New Wine Packs a Punch!

admin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:54:54 +0000

New wine at Chip's!

When you’ve got a big, rare rib eye or a killer cheeseburger on your plate, do you really want a nice little fruity white wine or a delicate pink number in your glass? We didn’t think so. Sometimes the situation just calls for BIG, rich, mouthful of flavor, and that’s when you need a Champion in your glass!bNow don’t worry, this Cabernet Sauvignon isn’t just another big bruiser. The blackberry and currant aromas are swift and lingering (I know, we’re drifting into wine speak here, but we’re going to fight our way out of this corner). The rich fruit flavors don’t feint or dodge-they’re straight ahead and swarming. And like the best heavyweights, the flavors come at you in combinations and by the time you figure one out, you get hit with another. So just take a couple of sips and then goyour corner and catch your breath….Premium, oak aged Cabernet Sauvignon blended with Petite Sirah and Barbera. Three Collector’s Labels are available for each vintage. $10.99

Italian Wines!

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:07:09 +0000

Everyone who knows Phil and I know that we absolutely LOVED Italy when we visited a couple of years ago. The people, the culture, and of course the wonderful group of friends that we traveled with, made the trip a trip of a lifetime. I had earned the trip as an incentive trip with the previous wine company that I worked for and we visited some of the most amazing vineyards and met some of the most amazing people.

So for the second year, one of our distributors brought to us to taste some fabulous wines from Small Vineyards Importers. Small Vineyards is a company that finds some of the smallest vineyards in Italy and imports their wines to the U.S. So it is a real treat to get to taste them each year. We had some of our favorites last year and ordered plenty. Most of it is sold out, although we do have a few bottles left of the Tre Donne D'Arc, a red blend of Barbera, Pinot Noir, Dolcetto and Freisa. The story behind this vineyard is even more amazing!

As much as Alessandro Lequio loved his daughters, there was no way he was going to hand over the family vineyard to women. (According to his wife, Donna Bruna, Alessandro actually cried for half an hour when their third and final child, Daniela, was born!) Four generations of fathers had handed the estate down to their sons, and even though he handn’t had a boy, Alessandro would be damned if the family business was going to be run by the fairer sex.

“Marry a good winemaker,” he would tell them. Just as stubborn as their father, the sisters all staunchly refuted this notion, and assured him that he would be handing the estate over to them one day… In the end (and presumably tired of arguing), everyone agreed to a “do-or-die” wager, and literally bet the ranch: Deciding he could trick them into failure, Alessandro agreed to give the gals everything if they could pass three years of his rigorous tests, culminating in a single vintage of wine which he, himself would judge.

The Sisters never gave up… and moreover, they actually won more awards in their first year of production than Alessandro had in his entire career! True to his word, their papa changed his tune and turned the estate over to his daughters. He was so deeply impressed, he even allowed them to change the name to ‘Tre Donne’ – which means “three women.”

Blend of Barbera, Pinot Noir, Freisa & Dolcetto. Silky layers of blackberries and sandalwood with wild strawberry flavours and rose petal aromas.

Grab some of the 2008 that we still have left before it is all gone!!!! And if you like sweeter wines, you may already be a fan of their "La Perlina" Moscato! Give that one a try as well! Till next time…drink great wine…

Taste of the Beach March 2012

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:27:34 +0000

Outer Banks Taste of the Beach 2012

March 15-18th

*all events will be held at our Kill Devil Hills store

We will be hosting several events this weekend and hope you will join us!
More information and tickets can be purchased through
http://www.obxtasteofthebeach.com/home.htm

“Red, White & Brew” Wine and Beer Class

$25 Friday, March 16th 5:30-7:30pm

Wine or Beer? Why pick just one. In this exciting class presented by Chip’s and Outer Banks Wine University you will enjoy a selection of red and white wines along with a selection of craft beers!

Join us for this fun and educational class! We'll try 4 different wines, walking through each of the 4 tasting steps, learning about and evaluating each of the wines. You will learn which foods pair the best with each one, sip on some fabulous wines and untangle wines mysteries. Then we will delve into the world of craft beer while we guide you through an introduction of the world of craft beer. Learn about the history or beer, different beer styles and processes all while trying 4 craft beers and comparing styles.

This class is perfect for “mixed marriages” & “mixed couples,” he likes beer – she likes wine. Don’t miss a sure fire fun time! 4 wines/4 beers/cheese/chocolates

Wine & Chocolate Class

$20 Sat, March 17th 2-4pm

Chip’s and our own Outer Banks Wine University presents an opportunity to learn all about pairing wine with chocolate! In this class you will enjoy 6 different wines paired with a selection of 6 artisan made chocolates while experiencing the joys of combing two of life’s great pleasures. You’ll be guided through each pairing, learning about what cocoa percentages mean and how best to pair your wines as well as having the chance to rate the pairings. There will be chocolates that will appeal to the preferences and tastes of every person. This is a fun, interactive and social event and the perfect excuse to eat chocolate. Prepare to have a blast and indulge in the world of fine wine & chocolate!

Chip’s Mini Wine & Beer Festival

$15 Sat., March 17th 5:30-7:30

Come celebrate St. Patrick’s day weekend with us at our mini wine and beer festival. This event will allow you to taste 20 wines and craft beers. 20 amazing flavors to savor will be available in a fun festival atmosphere. Enjoy some great music, lots of snacks and some wacky Irish fun! There is something for everyone here as wine lovers and beer lovers come together in a tasting frenzy.

TICKETS AT DOOR WILL BE $20

“Watch me!”

admin — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:56:36 +0000

I was recently reading a business magazine which had many articles on great entrepreneurs. One article really struck me. It talked about creating the company you want by visioning. Which is actually something I have always done, but I'm not sure I've been ever so clear as to put it down on paper. Yes, I've written my goals down, written business plans and made action plans for those goals. But this is different. This is writing down what exactly you see happening in the future and thus putting the universe to work in creating that vision. The vision I have for Chip's is great (I only wish you could see it in my head ) but with the struggles of life, having a family, running a business and trying to create something great things get pushed to the wayside. I am now re-energized to get those visions down on paper and work on creating the future. In my previous job I saw many people that were so beat down, told they couldn't achieve or believed for whatever reason that they couldn't achieve their dreams. I know I've even thought that a time or two. When you finally get that step up, something comes and feels like it knocks you down. Those of you that know us, know that this year personally has not been a good year for us and I've never been one of those people that says, "wow, I'm glad that year is over. 2000 and what-ever was the worst year ever", but it has kinda felt that way this year. I have never been one to listen to the word "no" or "can't" and I believe good things happen to good people and people that work hard towards their goals. There can be many distractions out there and others trying to pull you down, you have to focus and block their negative energy from you. While Chip's is thriving and we were fortunate enough to be able to open a second store this year, my vision for our tasting lounge got thrown to the side. I am now in the process of putting that vision that we started with back down on paper as well as working on our new plans for growth this year. So be prepared to see some new and exciting things happening this year. I have never been one to dream small, so watch out!

Ready, Set, Grow!

admin — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:26:32 +0000

If you haven't already heard the BIG news…we have just opened a second location of Chip's Wine and Beer Market. We are lovingly calling it Chip's Moyock, but you are free to call it Chip's 2 or Chip's North or whatever your heart desires. We are so proud of it and some long hours went in this last month in trying to get it open before fourth of July weekend. Some might say we are crazy opening a second store during the busiest season of the year for our OBX location, but sometimes when the time is right, the time is right. We hope you will get a chance to stop by and see our new location! We think it's quite nice!

The universe has new plans for us…

admin — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 13:12:59 +0000

Summer is finally here! Oh, how we have missed you so!
With one full year under our belts here and the opening of the new tasting lounge there are many, many happenings over here at Chip's! If you haven't stopped by lately we'd love to see your smiling faces. Plus, we have great and exciting news to announce. Apparently we are not that found of sleeping, so we have decided to open a 2nd location of Chip's Wine and Beer Market! As some of you know, Phil was laid off from his company back in January as an IT consultant. We had plans for him to quit his job (say in 5 years) to open a new location, but alas the universe has different plans for us! After a series of what you could call strange coincidences (I like to call them whispers from the universe since I don't believe in coincidences) a new location of Chip's will be opening in Moyock, NC! Plans are already under way and we are planning to be open by July 1st. So keep your fingers crossed for us and we hope you'll swing by to check out our new location once we are open!

It’s been a fun and wild ride….

admin — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 20:30:52 +0000

As we sit back and look over the last year we can hardly believe that it has almost been a year since we purchased Chip’s. Coming into the store mid-June we were thrown into the mix of summer down here on the Outer Banks and that can be a fun and wild ride! Thank goodness Chip and Tammy were still around for a while and Janie and Mike (the most awesome employees in the world) stuck it out with us! We might of drowned in the beginning had it not been for them.

Coming up on this first year in business and getting through the slow winter months we are so appreciative of all your support. We couldn’t ask for better customers, employees and friends that have been there for us.

We often get asked how this whole thing came about. It’s not a grand story or anything but a great working of things lining up the right way. Laura had been a stay at home mom for many years after graduating from JMU and going through the “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up” phase. Someone should really tell you that Sociology degrees are not in big demand. Once our daughter was born, she finally found a wine company that she could work for from home. She ended up staying with that company for 6 years as she worked her way up training new people, leading a nationwide team and becoming the companies #2 salesperson. She found her passion was sharing her love for wine with others and teaching others about wine. When the company ended up closing last March, she was devastated. Her passion and what she loved was gone.

So they say, when one door closes another opens. Well that is exactly what happened. She happened to type in “Outer Banks wine shop for sale” online and up popped Chip’s! While she had lived near the Outer Banks her entire life, she had never heard or been into Chip’s. A quick trip to the store sealed the deal for us. That Friday afternoon in March we spent an hour in the store with our kids (who were being unusually patient) talking with Chip and falling in love with the store. It was the kind of wine shop we always imagined we would own. Nothing could of been more perfect….except, the banks weren’t really loaning money at the time. So, our plan went into action. Write a kickin’ business plan and take it to the bank. Luckily, we blew them away and in June we finally sealed the deal and became the new owners of Chip’s Wine and Beer Market. We still say that the store was being held just for us and it worked out perfectly. Chip and Tammy got to fufill their dream of sailing full time and we got to continue to share our passion and love for wine.

So thank you for being on this journey with us. We have had a fantastic year and it is only thanks to all of you. We hope we have lived up to your expectation and maybe, just maybe surpassed them. With the ending of this first year coming close we have finally put into place our first addition to Chip’s with the new tasting lounge, we hope you love our new touch to this wonderful shop that we love so much! We are really proud of it and we hope you like it too! We know without you, our dreams are not possible. Cheers to another great year!

Ports are delicious after dinner

admin — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 23:10:52 +0000