Generally when I get email or read ads from stores after January 1st, it’s all about eating healthy, buying excercise equipment or ways to shape up in 30 days or less. I always find this so interesting how after 30 plus days of pushing over indulgence everything changes on a dime. Hard to take for a self-professed foodie like me.

I don’t want to hear that I have to give up my cheese sandwiches ( 3-Year Cheddar and Aged Swiss grilled with turkey on multigrain bread with Brennan’s Cranberry Relish on the side) and live on grapefruit alone, or leave hearty pasta dinners (like Lasagna with Cremini Mushrooms and Spinach)  by the wayside for low-fat yogurt (though I love yogurt). After all, this is Wisconsin. It’s freaking cold here. Who doesn’t want a hearty meal on a cold winter’s night?

So, what I’m saying is that I’m not going to write about ways to lose weight or achieve 2009 resolutions because I believe that if you eat most things in moderation that you should be fine. Every week there seems to be a study that says if you eat this or that fruit, you will help prevent cancer or something else. Well, all that is true and seems quite logical to me. If you eat a varied and healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, etc ,you will be much better off than if you eat fast food every day. But, you can still eat cheese and pasta and drink wine.

So, while you are enjoying New Year’s celebrations, watching football games or taking down your holiday decorations over the next few days, have fun, be safe and remember that starting next week you will get a lot of stuff about diets and excerise equipment, but you won’t be getting anything from me.

Happy New Year and Happy Eating!

Just a few more days to go. Yikes! While driving past the mall on my lunch break (no easy task), I was trying to come up with some more gift ideas to help out those who are mall wary (me included!). So, here is what I came up with while sitting in traffic. Hopefully, my friends and family don’t read this before Christmas or the cat’s out of the bag!

Brennan’s Microbrewery Gift Packs: Available in a Holiday themed brew 8-pack or a Wisconsin themed 8-pack (for those who only want to buy local). Great for a beer lover or for anyone who enjoys trying new things. Beer is supposed to be the new wine when in comes to food pairings.

Brennan’s Granola: I am addicted to this granola. It’s so hearty and rich. Great with ice cream, yogurt or with a fresh fruit. Try all 3 varieties: Orchard, Original and Hale & Hearty.

J. Lynne Cabernet Sauvignon: This is a Cab lovers Cab made by our friend Jennifer Wall (gotta support women winemakers!) Any red wine lover will enjoy this California classic. Just add a gift bag and viola! A wonderful hostess gift or party favor.

Brennan’s Gift Cards: A thoughtful, yet easy gift. Great for any foodie or friend. Ideal to have around for surprise guests or for your neighbor who feeds your cats when you’re away.

And last but not least… I gotta add cheese to list. Of course, this is Wisconsin. Though I mentioned them in an earlier holiday blog, Brennan’s Cheese Boxes are fabulous gift. In fact, my mom mentioned to Bernie at Brookfield how much she would love to get a #11 box. Hint taken! Everyone loves cheese, so you cannot go wrong.

Our team is always on hand to help you select the perfect gift for everyone on your list. Stop by and see us.

Have a safe and happy holiday season from everyone at Brennan’s!

Are you all organized with all of your gifts beautifully wrapped and perfectly placed under the tree, or are you like me and you haven’t done much besides get a few gifts online weeks ago and figured you were way ahead of the game? Well… if you’re like me, here are a some great gift ideas that you won’t even have to wrap!

Brennan’s Cheese Boxes

Choose from 12 different boxes featuring 100% Wisconsin Cheese, Brennan’s Beef Summer Sausage, Brennan’s Mustard, Brennan’s Cheese Spreads & more. Handmade, our boxes are great for anyone on your list who calls Wisconsin “home,” no matter where in the world they happen to be.

To see more Brennan’s Cheese Boxes click: http://www.brennansmarket.com/giftpacks.lasso

Brennan’s Fruit Baskets

Our baskets are made at our stores everyday with 100% hand-selected top quality produce including, California navel oranges, Washington State apples & pears, grapefruit, tangerines, jumbo kiwi and red globe grapes. We do have baskets with cheese & sausage, too, if you want to be healthy, but not that healthy!

Our baskets are on display everyday, and always ready to go. You can even order large quantities for corporate gifts (advance orders are appreciated).

To see more Brennan’s Fruit Baskets click: http://www.brennansmarket.com/produce_baskets.lasso

Brennan’s Specialty Baskets

With wine, cheese, chocolate, nuts, sausage and more, our baskets are really more of a meal! Choose from 8 different varieties including: Doubly Delicious (pictured below) with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Wine Chocolates, Beef Summer Sausage and more!

Or… check out our La Dolce Vino Basket with Italian wine, Brennan’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Brennan’s Pasta Sauce, Brennan’s Pasta and American Grana, all the fixins’ for a great dinner.

To see more Specialty Baskets click: http://www.brennansmarket.com/wine_baskets.lasso

Happy Holidays and Good Luck! I know I have some shopping to do!

Whether you’re ready or not, the holidays will be here before you know it.  Luckily, you won’t have to be caught empty-handed because we have a large selection of wonderful wines that will make everyone on your shopping list happy this year!  Here are just a few suggestions:

At $19.99, the 1221 Fleur de Lys is a sophisticated white blend of Viognier and Chardonnay that won’t break the bank.  The Viognier grapes were handpicked from two unique vineyards located close to the banks of the Russian River while the Chardonnay grapes were handpicked from the Carneros region in the Napa Valley, creating a wine with luscious ripe fruit flavors, a lively acidity, and a harmonic finish that is intricate and refined.  Full bodied and rich in texture, Fleur de Lys will pair exceedingly well with a variety of dining selections, ranging from light luncheons to upscale dinner parties. 

Also at $19.99 is the red wine counterpart to the Fleur de Lys: the 1221 Cabernet Cuvee.  If you’re looking for a red and white wine, this is the pair to give!  This wine was produced with Cabernet Sauvignon grapes that were handpicked from 7 different small vineyards in the Napa and Sonoma counties, with a touch of Cabernet Franc added for balance and style.  The resulting wine is rich in texture and full bodied with a lovely layered effect.  The taste profile includes plenty of ripe fruit balanced perfectly by subtle oak tones that are present throughout.  The 1221’s are beautiful wines that look and taste like they cost a lot more than $20!

At the next price level is a wine from a distinguished winery known as Grant Burge, a winery owned and operated by 5th generation winemaker Grant Burge himself.  The grapes for this wine are sourced from century old vines grown in Grant’s estate owned Filsell vineyard in the Barossa Valley of South Australia.  It’s the Old Vine Filsell Shiraz, priced at $29.99, and is an exceptional wine with luscious flavors of dark berries, oak, rich chocolate and hint of liquorice.  It features firm tannins and balanced integrated oak with a clean acidity.  A wine to be appreciated by any red wine lover!

Lastly, I just want to mention our Daniel Schuster Omihi Selection Pinot Noir from New Zealand, which received the 2008 trophy for “Best New World Red Wine,” as well as a gold medal and “Champion” Pinot Noir status at the most significant wine competition in Asia, and our Viu Manent Viu 1 Malbec from Chile, which received 93 points from Wine Enthusiast.  Ask your wine selector for more details on these and other outstanding wines to give as gifts this year.

Check back next week for our recommended wine list for all your entertaining needs this holiday season!

We want to say thank you to all of those who stopped by the store to meet Gene Guglielmo from Guglielmo Winery in California! He really enjoyed his visit and plans to come back and visit us soon, though he may not come in November again (too cold!).

Whenever we have a winemaker in town, we host a wine dinner for staff at one of our stores. We usually sample and discuss five wines while we enjoy our meal and discuss all the wines after dinner. We exchange ideas of cheese and meal pairings, where a wine fits into our lineup and who would enjoy it.

Among the wines we tried was Guglielmo Reserve Chardonnay. A traditional

Watts Crew: John, Gene, Skip & Jess

oaky Chard with a creamy, buttery mouthfeel and with vanilla that hits you in the back of the palate. Pair it with poultry, pork, white sauced pasta dishes, Swiss Cheese & Triple Creme cheeses.

We also enjoyed their Reserve Zinfandel. This one of my favorite wines. Packed with big fruit and jammy, it’s for someone looking for a big red. If you like Merlot, this would be a step up. If you like Shiraz, this would be a move over. A great wine for BBQ ribs or chicken, pork, poultry, Aged Cheddar and Aged Swiss

If you didn’t get a chance to meet him, stop by and chat with our wine selectors. They would be happy to tell you about all they learned!

Ciao!

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about that oh-so-delicious feast. More importantly (if you ask the wine managers anyway), which wines you’re going to serve with the feast! Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

Reds

Kiwi Gold Pinot Noir/Merlot blend: This New Zealand wine is light-bodied and easy drinking with flavors of pomegranate, black tea and cranberry, topped off with a hint of toast and finishing smooth-perfect with turkey, dressing and a side of cranberries!

Devil’s Island Pinot Noir: In this light to medium-bodied Pinot, flavors of cherry framed by mild tannins and fine acidity make it a beautiful addition to your turkey dinner.

Whites

Villard Chardonnay: With a complex nose of vanilla and soft tropical fruit echoing on the palate, this full-bodied, mouth-filling wine is sure to please all of your dinner guests!

South Island Sauvignon Blanc: This wine displays nice gooseberry and spicy aromas on the nose with finesse and concentration on the palate. The crisp acidity and off-dry finish make it an excellent pairing with turkey!

Other

Brennan’s Cellars Cranberry: For something a little different this year, try our Door County Cranberry wine. The balance between the tart zing of the cranberries and the sweet flavors of the wine make it a real treat at the dinner table.

Guglielmo Grignolino Rose: If you enjoy a good, dry Rose, the Grignolino Rose is for you! Due to its tart red fruit flavors and dry finish, this is a great turkey wine.

Last but not least, for a truly satisfying way to top off your feast, serve our Emile’s Almond Flavored Sparkling Wine with a warm slice of apple pie-the perfect ending to a perfect meal!

And don’t forget that when you buy 6 or more 750ml bottles of wine priced $7.99 or higher, you’ll receive a 10% discount!

Have you noticed yourself drinking more red wines lately and less white? That seems to be the trend when the weather starts getting chilly, with good reason of course. A rich, deep red wine is simply the perfect complement to a hearty meal, such as beef stew, chili, roasts and more. If you’re looking for a new red wine to try, I have a suggestion I think you’ll enjoy.

The wine I’m speaking of is called Diana Rosso, and it’s a complex Italian wine that will pair well with the previously mentioned dishes, as well as with Brennan’s 3-5 year Aged Cheddars or the World Championship Contest Emmentaler (a cheese that owner Skip Brennan has been secretly stashing just for this holiday season!). It’s also a real treat with our Merlot wine chocolates.

Trevisani Diana Rosso

More specifically, the Diana Rosso, consisting of 80% Rebo and 20% Merlot, is a smooth, fruity and balanced wine, with added complexity imparted by the 6 months of French oak barrel aging. It has intense aromas with pleasant notes of blackberries, cherries and chocolate. If you’re not familiar with the Rebo grape, it’s actually a hybrid vine from Merlot and Teroldego, which was started in 1948 and perfected by Dr. Rebo Rigotti. It was after his death that his colleagues honored his memory by naming the hybrid “Rebo,” which acquired Trentino DOC designation in 1996.

This wine is produced the by Trevisani family winery, which is located in the middle of the Morainic hills of Lake Garda, the most well known growing area in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. They have been dedicated to producing select and limited edition wines for generations. Due to the winds coming off the lake, the morainic structure of the soil, and the care of the Trevisani brothers, this is a fantastic wine to take home next time you’re in. I guarantee it will hit the spot when the wind starts blowing in Wisconsin!

Many of you have enjoyed at least one of our many varietals produced by the Guglielmo Winery at one time or another, but do you know the story of this historical winery? It was started by Italian natives, Emilio and Emilia Guglielmo, in the Santa Clara Valley of California in 1925, but the tale begins long before that.

Emila & Emilio Guglielmo

It starts with generations of winemaking in Italy and even includes a secret door in the Guglielmo house in California, which led to the cellar where Emilio and Emilia made wine for their friends and neighbors during Prohibition. Today the winery is run by third generation brothers, who continue the Italian winemaking craft combined with state-of-the-art technology and California sunshine to bring us wines that are easy for everyone to enjoy at reasonable prices.

We are excited to announce that the winemaker will be in our stores over the weekend of November 14th to share their fascinating story with us and to let us sample his favorite Guglielmo wines!

Thursday November 13: 4:30pm- 5:30pm at Monroe

Friday November 14: 2:00pm- 5:00pm at Brookfield

Saturday November 15: 11:00am-2:00pm at University & 3:00pm- 6:00pm at Watts Road

Last Friday we had small wine tasting with wine staff from all stores and Anthony Hendrie from Grant Burge winery in Australia. Anthony visited us last fall; however, I was pregnant and (obviously) didn’t participate in the tasting. With a new baby, it has been awhile since I have tried their wines. I just realized what I have been missing out on!

We sampled their Summers Eden Chardonnay, Hillcot Merlot, Cameron Vale Cabernet Sauvignon & 10 Year Tawny Port. The Chardonnay, which by the way, is named for Grant’s accountant whose last name is Summers. He must be some accountant! Anyway… the Chardonnay is very Burgundian in style with notes of French oak. It is not a hit you over the head Chard with tons of buttery vanilla. Just very well-balanced. A great food wine for sushi, grilled Tuna, eggplant, seafood or chicken.

Grant Burge Merlot was the next wine we tried. Anyone who loves red wine, will love this wine; despite the bad rap Merlot has gotten. Not a mushy Merlot at all, it has a lot going on. As a side note, Grant actually pioneered Merlot in Barossa Valley. Pair with steak or lasagna!

Next was Grant Burge Cabernet Sauvignon… It was juicy and full of red berry flavors. Ideal with ribs, a big porterhouse & Aged Cheddar.

Finally, we tried the 10 Year Tawny Port with a eye towards the holidays. It’s the color of amber and caramel with hints of olive green. Sweet, but not too sweet. There’s enough acid there for balance. It would be perfect with a little blue cheese, walnuts and sliced green apples.

Overall, the tasting was a great reminder on the quality and value of Grant Burge wines. All, while heavily influenced by Australia, are also European in style, very food friendly. So, you can enjoy some of the Old World & some of New World in every Grant Burge wine.

Anthony will be back to see us for one day in November, Friday the 21st. Unfortunately, he only has time to do the Madison stores this time. Stop in to meet him & sample what Grant Burge has to offer.

Friday November 21: 11am-3:pm at Watts Road & 3:30pm- 6:00pm at University Avenue.

We are introducing a new promotion in our wine departments… Buy 6 Bottles and Receive 10% Off! So, you no longer have to buy a whole case to get the benefit of 10% off. You can enjoy the same promotion with the purchase of just 6 bottles!

So when you’re shopping for wine this Holiday season, make sure you stop by your nearest Brennan’s to take advantage of this great deal. Stop by our wine departments and talk to Jess (Watts Road), Linda (University Avenue), Ron (Monroe) and Brent (Brookfield) for more details.

This promotion does exclude all Vineyards of Value wines, 1.5L and wines under $7.99.