can feel good drinking it as well because the winery has been certified sustainable by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance. Good deeds aside, with a taste of dark chocolate, the Stokes’ Ghost will take you to new heights.
Oct 1, 2024 at 7:17 AM
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