Warm weather has arrived and it’s time—even for us devout red wine lovers—to look in different directions for great summertime wines, and also to see just how sharp your local wine merchant is. Go into the shop and tell him or her that you want a pétillant wine made from Loureiro, Arinto, Trajadura, Avesso, Azal, or Alvarinho grapes. If you get the correct answer, you can reassure yourself he knows what he is doing, and you’ll also have a fun, refreshing wine—Vinho Verde.

Vinho Verde is from the Minho region in the far northwestern part of Portugal. It can be red, rosé, or white, although most are white. The name literally means “green wine” but translates as “young wine,” and is meant to be drunk young, preferably within a year of bottling. So if you find a 1999 Vinho Verde tucked away in a forgotten corner somewhere, it’s more like finding a 1999 Bud Light than a white Burgundy....

Rosé wines are made from red grapes. The grape skins have very limited contact with the juice which gives the wines a pink color. The shorter the contact, the lighter the color. While Rosé can be sweet, off dry, or bone dry, today I'm talking about the beautiful decidedly dry type.  The flavors of Rosé wines tend to be subtle versions of their red varietal counterparts—strawberry, cherry, watermelon, citrus, and raspberry.

Women are making their mark in all walks of life, including the wine industry. While America has its Helen Turley, nowhere are women making a greater impact on winemaking than in Italy, where three women are rapidly joining the ranks of the truly elite.

This week we are highlighting one of our newest editions to Organic Alley, Thatcher's Organic Artisan Liqueurs. Thatcher's Organics founder Dave, stopped by Liquor Mart last week to do an employee tasting with our staff and a mini interview. We are very impressed with Thatcher's new line of artisan liqueurs and are very excited to share them with you. In this post you will get to read a mini interview with Dave, the founder and master distiller of Thatcher's, and I will showcase a couple of my personal favorites from his new line of liqueurs.

Interview with Dave, master distiller and founder of Thatcher's Organic Artisan Liqueurs:

1. Where did the idea to create Thatcher's Organics come from?

Dave- First, I wanted to do something which has never been done before, second, I believe and others support that the best fruits, veggies, and botanicals come from organic farms. Third, too many liqueurs have a lot of sugar or use the lab to create their liquids. I start with the bounty of the harvest and craft my liqueurs from there.

2. Where do your ingredients come from?

Dave- All over the world. Italy, France, California, Washington, Maine, Michigan, Brazil, Kentucky, Canada, Central America, and a host of others. It is pretty fun on the sourcing side as we have some great people who are dedicated organic.

3. Do you use sustainable practices?

Dave- Yes, we have non-bleached boxes, very lightweight glass to reduce shipping costs, and waste nothing at it is recycled at the distillery.

4. When was Thatcher's Organics created?

Dave- I started it in March 2008 and took the first 13 months to figure out how to source then craft the liqueurs. I launched April 2009 and have been growing pretty fast ever since. It has been a pretty wild ride.

5. Does Thatcher's give to any charities or environmental organizations?

Dave- Yes and I am thrilled to be a part of 1% for the Planet with other like minded companies such as Fat Tire and Patagonia. We donate 1% of our revenue to great causes. I love it!

6. We love the design of the bottles, what was the idea behind the concept?

Dave- I believe in simple yet purposeful design, clean lines, show the fruit/veggie/botanical and describe what you can make with it on the front label. People want to know what they should do with a Cucumber liqueur and to have us say great in a martini just makes it easier for everybody.

7. What can people look forward to when tasting Thatcher's artisan organic liqueurs?

Dave- In all my expressions you will get great aromatics, forward flavor and a very clean finish. By only using USDA certified organic ingredients you will enjoy a great cocktail at nature intended. We like to say "We make one Mother nature of a cocktail."

                                 CORK      VS.    SCREWCAP (Stelvin Closure)