How Hawks Nest Wine got to Tennessee

We are about to start our third year selling wine in Tennessee and so far I have not officially thanked the person who is most responsible for it all. (besides my wife and banker)

Mark Johnson (the dude leaning on the bar in the photo) used to write a wine column for the Nashville Paper that I often read. I emailed him out of the blue several years ago and he was very nice to meet with and answer my questions about wine importing from NZ and wine sale in general. Mark set up a tasting for me and I brought back from NZ some of Matakana Valley's reds sold by our neighbours there.
He then worked at Sunset Grill and immediately organized a tasting there and invited some key players in the wine business to come meet me, taste some NZ reds from Matakana Valley, and hear of my plans to possibly import Hawks Nest red wine to Tenn. That is where I first met the nice guys from Lipman Brothers. The "rest is history "as the saying goes.

SOOOOOOO,, Mark Johnson A BIG THANK YOU FROM SANDRA AND I FOR GETTING US STARTED. (now will you pay some of my bills?????)

Seriously, we do appreciate Mark's advice and help. All has come full circle in 4 years as Mark now runs the really cool wine shop called Vinea at 2410 12th Ave. South here in Nashville. He has some neat wines, loves to talk about wine, and runs a nice series of FREE wine tastings next door at the cheese store just behind Vinea called CORRIERI'S FROMAGGERIA. Mark will have Hawks Nest Orchard Block Red in stock for a really good price soon. So drop in and tell Mark, Kristen, and the rest of his staff that Dr Jim told you to stop by. (that is Kristen in the middle shot between the guys)

I am hosting my next tasting event there on Sat. afternoon Aug. 25th so plan to come. More on that soon. Meanwhile I am off back to the pool and my G and T.


DR JIm

Grandkids take priority

The one thing about this blog stuff is that no one can stop me from posting whatever I want. Sooooooo, since just now my mind is filled with thoughts of our two lovely grandchildren who live in Denver but just left us here in Nashville after two lovely weeks wearing Sandra and I completely out. Here they are in all their glory. Baylor is the cool one in shades and his big sister who is a charmer is Cadance.

The other shot? Well that actually is all about wine. The handsome guy with all the black hair is Jimmy Collins who is the publisher of The Nashville Wine Press. The NWP is a neat free publication available at all wine shops in the area. The quality of the publicaton is amazing for a give away journal. Do look for it if you live in Nashville. Jimmy was interviewing me for background on a story he is considering doing about Hawks Nest and for one of his pod casts.

He is a really nice guy even if he is from "up North" as we day in rural Tenn. More soon about the Nashville Wine Journal. Meanwhile HOT NEWS for Nashville Hawks Nest drinkers!!!!!!! You can now get our wine at shops for just $20 dollars. This is a good deal so take advantage of the nice lower price.


IF you liked it at $38 dollars a bottle--you will love it at $20 and remember.

"Life is too short to drink bad wine"


More Soon

DR JIM

Hawks Nest 06 vintage is on the way to Tennessee!!!!

HELLO WINE LOVERS!!!!

It has been a busy month here in Nashville as our grandchildren have been visiting and we have have been buys with entertaining the 1-4 age set. (also I guess I have been affected by the "lazy, hazy days of summer" her in Tennessee) There have been lots of visits to ice cream parlors, playgrounds, and the wading pool for Sandra and I but now we are recovering.

Finally I got to focus a little on Hawks Nest Wine business. When we came back to Nashville in mid June I brought two barrel sample blends for our 06 wine to share with our importers-Lipman Bros. here in Nashville. Yesterday I got to sample our newest Hawks Nest Orchard Block Red with Robert Lipman himself along with Jason McMurray, and Dave Bidelman and was hoping they would like our new offering and would be willing to again import for us into the states this year. As you can see from the shot of Jason and Dave above they gave our wine a thumbs up!!!! (note Dave's calculator on the table--those guys drive a hard bargain but know their wine and customers.) Clearly I was excited that our wine pleased them. SOOOO, come this Thanksgiving you can expect to see Hawks Nest 2006 Orchard Block Red on shelves and menus here in Nashville. The good news is that it is that our 06 is a really good vintage and the better news is that we are able to offer it retail in the low 20's price-wise so more people will be able to taste and share it this coming year. I know you will like it.

Meanwhile we have more good news. We have also been able to work with Lipmans to lower the price on our remaining 2005 vintage now in stores around Nashville. The wine was a good value in the mid 30's and now will be a SUPER DEAL at the now lower price around $20 a bottle. You better get down to you favorite store now to get some at this new price. The second photo is of Josh and Rick at The Wine Shoppe of Green Hills lined up to take you order now!!! I am going to sign a bunch of bottles for Ed and his gang at The Wine Shoppe so drop by to get some for a special gift.

Remember even in summer Tennessee weather or smooth red bled goes down really really well with a nice barbecue. It is a urban legend that only white wines are good to quaff in the hot summer time.. Break the mold and get some Hawks Nest Red for you next summer meal on the deck or by the pool--it goes good with hotdogs, trust me!!!!

More soon:

Dr Jim headed for the pool!!!!!