ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Food retailers are helping partygoers ring in 2014 with festive brews and bubblies.
Inventive beers like Ama Bruna, which is refermented in the bottle with brown candy sugar to create subtle flavors of toffee, chocolate, pear and cinnamon, is being touted at Wegmans Food Markets here alongside Sam Adams Merry Maker, a gingerbread stout brewed from dark roasted malts and spiced with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and ginger.
More traditional New Year’s toasts are promoted at H-E-B’s Central Market where Baron Fuente Brut Champagne is heavily discounted at $29.95.
“Our buyer was able to secure exclusivity on this beautiful, true champagne, last year,” explained Andy Christiansen, wine and beer manager at Central Market’s Westgate location, in a More, Please! blog post. “It is from a family owned producer and has a critical rating as high or higher than almost any big name label you can think of but offered at a much better price.”
Dorothy Lane Market, meanwhile, is gearing up for its annual champagne tasting which also features sparkling wines from around the world and complementary appetizers.
Participants must purchase bubbly bucks in $10 increments in order to take part. Each card features 10 “bubbles," which are punched in exchange for tastes which range from three to 15 bubbles each. Sampled bubbly costs between $20 to $200 or more per bottle. Additional bubbly bucks can be purchased at the tasting.
