We are proud to announce the up and coming ACADÉMIE Cooking Channel, coming soon to a You Tube player near you! On our show, we will explore the various aspects of cooking with wine, and what you can expect from different wines in your cooking. We’ll also visit producers and retailers of various gourmet products to learn more about how quality ingredients can improve the flavor of your culinary creations. One of our first shows will feature a visit to a local hand-crafted butter producer for our special on beurre blanc sauces. We’ll also be talking with a butcher about the various cuts and types of meat you can select for different types of recipes.

Stay tuned, our first episode will be here shortly!

We hope you like it!

• There are sooooo many wines out there – how would you know where to start when choosing *the* wine for your recipe. ACADÉMIE has four (dry red and dry white) wines that have very different applications in your cooking and very different flavors. Each is unique. When you get familiar with them, you know exactly which wine will lend something special to your meal. This is much easier than choosing from the 10,000 at the supermarket wine section!

• Wine quality matters. When you cook with quality ingredients, you get quality food. This is a no-brainer. You don’t need a $30 bottle of wine to create great food – you just need wine that has the qualities you want to introduce into your recipe. In this sense, your choice of wines becomes like a palate of flavors in your final culinary creation.

• Stale wine simply doesn’t cut it. You have a window of 1-2 weeks before your wine has *lost it* in the fridge. When you have a big bottle of wine, it will sit in the fridge longer. Or, worse yet, it may not fit in the fridge at all – and so it sits on the counter-top or in the cabinet (where you have a window of about 2-3 days before you lose flavor).You want to cook with fresh wine when at all possible. ACADÉMIE are smaller than a traditional wine bottle. You use the wine more quickly and so your wine is always fresher than it would otherwise be.

It’s always great when we have a chance to share these ideas with people in-person – and in our winery as they taste our wines.

ACADÉMIE was founded on these principles and we are dedicated to helping people learn about the flavor benefits of cooking with the right wine. If you’d like to see what everyone’s raving about, you may want to give ACADÉMIE a try. You’ll find a complete list of retailers on our website.

Don’t miss the East Bay Express blog for a little story about us! You can view the story by clicking here!

We appreciate everyone getting the word out!

We are excited to have Pleasant Hill Market as a vendor, and Pleasant Hill can finally get our wines without a trek to Berkeley.

The market is pretty awesome. Lots of very inexpensive (and very tasty) fruits and veggies, as well as a nice assortment of other odds and ends. And you can’t beat the very friendly service – come here a few times and they’ll greet you by name.

This is a family run business – owned by two twin brothers in their mid-twenties with other family members behind the register.

Great prices, great people, great food and wine – what more could you ask for!

Check out Yelp reviews here. Or check out the Google map to find out how to get there!

Check out more pictures below!

And man, this place is awesome! Yelp.com is filled with reviews from customers that just love it (Care to see some? Click here!). And having spent a bit of time there, I can see why.

The first thing you notice when you walk in is a nice and open wine section to your right and then a very open and bright fruit/veggie section right next to it. And above is a 1950’s style supermarket sign announcing fruit & vegetables (and ice) and household items. I love it!

You can find your spices in giant jars that you scoop out yourself next to the veggie section. Above the Deli & Meat Section are huge colorful chalkboards with awesome chalk art of animals and food related stuff. They even have a pet turtle!

The frozen food section has a nice organic and gluten free selection. And best of all, EVERYTHING is very reasonably priced!

But one of my favorite things about Star Grocery is all the hand done signs everywhere. The staff take the time to describe and actually *consume* the things they sell, and they let their customers know what they think. It really is amazing how much life a hand-written sign can add to a product. It serves as an educational tool and an endorsement – and it just looks so cool.

There are also all sorts of little odds and ends that add a really cool personality to the store. There are articles, drawings, cut-outs and posters taped up everywhere. Funny stuff. Informative stuff. Goofy stuff. It’s so cool.

Night and day from a cold and sterile big chain grocery store, that’s for sure.

And of course, if you have any questions, just ask the staff. These people know their stuff. They are excited to help you out or chat about any question you may have.

Star Grocery is a really cool and funky Berkeley-esque grocery store. Or…rather (having visited most of them), how a cool and funky Berkeley-esque grocery store *SHOULD* be!

I can’t think of a better home for ACADÉMIE wines. We’ll keep everyone posted as we do demos.

And of course, now you know where you can buy our wines

-Casey