Jeff Adamson, the guru of ComedySportz, and I go back a long time...back to when he was just getting the improv troupe going and I was a reporter at the QC Times. So, when ComedySportz lost their Rock Island home and he offered to bring a few of his folks to the Grape Life for a night of comedy, we jumped at the chance.

It's this Friday (July 23) night at 8 .m. and you won't want to miss it. It's just $15 and includes a glass of wine...afterall, if we've proven anyting at the Grape Life... nothing makes you smile like a glass of wine and a a bunch of guys acting stupid! 

Sometimes change can be a REALLY GOOD THING!

After asking our customers to tell us about the changes they'd like to see at the Grape Life, last week we moved all of our wine racks, put n a nnew stage, new furniture and adeed a whole new category of wine for those of you looking for real values.

WOW! It was crazy. We re-opened with our new look at 5 p.m. on Friday with a wine tasting and were absolutely packed with folks who wanted to try out some of those wines from our 90 Under $20 section. Then on Friday night Lojo Russo took to our new stage and rocked the house in front of a packed house. Saturday was more of the same with wine tastings in the afternoon and great music by The Whoozdads that night.

Really. It was awesome. Thanks to all of you who support us. You don't know how we could do it without you.

Jim

LaOh, my goodness. What a crazy week, last week! Last Thursday was we n Thursday, after we closed we moved all of our wine racks to the back of the store, opened up and brought in new seating, put in

When it comes to expressing one's undying love... nothing says it like a great glass of wine.

I mean, when was the last time you saw a movie where a guy makes a romantic proposal to that special girl over a glass of beer or a shot of Jack Daniels?

We haven't even been open two full years and we've already become a favorite place for first dates, anniversaries and special days.

So, figuring that a lot of people will get a jump on Valentine's Day by celebrating on Saturday, Feb. 13 this year, we've invited the Tony Sconyers Trio in for an evening of your favorite love songs from 8-11 p.m. We'll also be featuring a special menu of "Wines for Lovers" and we'll be giving away a free chocolate truffle with the first glass of wine you buy. Plus, at 9 p.m. we'll toast all of our Valentines with a free champagne toast! 

Happy New Year Fellow Winos!

We had a great time at our New Year's Eve Party (website photos to come soon) and, not suprisingly it made us think back on 2009 and look forward to 2010.

Yeah, it was a pretty good year at the Grape Life as more and more wine lovers found us for the first time and discovered the joy of sharing great wine, music and conversation with friends. 

Also new in 2009...

* The Black Watch Room was the site for our first annual Grape Life Wine Fest and nearly 200 peopls showed up for that.

* We've gotten great feedback for Saturday night "Live at the Life" series featuring free music by a wide-range of local musicians. We'll be continuing that in 2010. If you haven't been here on a Saturday night you're missing a real treat.

* We also added "Wine Down Wednesdays" where customers could come in, buy a glass of wine and get a FREE chair massage. A great way to get over hump day!

* More than 140 Quad Citians have joined the Grape Life Wine Club and were treated to some exceptional wines. In November many of them attended our free holiday party at the newly-remodeled Thunder Bay Grill and enjoyed great tapas and a tasting of more than 50 wines!

Still, we're really looking forward to 2010 and hope you are too. We'll soon be announcing a new series of wine classes and tastings, more music and much more.

Have a great year!

It's already been a great holiday season at the Grape Life and we're looking forward to seeing all of our friends... new and old... over the next few weeks. Our Thanksgiving tasting of turkey, ham and wine got reat reviews and we had a ton of fun.

We hope you'll remember us for all of your holiday shopping. we've got lots of great and unique new gifts (be sure to ask about the electric blue automatic wine opener) plus fabulous baskets and, of course, lots of new wines.

A few notes:

* We'll continue Wine Down Wedensday massages through Dec. 16. Come in have a glass of wine and chill out Grape Life style!

* Fantastic music coming up over the next weeks, including Buddy Olson on Saturday, Dec. 5 and the Terry Hansen Ensemble on Dec. 12.

* Best of all? Our annual Sparkling Wines and Ports tasting on Sunday, Dec. 13, from 3 to 5 p.m. Great sparkling wines, champagne and ports to taste and order before Christmas and New Years!

* Speaking of New Years... keep an eye out for the announcement of our plans for a great New Year's Eve Party at the Grape Life!

See You Soon!

Jim

I'll be the first to admit that I've steered clear of French wines from time to time, because they just seem so intimidating....but I can't believe what I've been missing!

Our French wine class on Tuesday was terrific. Our own Irene Huffman taught the class and made it seem much easier to understand than I had anticipated. We tasted nine great wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone and others and the reaction of those attending was phenomenal.

If you missed out, hang in there. The reaction was so positive that we'll probably do another baic French wine class after the holidays and then maybe hod a class or two on just Bordeuax or other specific areas.

Have a Grape Day!

Jim

If you weren't one of the Grape Lifers at our Halloween Party on Saturday night, you missed a great party. Ellis Kell and Tony Hoeppner teamed up for an awesome night of music, there was lots of great food and everybody seemed to love the wines.

Best of all, we had a lot of fun and there were plenty of fantastic costumes.

Next up... our Holiday party at Thunder Bay Grille. Sorry, but you have to be a paid wine club member to attend....makes you wonder if your missing a lot more fun, eh.

Anyway, keep an eye out for photos from the Halloween Party. They'll be on the site in the next day or so.... when you're as technically challenged as yours truly, it usually takes a little while.

Have a Grape Day! Jim