(Photo via Las Jaras Wines)
Seems Eric Wareheim, of Tim and Eric fame, has abandoned his budding career as a cult leader and is now in the wine business. (Hey, it beats chugging ranch dressing.) The absurdist comedian has teamed up with California winemaker Joel Burt to start the Las Jaras Wines company, and they’ll be pouring some new releases at Dandelion Wine Shop in Greenpoint tonight, April 4, from 6pm to 8pm.
Las Jaras wines are all about “taking you back to California wine making reminiscent of the Old World Style, like the beautifully crafted wines of 1970s Napa,” according to the website. They’re also meant for “having fun”– hence the limited-edition release of a sweet berry wine bearing the likeness of Dr. Steve Brule, who famously guzzled the stuff on Tim and Eric Awesome Show. (Tasting notes: “Wine was invented by the Romans… for orgies… and orgies are not to much fun if no one wants to do it with you.”)
Wareheim admitted to Wine Enthusiast that Las Jaras grew out of that idea, but subsequent wines have been less tongue-in-cheek. Among those made for “the serious business of perfect food pairing” are two new releases: A 2017 Glou Glou made with Carbano grapes from a vineyard in Calpella, in Mendocino County (priced at $30), and a 2017 rose made with Carignan grapes from another vineyard in Mendocino ($27).
Wareheim– who came to wine late in life, after going full foodie— told GQ he wanted to do something “weird and different”; to that end, he and Burt used lesser-known Carignan grapes for a 2016 wine that bears a nude self-portrait by “it” artist Chloe Wise.
You may want to get to Dandelion (153 Franklin St) early tonight; Sharm’s cult followers Wareheim’s fans lined up in the rain last night to get into a tasting at Discovery Wines. If you miss the tasting, Las Jaras wines are also being served at The Ten Bells on the Lower East Side.