Update: A good friend notified me about a new book focusing on Hemingway's cocktail experience. Looking forward to reading To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion.
In all the years I've lived or visited south Florida, I have always been disappointed in the deficiency of local beer options in the West Palm Beach area. That is, until now. Earlier this year, Due South Brewing Company,opened their 15 BBL brewhouse in Boynton Beach - just off Route 95 and very close to our Florida destination. On Black Friday we visited during the brewery's all day Black Friday Party and tasted though most of their brews.
And this is a wide ranging portfolio of low alcohol beers favored by owner and brewer Mike Halker. Starting with the Florida Blonde, which is an ale - and not the lager we presumed. It resembles an amber ale in color and flavor - but exudes much less hops at the tale. Next was the Caramel Cream Ale, aged in used apply brandy barrels from Laird & Company in North Garden Virginia. Nice. The beer is brewed with whole vanilla beans which gives it its creaminess as well as gentle 
sweetness. The seasonal Isle of MaGourdo is a "naturally conditioned pumpkin ale" that's right on - not overbearing - just subtle bits of pumpkin and spice. Just what we want for Thanksgiving. The specialty Southbound Brown was our first beer with a little more hops - 36 IBU. This is just enough malt to balance the roasted malt flavor. Another "roasty" flavor was the firkin delivered Roasted Cocoa Stout brewed with cocoa nibs - one of my favorites. My other favorites were the Category 3 IPA (Cat 3) – Florida Style IPA and the Cafe Ole Espresso Porter. The Cat 3 is a clean refreshing India Pale 
Ale with a little citrus lemongrass and well balanced between the 64 IPU and malt. Next time I will try the even stronger Cat 4 at 85 IPU. And the porter, wow - whereas I enjoy my espresso in the morning, I normally do not care for espresso or coffee flavored beverages. Except for this one - perhaps a replacement for the morning ritual. The espresso flavors blends tightly into the chocolate flavors delivering a most pleasant tasting experience. In other words, this is one awesome ale. Nice job Due South - can't wait to return. Cheers to local beer.
This week DrinkLocalWine officially announced the site for the 5th annual DrinkLocalWine Conference and the winner is a historic wine region as well as a rising player in the local wine industry: Maryland. I say historic, because Philip and Jocelyn Wagner, founder of Boordy Vineyards, were instrumental in the resuscitation of the East Coast wine industry by propagating French-American hybrids in their Maryland nursery. 
To learn more about this story we recommend Maryland Wine: A Full-Bodied History written by Regina McCarthy, former marketing coordinator for the Maryland Wineries Association. I mention rising wine industry because the Free State is currently home to over 50 wineries and cideries and about a dozen more in the pipeline. The state is also diverse in its topography from vineyards located in the sandy southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore to the rolling hills of the Catoctin & Linganore AVAs near Frederick, and the mountainous Cumberland Valley AVA to the extreme West. The conference takes place April 12-14th 2013 in Baltimore and count us in - get ready for some crab cakes and wine. Here is the official press release. And below that are three videos we filmed at Maryland wineries. Cheers.Nov. 19, 2012 - DrinkLocalWine will hold its fifth annual conference April 12-14, 2013 in Baltimore, focusing on Maryland wine. The state's industry is one of the fastest growing in the country, nearly doubling in size over the past two years with more than 60 wineries.
The state's four growing regions produce a variety of wines, including the classic European varietals, but also some that are distinctly New World in style. The Maryland Winery Association is the conference's primary sponsor.
“We're growing a world of wine styles and varieties throughout Maryland, and we're excited to share them through DrinkLocalWine,” says Kevin Atticks, executive director of the Maryland Wine Association.
DLW 2013 will include a Maryland Twitter Taste-off featuring two dozen of the state’s best wineries, plus three seminars featuring some of the top names in Maryland and regional wine.
Maryland's modern wine history dates to the 1970s, but grapes have been planted in the area since the 17th century. Most of the state's wineries are in the Piedmont Plateau in central Maryland, but grapes also thrive in the Eastern Shore, Southern Plain, and Western Mountains.
DLW 2013 follows the success of the first four conferences - the inaugural conference in Dallas featuring Texas wine in 2009, in Loudoun County featuring Virginia wine in 2010, in St. Louis featuring Missouri wine in 2011, and in Denver featuring Colorado wine in 2012. DLW also holds an annual Regional Wine Week in the fall, in which more than 40 wine bloggers, writers and columnists from the U.S. and Canada write about their favorite regional wines, ranging from Ontario to New York to Florida to Texas to Colorado.
DrinkLocalWine.com's goal is to spotlight wine made in the 47 states and Canada that aren't California, Washington, and Oregon. It's the brainchild of Washington Post wine columnist Dave McIntyre and wine blogger Jeff Siegel, The Wine Curmudgeon.
For information, call (469) 554-9463 or email drinklocalwine@gmail.com.
I started with the 2011 Viognier ($20), sourced from two Northern Virginia vineyards: Williams Gap and Maggie’s Vineyard. And I encourage readers to visit the Tarara website which provides excellent information about all the vineyards where they source fruit. This is a solid Viognier, more citrus and grassy than peach, with balanced acidity. Next was the 2011 Petit Manseng ($23), one of my latest favored varieties, and at first I was stumped? Where was the sugar. The wine had pineapple flavors and the typical great acidity - but no sweetness. Then I learned the secret. This is a 100% dry Petit Manseng - very very little residual sugar with the bonus that it retains the flavor depth of a semi-dry or dessert wine. Nicely done. The final white was the 2010 Charval ($20.00) - and interesting blend of Chardonnay 65%, Sauvignon Blanc 14%, Petit Manseng 12%,
Viognier 7% and Roussanne 2%. This is a crowd favorite; off-dry, easy drinking, fruity, and crisp acidity. What's not to like? 
Turning to reds, their 2010 Long-Bomb Edition Four ($20) completely makes up for my apathy to Edition Three. The wine is made from mostly Bordeaux grapes but resembles a Burgundian styled wine, strong dark cherry aroma and flavor with a slightly spicy finish - but complete silk in the mid-palette. The Pinot Noir dominates Bordeaux in this one. I was ready to run home with this one until I was told a secret - that is - given an opportunity to sample the 2010 #socialsecret. This is a limited edition wine marketed solely through social media. The wine is a blend of somewhat "secret" grape varieties: Tannat, Petite Verdot, and Pinotage that is silky smooth - with the profile and texture of a Rhône styled wine - and no smoke from the Pinotage. This is probably my favorite wine of Jordan's and I'm sure he and his staff had fun devising the final blend. The downside: $40 - on the very high end of our wine budget - but with the limited release I figured I could return another time for the LB4.
The final wine was the Late Harvest Petit Manseng, at 6% RS, more of the style of wine I had been expecting earlier. And with the grape's inherent acidity, this is a nice balanced wine between sugar and acids. 
DrinkLocalWine will hold its fifth annual Regional Wine Week from Nov. 12 to 16, where wine writers, bloggers and enthusiasts share information about wine from “The Other 47” states (excluding California, Washington and Oregon) -- providing a one-stop shop to see what’s cutting edge in regional wine.
The fourth annual regional wine week, held last year in October, was one of the most successful in the group’s history, linking to dozens of stories and blog posts about wine produced in more than half of the other 47 wine states.
This year’s bonus -– we’ll announce the site and date for our fifth annual DrinkLocalWine conference and give away two pairs of tickets in the process. Just check the website every day during wine week to find out how to win.
Our annual conference, which spotlights regional wine, was held in Denver in 2012, featuring the Colorado wine industry and its cool-climate varieties like Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Cabernet Franc. Previously, the conference has been held in Missouri, Virginia and Texas.
During wine week, writers from across the United States are asked to post stories to their blogs, Web sites, magazines, and newspapers about their favorite regional and local wines, wineries and events. Then, send us a link to the post, and our website will aggregate the stories, providing a snapshot of regional wine. Over the past four years, writers from across the country have covered dozens of states’ wine industries.
Regional Wine Week is open to anyone –- from professional wine writers to wine enthusiasts with Facebook pages or Tumblr sites. You can submit stories about anything related to wineries, winemakers and wines from the Other 47 states.
For information about Regional Wine Week or to submit a story link, call (469) 554-9463 or email us.
