In The Community — Flight School

I am very fortunate to live in a town where beach access is very easy for me; it makes sure I have no excuse to stop playing volleyball in the summer months when the schools are closed. I am also lucky to work at a great wine and spirits shop, where we put on some tremendous programs. Some are casual, but educational. Others are crash courses in one particular subject. However, some of my favorites are the crossover events we do to partner with the East Lyme community and surrounding areas.

Everything from casual blends to barrel-fermented Verdejo. All of Ochoa's and Blanco Nieva's wines are great value, with only one wine eclipsing the $20 mark.

For instance, our "Spirits 101" courses have wrapped up until fall, but we do get the privilege of welcoming two winemakers from Spain: Beatriz Ochoa of Bodegas Ochoa and Manuel Martue of Blanco Nieva. About two weeks ago, The Boss and I were able to taste through an excellent lineup of wines from these two producers; it was a no-brainer to feature them for a wine tasting on June 21st at 7:00pm in the Divine Wine Emporium's classroom.

Dan Stevens has been an acoustic blues artist for 25 years; he represented the state of Connecticut in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.

As for our community events, The Boss has great relationships with local area musicians. A great friend of the store, Dan Stevens has joined us for so many events. He has performed at our Beaujolais party in November each of the last several years, and he does a ton of work with young musicians at Nightingale's Cafe in Old Lyme. There, Dan gives the aspiring youths a stage to perform in a relaxed, supportive environment. Dan is coming to Divine Wine's deck on June 22nd to play for us while we sample wines from 90+ Cellars. A $10 suggested donation gets you in the door with all proceeds going to Dan's MusicNow Foundation. If you are in the area, please come and support Dan's efforts!

Additionally on July 1st, we are celebrating the 15th anniversary of the existence of the Divine Wine Emporium. Our distributor friends and I will be pouring wines from all over the world outside on the deck while local musician Chris Leigh performs. Plenty of snacks to enjoy while we sample wines from 2:00-5:00pm. It's how we are saying "thank you" to our loyal customers, but if you have never been here, I would say July 1st is a fine time to make your first visit!