Greetings Corkage Fans,
We welcome a very special pair of guests to Corkage next Tuesday, May 15 from 7 - 9 pm.  Two sake breweries will be on hand pouring and telling us about their marvelous brews -

– SUIGEI  from Kochi prefecture (web)
*Suigei Tokubetsu Junmai
*Suigei Gin no Sae
*Suigei Gin Rei Junmai Ginjo
Brewers of the famous, dry “Drunken Whale” tokubetsu junmai, a Corkage favorite!

– AMABUKI  from Saga prefecture (web)
*Amabuki Gin no Kurenai
*Amabuki Dai Gin Jo
*Amabuki Yamahai
Incredible brewers of “flower-yeast” sake, look forward to trying the “pink nadeshiko”

There is an $8 Tasting fee per person, refundable with a bottle purchase.
Please reply or RSVP via  e-mail to Todd to secure your spot!

Map to Corkage - 1302 Fulton St., San Francisco CA 941117

Greetings Corkage Fans!

Have you stopped in to Corkage lately?  Lots of exciting changes are popping up at your favorite friendly neighborhood sake and wine shop. We’ve taken down the wall between Corkage and Cafe Abir and expanded the bar seating to accommodate more of you.  Yes, hopefully we haven’t lost any of our personal touch but are now able to offer more sakes, more wines, and more beers to more folks!

Happy Hour with JAC Wines - Thursday April 26, 6 - 8

If you’re one of those people that needs a special occasion in order to be lured out, this Thursday night we have the perfect excuse for you.  Come to Corkage for a very special happy hour tasting with our good friend Alex Casella from JAC Wines.  Alex is winemaker and Vice President of Sales at JAC Wines, and is a Certified Sommelier.

He will be pouring the following wines from JAC this Thursday, April 26 from 6 - 8 pm.  Please come in to meet Alex and try his wines.  $8 tasting fee can be waived with a bottle purchase.

• JAC ONE, Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley (Bien Nacido, Block 1) 2010. (Draft)
• JAC ONE, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 2008
• JAC ONE, Cabernet Sauvignon, Knights Valley, 2009. (Draft)  *All from Vineyards coming from above Peter Michael Winery in Knights Valley AVA.

Spring Sakes, and Meet the Sake Brewers Event May 15

Spring has sprung here in the NoPa district of SF, the cherry blossoms are blooming and it’s time for ohanami (cherry blossom viewing) and namazake!  We have Koshinohomare Shiboritate from Niigata, Harushika “Spring Deer” Shiboribana from Nara, Masumi Arabashiri (free run sake) from Nagano, brewers of award-winning junmai daiginjo sakes Sanka and Yumedono, and a very limited amount of Seikyo Omachi Namazake from Hiroshima.  Amazing stuff, these are fresh, unpasteurized sakes that are full of zip and zing.  Taste them at Corkage in our sampler, and take home your favorite and enjoy ohanami season!

*** SAVE THE DATE for the next Meet the Sake Brewers event at Corkage - Tuesday May 15, representatives from Suigei and Amabuki breweries will be on hand at Corkage to pour their delicious and distinctive sakes.  More details will follow, but I promise you won’t want to miss this event!

Wine New Arrivals and Specials

Along with our recent renovations and reconfigurations, we’ve added some very special wines and sakes which are sure to please you.  On our wine tap system, we have two new white wines, Zocker Grüner Veltliner from Edna Valley California, crisp, light and refreshing, and Gotham Project Riesling from Washington, lush with hints of apricot and a kiss of residual sugar.  One new red wine on tap, the newly released Frog’s Leap Zinfandel, a true Napa Valley pioneer of organic, dry-farmed wines.  This is a nicely balanced zin with loads of bright fruit, not heavy or overblown, just a well balanced, mouth-watering red.  If you’re into natural wines that just taste great, you have to try it!

Also new to Corkage are several great, value-driven wines from Rhône and Alsace  - Andrieux et Fils Cotes du Rhone Villages from old vines, and Domaine de la Verde Vacqueyeras - both are sub-$20 wines which exhibit loads of spicy fruit.  From Alsace is a biodynamic producer Martin Schaetzel Pinot Blanc whose wine is a racy blend of lemon and white blossoms, and a terrific match for the sashimi next door at Tsunami or your favorite asian cuisine.  If you’ve tried the very popular Spanish red Mencia from Bierzo, Pazo de Arribi, and are curious if Mencia has another dimension, you should taste the incredibly deep and delicious Finca Millara from Ribeira Sacra - 100% Mencia from a DO region in Galicia with almost inaccessible steep canyons on reclaimed red slate terraces.

Hope to see you at Corkage again soon.

Kanpai,

Todd, Yoshi, Remi and Charlie

If you are a bargain hunter as we are, visit us during Happy Hour times!

• Nihon Whisky Lounge 5:30-7pm daily
• Tsunami Panhandle 5:30-7pm daily
• Tsunami Mission Bay 5:30-7pm Mon-Fri, 6-7pm Sat
• Bar 821 5-7pm daily

Bar 821 is happy to present the art of Alex Baumgartner from July 9th to end of August 2011.

We look forward to see you on our opening night on July 9th.

Alex Baumgartner is a local painter that grew up in Oakland, CA. Alex focuses on portraiture and the human figure while playing up color themes and exploring the relationship of complementing and contrasting colors within his paintings. Alex mainly uses oil and acrylic paint on canvas and various sheets/slates, however he has recently began using water color on sheet paper to develop new ways to use color within his paintings. Alex is showing several oil and acrylic paintings and two triptych sets of watercolor paintings.

For more information see his face book profile:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=809667207

Starting April 9th we are honored to showcase Erena Shimoda’s stunning underwater photographs.

Meet the artist on opening night April 9th as well as on Artwalk Day April 14th.

For more information about the beautiful underwater world of  Erena Shimoda visit her webpage: www.erenashimoda.com.

We are shocked & saddened by the immense destruction of the earthquake & Tsunami which has devastated large areas of Japan. Many of us have family and loved ones who are affected by these events. We will donate 10% of Japanese sake bottle sales at Tsunami Panhandle & Mission Bay as well as Japanese Whisky bottle sales at Nihon towards the relief efforts (for details see below).

Tsunami Panhandle
Buy a bottle of sake of any size, from the Tsunami bottle menu & we are donating 10% of the sales price

Tsunami Mission Bay
Buy a bottle of sake of any size, from the Tsunami bottle menu & we are donating 10% of the sales price

Nihon Whisky Lounge
Buy a bottle of Japanese Whisky for storage & we donate 10% of the sales price.

Hello Friends

Yoshi will donate all the tip he makes Wednesday March 23rd to the relief efforts in Japan. Drop by have a glass of sake or wine and tip generously!

As some of them might already know, The Sake Class has moved to Monday 6pm.
Otherwise, everything remains the same.
Every Monday from 6 - 7pm
$35/person
Includes 5 sakes for sampling, 20% off any bottle purchases made that night.
To attend RSVP with Yoshi: yoshi.corkage@gmail.com

Check out this article featuring our Monday Sake class on SF Weekly

Kanpai!

One Hour Sake Class & Tasting, every Monday from 6-7pm; learn everything there is to know about sake from our Sake Sommelier Yoshi.  $35 per person including 20% off on any bottle purchases made that night.

To attend RSVP with Yoshi: yoshi.corkage@gmail.com

Special: Buy 12 bottles or more mix & match (sake, wine, champagne etc) and receive 10% off total bottle purchase.

Sake & Wine Clubs, join our new clubs and receive great deals on rare sakes and wines.  To join inquire at the store.

Corkage wants to celebrate the season with you by offering these two package deals at a great value. But hurry, quantities are limited, so they won’t last long!

Sexy Six $60
1 Sparkling, 2 White & 3 Red Wines

Dirty Dozen $120
2 Sparkling, 1 Rose, 4 White, 4 Red & 1 Desert Wine

Wine Packs 2010

(click on name for details or visit us at Corkage)

Bar 821 is proud to present Manuel Guerzoni from December 1st to February 1st 2011 with his “San Franciscana” Collection, presenting a series of photographs collected in various neighborhoods areas of San Francisco. Viewers will travel on a journey of San Francisco flavored Americana. This collection celebrates unique, recent historical attributes of San Francisco through the eyes and camera lens of the artist. The Opening event, hosted by Bar 821 takes place on Thursday December 2nd, 7-9pm.

Manuel Guerzoni’s photography portfolio can be seen at: www.manuelguerzoni.com