Importer Fran Kysela is coming to The Wine and Cheese Place

This Tuesday! -- Open House

Bring your friends

Meet wine importer - Fran Kysela

We are extremely excited to announce that one of wine world's finest palates, Fran Kysela, the founder of Kysela Père et Fils will be at The Wine and Cheese Place on Tuesday October 18 hosting a wine tasting.

We have been bringing in the wines of Fran Kysela for well over 10 years.    He was just nominated as a candidate for Importer of the Year by The Wine Enthusiast Magazine.  (Winner to be announced on Dec 15).

"Fran Kysela....began his career as the national sales manager for the import arm of Kermit Lynch's sprawling wine business. Subsequently, he worked briefly for another high quality importer, Weygandt-Metzler in Unionville, Pennsylvania. Inevitably, Kysela founded his own firm, dedicated to discovering high quality top estates in France and Italy. Kysela's offerings all tend to be extremely pure, ripe, fruity wines...in short, faithful reflections of their appellations....In a few short years Kysela has emerged as one of the finest palates and selectors of top wine, whether it be an inexpensive Muscadet or a top of the line Burgundy. " -- Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate

Became only the 12th United States Member of the Court of Master Sommelier in 1989.

Completed half of the Master of Wine Exam in the Spring of 1993 (completed the tasting half).

Wine Tasting Open House!

Meet Fran Kysela

Tuesday, October 18 from (5-7pm)

The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton

7435 Forsyth Blvd - 314.727.8788

We will taste many wines from his portfolio in an open house format.   Fran is one of the most interesting personalities in the wine business, you will want to meet him.

Here is what we are schedule to taste....

Vina Siegel Cabernet Sauvignon
Croix Senaillet St. Veran
Crucero Sauvignon Blanc
Vitas Pinot Grigio
Rubus Old Vine Zinfandel
Flonheimer Adelberg Silvaner
Royal Chenin Blanc
Royal Shiraz/ Cabernet
Tinel Blondelet Pouilly Fume Genetin
Segries Lirac
Segries Tavel
Jaume CDR Reserve 2009

CDP - limited releases....

Some limited and highly rated Chateauneuf du Papes....

2008 Clos St. Jean Chateauneuf du Pape Deus Ex Machina....$84.99
The 2008 Chateauneuf du Pape Deus-Ex Machina is the wine of the vintage. A dense purple color is accompanied by astonishing levels of concentration, and loads of garrigue, steak tartare, grilled beef, Provencal herbs, blackberries, blueberries and a touch of graphite. Full-bodied and rich with moderate tannins and a long finish, this is an aberration for a 2008. However, if it’s a freak, it’s an extraordinary one. Give it 2-3 years of bottle age and drink it over the following 25 years.
Rated 95/100 The Wine Advocate


2008 Clos St. Jean Chateauneuf du Pape La Combe des Fous...$84.99
Another shocker in the best sense is the 2008 Chateauneuf du Pape La Combe des Fous. As I wrote last year, this is one of the most complex and concentrated wines of the vintage. An extraordinary perfume of white chocolate, roasted Provencal herbs, lavender, licorice, black cherries and sweet black currants is followed by a broad, expansively flavored wine with a superb full-bodied texture, terrific purity and a 40+ second finish. In fact, the tannins are such that 1-2 years of bottle age may be beneficial. This 2008 should evolve for 15 years. It is almost impossible to believe that something like this could have been achieved in this vintage.
Rated 94/100 The Wine Advocate

A new release....Genesis

He'Brew Genesis 15:15....$10.99 / 22oz

"Genesis 15:15®:A bold and decadent 13.4% ABV Harvest Barleywine aged 9 months in Sazerac 6-Year Rye Whiskey Barrels, Genesis 15:15® is the 5th release in Shmaltz’s Limited-Edition Barrel Aged series. Genesis 15:15® incorporates fruit juices from the Sacred Species listed in the Torah: figs, dates, grapes, and pomegranates. Harkening back to HE’BREW’s® original Genesis Ale® - a beer brewed with pomegranates that were hand-squeezed in Shmaltz owner Jeremy Cowan’s San Francisco apartment - Genesis 15:15® symbolizes the evolution of Shmaltz Brewing Company from a humble, self-distributed start-up to one of the most creative and respected craft brewing companies in America. Genesis 15:15® was also inspired by Genesis 10:10®, a 10th anniversary, 10% ABV pomegranate strong ale whose popularity led to the subsequent commissioning of Origin®, a year-round Imperial Amber Pomegranate Ale." -- Beernews.org

A new Lagunitas for us...

Lagunitas Bavarian Styled Doppel Weizen...$4.49 / 22oz

A Brand-Spankin' New Beer Inspired by Rolec: The Builders of our New Brewing System. They Sent Us a Traditional Yeast Sent From Their Friends in Bavaria & We Way-Overfed It To Take It All Up A Bit!

ABV: 8.5%

Boulevard Gift Set

Available online


Great new gift pack from Boulevard in stock now at Forsyth...

Boulevard "Mixed Four"....$14.99 / box

Includes 12oz bottle each of

Smokestack Tank 7

Smokestack Double Wide IPA

Smokestack Dark Truth Stout

Smokestack Sixth Glass

Plus a Boulevard Tulip Glass

Fresh Chardonnay

One of our best selling Chardonnays is back in stock

2010 just arrived!

2010 Trois Freres Chardonnay....$13.99

Rich and fruity with a nice malolactic mouthfeel. This wine is basically "unoaked", but 8% of the wine sees used oak barrels. This just adds another dimension of complexity to the wine with out tasting any noticeable oak. This is just a beautiful wine that will surprise you with its minerality and freshness. This wine will go with a wide variety of food from seafood to chicken dishes.

Harlen Wheatley, Master Distiller

Harlen Wheatley, The Master Distiller of Buffalo Trace visited 

The Wine and Cheese Place today and signed a number of bottles.   

He is in charge of a number of great Bourbons you know and love...

He autographed bottles Buffalo Trace, Blantons, Wellers and Rock Hill Farms.

Plan your holiday presents now and pick up an autographed bottle of 

Bourbon from the Master Distiller.

We also tasted some barrel samples of Buffalo Trace and picked out our 3rd barrel of Buffalo Trace with him.   We just ordered our 3rd barrel of Buffalo Trace!

Estate Harvest Ale -- new lower price!!!

2011 version is here and the price went down from last year!!!!!

online also

Sierra Nevada ESTATE Harvest Wet Hopped Ale....$8.49 / 750/ml 

The Wine and Cheese Place Barrel Aged Beer Collaboration Series

As The Wine and Cheese Place gets ready to move into our 30th year as St. Louis' leading wine, beer, cheese and specialty shop, we are extremely excited and proud to announce a unique series of beers.......

• limited, one off beers
• wood-aged collaboration beers
• less than 25 cases made of each   

The Wine and Cheese Place 

Barrel Aged Beer Collaboration Series

October 13, 2011 - St. Louis, Missouri
The Wine and Cheese Place is proud to announce an original Collaboration Series of beers with local Missouri breweries.   The Collaboration Series started with our decision to start choosing and purchasing our own barrels of Bourbon for our store.  The first bourbon we chose was our own Single Barrel of Buffalo Trace Bourbon.  Buffalo Trace bottled our bourbon for us and allowed us to keep the empty barrel that it aged in for years.  Instead of cleaning and finishing the barrel for display as they usually do for retailers that buy a full barrel, Buffalo Trace agreed not to wash or rinse the barrel -- they just sealed it up and shipped it to us.  Why?  We had a great idea to take the barrel and give it to our friends at Schlafly to make a wood-aged beer using our bourbon barrel!!  As a result, we have a whole barrel of Bourbon and soon a whole barrel of beer aged in the same cask!

We were so excited about this idea that we have decided to do a series of collaborations with different breweries.  We already have the next three breweries on board for The Wine and Cheese Place Collaboration Series.  The second barrel of Bourbon we purchased was a Knob Creek 9 Year old which we delivered to one of St. Louis' newest breweries - Perennial Artisan Ales.   Perennial has already filled the barrel with their Heart of Gold Wheat Wine.  Collaboration #3 will be with another new St. Louis Brewery - Four Hands Brewing Company.   We will be delivering to Four Hands, an Elijah Craig 12 year old Bourbon Barrel at the end of October.   They plan on putting in the barrel a special Espresso Vanilla Stout.   Collaboration #4 will be in another Buffalo Trace Barrel with 2nd Shift Brewing.   2nd Shift is allowing you to vote for which beer you want them to age in the barrel (click here to vote).

Each of these releases (specific dates TBA) will produce about 18-22 cases of 750-ml bottles of beer.   Look for them at all four of The Wine and Cheese Place locations in the St. Louis area and online at www.wineandcheeseplace.com

Summary of The Wine and Cheese Place (TWCP) first four collaborations... 
#1 TWCP and Schlafly:  
Quadrupel aged in a Buffalo Trace Barrel 
(already in barrel since August 5, 2011)
click here to read more


#2 TWCP and Perennial Artisan Ales:  
Heart of Gold Wheat Wine aged in a Knob Creek Barrel
This will be Perennial's first barrel aged beer!
(already in barrel since October 6, 2011)
click here to read more


#3 TWCP and 4 Hands Brewing Co.:  
Russian Imperial Stout brewed with Goshen Espresso and Whole Vanilla Bean aged in an Elijah Craig Barrel 
This will be 4 Hands' first barrel aged beer!
(should be put in barrel in November)
click here to read more


#4 TWCP and 2nd Shift Brewing:  
You get to choose which beer which will age in a Buffalo Trace Barrel
This will be 2nd Shift's first barrel aged beer.
(waiting for the barrel to arrive, should be 6-8 weeks)
click here to vote on the beer

How do you find about the releases:

Watch our blog / facebook / twitter / or sign up for our emails to be notified of the release.

The Wine and Cheese Place Barrel Aged Beer Collaboration with Schlafly

The Wine and Cheese Place Barrel Aged Beer Collaboration #1

Read the full story of our barrel program - click here

The Wine and Cheese Place is extremely excited and proud to announce an amazing series of barrel aged collaboration beers with local Missouri breweries....

We have recently been selecting and purchasing our own barrels of Bourbon.   We taste through a number of barrel samples and then choose which barrel we like the best.   The Bourbon distillery then bottles the Bourbon for us with our own label and normally would clean and ship the barrel to us for display.  But, we thought, why waste this perfect vessel for display purposes, why not use it to age a delicious beer?  We asked the Bourbon distilleries if they would not wash, clean, or do anything to the barrel and just ship it to us as is -- they all said yes!   The Wine and Cheese Place Barrel Aged Collaboration Series was born.

The first in the series is with Schlafly -- St. Louis' original craft brewery....

The Wine and Cheese Place Collaboration #1 with Schlafly  
The St. Louis Brewery, Schlafly, paved the way for craft breweries in St. Louis.  Without Schlafly, the booming St. Louis Craft beer scene that we are currently experiencing would not be happening right now.   When this Collaboration Series first germinated, I approached Dan Kopman of Schlafly first because of everything they have done for us and for St. Louis beer scene.  Dan and Schlafly were on board and the wheels were in motion on the collaboration series.






The Life of Buffalo Trace Barrel No.15
Here is the barrel the day it arrived to The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton, MO on August 5, 2011.  We also got in 22 cases of Buffalo Trace Bourbon that were aged in this very barrel we hand picked after tasting through 5 barrels.   This is barrel  Lot 03 A 06 - Barrel #15. 
We will officially call it Barrel #15

Here is a picture of one of the bottles of Bourbon that came out of Barrel #15.

Barrel #15 only enjoyed the comforts of our Clayton store for a few hours (and a few photos) as I loaded it in my truck and delivered it directly to Schlafly's Tap Room downtown because we did not want the barrel to dry out at all.

 This is Barrel #15 in the cellars of Schlafly waiting to be filled...

 Schlafly's Brennan Greene removing the bung from the barrel

Brewmaster Stephen Hale and Brennan checking out the barrel before filling...

 Adding CO2 to the barrel to remove oxygen before filling....

That middle stainless steel tank is hooked up to the hose to fill Barrel #15 with Schlafly Quadrupel...

Both Stephen and Brennan watching the fill level of the barrel...

 Brewmaster Stephen checking Barrel #15...

Barrel #15 filling up with Schlafly Quadrupel

Brennan and myself watching Barrel #15 get filled, the aroma of Bourbon was amazing and intense as the Schlafly Quad was filling up the barrel...

Brennan watching it closely as it is getting full....

Barrel #15 is full of Schlafly Quad....

 We pulled the first glass to try...

 Hosing off the barrel to keep it moist and prevent cracking...

This is where the barrel will live in the aging room of Schlafly Tap Room for the next few months..

The formula for success....

Here is a look at the label that will hold this wonderful nectar...

Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Aged Quadrupel 

"A Schlafly beer for 

The Wine and Cheese Place"

Release Date:  Yet to be determined.   Schlafly Brewmaster, Stephen Hale, will taste it monthly to determine when it is ready for release.  He predicted anywhere between 3-6 months of barrel aging.  Currently it has been in barrel for about 2 and half months already!

Production:  Very limited production.  Depending on evaporation we should see 20-24 cases of 750ml bottles of beer.

Price: Yet to be determined ($11-$14 / 750ml)

Where to purchase:  The beer will be available at all 4 of The Wine and Cheese Place locations plus online at www.wineandcheeseplace.com

How do you find about the release:

Watch our blog / facebook / twitter / or sign up for our emails to be notified of the release.

Check out information on the next collaborations....

#2 TWCP and Perennial Artisan Ales:  
Heart of Gold Wheat Wine aged in a Knob Creek Barrel
This will be Perennial's first barrel aged beer!
(already in barrel since October 6, 2011)
click here to read more


#3 TWCP and 4 Hands Brewing Co.:  
Russian Imperial Stout brewed with Goshen Espresso and Whole Vanilla Bean aged in an Elijah Craig Barrel 
This will be 4 Hands' first barrel aged beer!
(should be put in barrel in November)
click here to read more


#4 TWCP and 2nd Shift Brewing:  
You get to choose which beer which will age in a Buffalo Trace Barrel
This will be 2nd Shift's first barrel aged beer.
(waiting for the barrel to arrive, should be 6-8 weeks)
click here to vote on the beer 

more to come in the future....

The Wine and Cheese Place stocks over 1,000 different beers and 

also has many of them available online for shipping

The Wine and Cheese Place Barrel Aged Beer Collaboration with Perennial Artisan Ales

The Wine and Cheese Place Barrel Aged Beer Collaboration #2
Read the full story of our barrel program - click here

Phil and Emily Wymore of Perennial Artisan Ales agreed to be our second collaborators.   St. Louis' newest brewery, Perennial, is getting ready for their official grand opening this Saturday (Oct 15).  The barrel is obviously in great hands.   Phil, before moving back to St. Louis, was most recently the head brewer for Half Acre in Chicago.   He obviously knows barrels also, after brewing at Goose Island, he became the manager of their barrel-aging program.

For our second collaboration, Perennial Artisan Ales has decided to put their Heart of Gold Wheat Wine Style Ale in our Knob Creek 9 Year Old Bourbon Single Barrel.  After tasting barrel samples of Knob Creek Bourbon, we chose barrel #66 as our favorite.

Above is the label for Perennial's Heart of Gold Wheat Wine Style Ale that is now aging in our Knob Creek Barrel. 

"Heart of Gold is a 10% wheat wine with a deep caramel color. It is very much an American-style, coming in around 70 IBUs. It has a rich caramel malt finish, and the bitterness stands up nicely to the residual sweetness that is typical of higher alcohol beers."

The Life of Knob Creek Barrel No.66

After tasting through our Knob Creek barrel samples, we chose Barrel No.66.   Old Barrel No.66 was chosen by us and our customers for its exceptional quality.   Knob Creek bottled it for us and now this great Bourbon is available for sale at our store. After evaporation, the barrel only yielded 174 bottles of this fine Bourbon.   Now it will start its second life as a vessel to age some delicious Perennial beer.

Delivering Knob Creek Barrel #66 to Perennial Artisan Ales

Unwrapped and ready to be filled

Official barrel number...

Head brewer, Phil Wymore, getting the barrel ready to be filled

Here we go....

Heart of Gold Wheat Wine filling up Barrel No.66

Looks full now

Marking the fill date....

And now we wait.   The barrel was filled on October 6, 2011.   Phil plans on leaving it in barrel for at least 6 months.  After 3 months it will be tasted monthly to see how it is aging.    So be patient as we will not see this beer until Spring of 2012 at all four of The Wine and Cheese Place locations and online.

How do you find about the release:

Watch our blog / facebook / twitter / or sign up for our emails to be notified of the release.

While you wait....

Starting this Friday October 14, you can enjoy two of Perennial's Ales.   We have our first shipment of Hommel Bier and Strawberry Rhubarb Tart arriving at our stores- click here to read more

Also Perennial's Grand Opening at the brewery is this Saturday -- click here for more details (I hope to see you there, I cannot wait)




Summary of The Wine and Cheese Place (TWCP) first four collaborations... 
#1 TWCP and Schlafly:  
Quadrupel aged in a Buffalo Trace Barrel 
(already in barrel since August 5, 2011)
click here to read more


#2 TWCP and Perennial Artisan Ales:  
Heart of Gold Wheat Wine aged in a Knob Creek Barrel
This will be Perennial's first barrel aged beer!
(already in barrel since October 6, 2011)
click here to read more


#3 TWCP and 4 Hands Brewing Co.:  
Russian Imperial Stout brewed with Goshen Espresso and Whole Vanilla Bean aged in an Elijah Craig Barrel 
This will be 4 Hands' first barrel aged beer!
(should be put in barrel in November)
click here to read more


#4 TWCP and 2nd Shift Brewing:  
You get to choose which beer which will age in a Buffalo Trace Barrel
This will be 2nd Shift's first barrel aged beer.
(waiting for the barrel to arrive, should be 6-8 weeks)
click here to vote on the beer