What’s New:   Look for The Black Sheep Wine Shop on Facebook, become a " Fan "  for up to the minute sales, events and wine reviews,   www.facebook.com     June , July and August, 2010 Our JuneWine tasting at our store, 105 Mountain Rd, in Harpswell, will be on  Saturday, June 26 with our friend,  Nikaline from SOPO Wine Co., from 2 to 6 pm. Come when you like and stay as long as you like!     Summer is  our busiest time, but we are continually introducing new wines  and beers to our shelves. We have a new distributor , too, so even more great wine is available as well as some excellent allocated wines!!   Stop by to see our latest arrivals in our wood bins or to enquire about your favorite hard to find wine.   We have wines from all over the world as well as a great selection of Maine wines and beers.         Buy Local, it makes a difference. When you shop locally ,at locally owned stores, unlike chain stores, you are keeping your dollars circulating in your community and strengthening your own community.

NEW ARRIVALS     Unlike the chain stores we have relationships with suppliers of limited production wines ; we enjoy discovering " hidden gems"  to share with you. We always have a few new tasty arrivals on hand.   Spring and Fall are our scouting seasons, and we'll be attending all the industry wine tastings, carefully selecting the wines we like, and pouring those in our upcoming tastings.  We will let you know what we find and what will be added to our inventory. Outstanding New Beers: The refreshing “ Spring Peeper” from the Portland Brewery,( Maine ), a slightly hoppy,( pun intended) American Ale. They use 100% American hops,( which I think is unusual); it has a very mild citrus fruit flavor with faint clove/ nutmeg . “Samichlous Helles” from Austria,( it’s an undeniable rich and delicious lager with flavors of honey, malt and a hint of anise on the finish ).  and the stellar  “Fraoch 20th Anniversary” from Scotland, one of John’s all time favorite beers ( this one is very limited, it has moderate malt, caramel- coffee- spices.

Artisan Foods    We have a limited supply of artisan chocolates available weekly, made fresh from the best ingredients, and oh!! are they delicious!    Caramels and truffles, the real deal, so creamy and delicately flavored with liquors and infusions.    They are the perfect present  for someone special, or indulge yourself, too.   We carry organic Maple- blueberry syrup, apple butter and blueberry butter!! Not only are these delicious by themselves but they are fun to cook with; add a little to your next BBQ sauce, yummy!

Sales    Each year, during the spring and fall we offer our end of season specials.      New vintages replace the old ones and sometimes new wine labels replace lesser wines on our limited shelf space. We pass the savings on to you - incredible values at no risk.      We offer handpicked wines on sale weekly, look in our wooden cases for bargains .      These are great bargains that also deliver on taste! When they're gone, they're gone , so check it out now,while the supply lasts.

Read our monthly wine column in the Cryer.

You can sample some of our favorite new wines  when we resume our free "5 at 5 classes" in the "Off season- the Winter and Spring: here is what we offered last year. We hope to see you at one of these events in the future:        Beginning Friday, February 19th ,  through  March 26th , every Friday from 5 to 7:30 pm, we’ll  be hosting a series of free informal wine appreciation tastings, ” 5 wines at 5 o’clock” at Cook’s Lobster House on Bailey Island, just  minutes from Brunswick.   Taste wines, have fun, learn a little more about wine in a friendly setting.   The Weekly Themes: How to read a wine label ( Read the label, Mabel!)   Feb. 19th.  The People's Choice ( Which wines are the most popular?)   Feb. 26. Unusual varietals ( Where have you been all my life?)   Mar. 5. Passport, Please ( Exploring the world of wines: Italian Wines) Mar. 12. Freestyle ( Celebrating the rebellious and the irreverent with modern wines)     Mar. 19. MythBusters ( What wine is Elvis drinking? )     Mar.26.   We hope you can join us! You may want to stay for dinner because Cook’s is also offering Friday night dinner specials of 2 dinners for $22.00!           Saturday, Feb. 20th at the Black Sheep from 2 to 6 , we’ll be pouring our hearts out , no we won’t! In the spirit of Valentine’s month , we intend to continue the celebration ! We’ll be pouring some of the new wines we love from SOPO Wine Co. with our good friend Zack Powell. It's free, we hope to see you!