I know Teresa Gubbins has written about this sangria already, but I can’t help sharing anyway.

Fort Worth native Britt West, Co-Founder of Eppa Wine Company, dropped by the office yesterday to give us a little tasting of his product. What he poured into our wine glasses was a surprisingly refreshing sangria blended from pomegranate, blood orange, blueberry and acai juices that goes well with ice.

Usually, I’m not a huge fan of press releases that endorse a drink “that has it all” since I can’t imagine anything that has it all, but Eppa sangria comes pretty darn close. It has an alcohol content of 8.5%, and the liquid feels light when you roll it around on your tongue. Blended in Mendocino County where the company buys its grapes, this sangria makes a terrific housewarming gift. It’s something you’d bring to a party to pair with hor d’oeuvres and cheese, and the best part is that it costs less than $12 per bottle.

Eppa sangria officially launched in September 2011, but it will soon be offered in over 80% of Whole Foods stores around the country. “It’s only been in Texas since mid-March. They’ve sold out completely out of the state twice, and I’ve had to re-order. It’s been great, though. Whole Foods is kind of a natural fit for everything we’re doing,” says West.

Expect Eppa to become a household name soon. “On our Facebook page, we get people writing in saying they had a massive cheer at a party, and everyone yelled ‘Eppa!’” West proudly told us.

As for me, I am now hoarding a complimentary bottle of Eppa in my desk right now, waiting impatiently for a special occasion to break the top open. Anyone with a taste for sangria is welcome to swing on by.

Good wines gone bad.

Forgive me Master Sommeliers and wine collectors around the world, I have sinned. I am here to confess my deepest darkest wine secret: I improperly stored four bottles of fabulous wine. For nearly 35 years.

Look at the photos and weep with (for?) me. I recently uncovered these bottles in a box buried beneath a pile of old Christmas decorations in my garage. Yes, my garage, where it sat for close to 35 summers, winters, springs, and falls. I am a human species of Phylloxera.

I could have pulled another Billionaire’s Vinegar and called Sotheby’s and claimed the wine was given to me by Richard Nixon and I’ve kept it hidden in a bricked-up Paris cellar. Instead I’m posting pictures of my crime. Perhaps there are others who have committed the same dirty deed.

Full confession below.

Yes, $19.79 before my employee discount.

Self portrait.

I used to collect wine, especially French wine. Specifically those of Bordeaux. I worked at a wine bar in Dallas called La Cave and spent my off time learning about French wine. My former boss, François Chandou, still runs La Cave Warehouse.  He is my witness. I bought hundreds of bottles of French Bordeaux. I wore a laminated vintage chart around my neck and scoured wine shops and wine lists looking for the best.

Eventually, I drank it all. Well, except for these four bottles. Is there anything I can do? Do I even attempt to drink them? (Does anyone want to buy them?)

I would like to take this moment to apologize to Bacchus, Dionysos, the early colonists of Southern Gaul, the concept of terroir, Baron Philippe de Rothschild (and subsequent Barons), James Tidwell, and Drew Hendricks. My deepest regrets to the chateaus: Latour, Mouton-Rothchild, Margaux (oh, sweet Margaux), Haut-Brion, Petrus, Pomerol, St. Emilion, and d’Yquem. Sorrows to you dear Cabernet Savignon, Merlot, and Cab Franc grapes. You gave your lives only to sit in a bottle in a box underneath a pile of old Christmas decorations in my garage. I am unworthy of your grace.

There is about a half inch of sediment in the neck of this bottle.

Sorry lion-guarded fortresses of France.

This wine was my first true love. We sold it for $4 a glass at La Cave. At one point I owned two cases.

Heinous. Painful. Wrong.

Inspired by the first two episodes of Ken Burn’s Prohibition on KERA, Amy Severson and I did a little digging into some of the details of what was going on in Dallas before, during, and after prohibition. The third, and final, episode is tonight at 9PM. It’s been a fascinating documentary. Today, we scratch the surface of prohibition in Dallas.

Dripping Dry Dallas. That was the name earned by our city after the repeal of prohibition in 1933.

If you’ve watched the first two episodes of Ken Burn’s historical presentation, Prohibition, our country’s brief love affair with forced sobriety, you already know the national temperance movement came about as a reaction to the despair brought on families affected by alcoholism.

Jump.

Prior to the national ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages, Dallas already had a strong, well-organized faction fighting to keep Dallas dry. Texas, like Kansas and Maine, joined the movement to ban alcohol way before the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the passing of Volstead Act passed in 1919. In 1897, The Texas Anti-Saloon League, was headquartered in Dallas. Even though it was a provisional committee, it didn’t stop the league from organizing anti-booze rallies until they were officially charted by the national office in 1907. The Texas Anti-Saloon League then paired with the Dallas Central chapter of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, the Dallas Pastors’ Association, and reached out to African American citizens for their vote. The battle cry– “The Saloon Must Go”—was plastered on banners and posters all over the city.

Cry as they might, there were over 300 saloons in Dallas, approximately 1 for every 100 people. In a Dallas Morning News story printed on September 12, 1926, Historian William S. Adair quoted local resident George Cretien’s observations of the city: “Dallas was as quiet, law-abiding a community, as could be desired, until outsiders began to pour in in anticipation of the railroads, which were heading this way. Then, it began to fill up with saloons, gamblers and dance halls, wild men and wilder women.”

Saloons were plentiful and local alcohol manufacturers controlled the distribution, sometimes using nefarious techniques to specialize their particular drink over others. In order to gain competitive advantage, saloons would “enhance” barrels of whiskey with more potent products (tobacco, laudanum) to ensure a “regular” stream of business.

While the success of the Texas Anti-Saloon League endeavors varied county-by-county, there is little doubt about their strength in Dallas. They called for a local option election and Dallas County was completely dry in 1917, two years before the national ban. Even though Dallas Mayor Joe E. Lawther opposed the measure, the “Drys” brilliantly tied the issue to World War I, urging its passage as a moral stance on the war. The vote passed and Dallas remained dry until the passage of the 21st amendment in 1933. Locals rejoiced and thought it would be easier to get a drink in Dallas. But the new Mayor, George W. Sergeant, Sr., was also deacon of the Presbyterian Church and an Anti-Saloon League board member. So the behind-the-scenes drinking continued.

The final episode of Prohibition is on KERA, channel 13, tonight at 9PM. You can catch re-runs of the first two starting at 7PM. Or you can watch them online.

“What came next?” You might wonder? Well watch Part III on KERA tonight and drink it all in.

Grass does not grow beneath Teresa Gubbins' shoes.

Leave it to Teresa “Gumshoe” Gubbins to find a snitch in Trader Joe’s camp. Since the grocery chain announced they were planning locations in Dallas last May, they have been quite secretive about their locations. According to TG, you can rule out the former location on Greenville Ave. Her Deep Throat coughs up three possible locations: Walnut Hill and Central, Knox Ave., and Fort Worth. All of the details are here.

There was a time when Trader Joe’s was cool and funky and carried stuff you couldn’t find elsewhere, but I think the company is now running on a tired image. In the 70s,  Two Buck Chuck played a significant role in nursing wine drinkers off the Spanada bottle but the last TBC I sampled burned the enamel off my teeth. So, Trader Joe’s? Yes or no? Why?

The Brad was first in line.

It’s a bummer to learn many restaurants can’t afford to pick up the wine they’ve ordered after it arrives at Sigel’s in Addison. In many cases (HAH!) a restaurant may not pick up the order because they’ve  changed their list or their wine-by-the glass selections. No matter the reason, Sigel’s has a huge inventory they need to clear before the next order of wine which will potentially not get picked up is on the way. It’s time for winos to rejoice. Starting today over 300 wines marked down. Complete list below. Go to 15003 Inwood Rd. No phone sales.

Super Savers!