The Bubble Sale
Friday through Sunday
December 11-13, 2020
10% off any bottle of bubbly
20% off mixed cases of bubbly
The El Cerrito Prepared Food Annex
10387 San Pablo Avenue
El Cerrito, CA 94530
(510) 526-5150
Entertaining at Home
I love entertaining at home. Compared to dining out, it’s more personal, relaxed, and affordable.
As a former restaurant manager and sommelier, I have a few tips to help you pull it off effortlessly at a moment’s notice.
Wine
I find it helpful to stock up (12 or so bottles) and have diverse inventory on hand. At Annex Wine & Beer, we offer a 10% discount if you buy a case or more. Couple that with some bargain items like our Closerie des Lys Blanc for $8.99, and you get great savings. That makes racing through bottles a little easier to swallow!
Wine Shopping list:
- Copious amounts of rosé! Most are delicious with or without food. That makes it a great “cocktail wine” for impromptu visits from friends.
- A yummy white to please your friend who just wants something cold and easy to drink. We have lots to choose from in the $10 price range.
- An affordable red for those who only go for the darker juice. Again, we have a ton in the $10 to $15 range. And remember, you get 10% off if you buy a case. Mixing and matching wine is just fine!
- Reds to complement grilled items. The caramelization that happens on steaks and veggies alike calls for Pinot Noir. Try the Domaine Girard Pinot Noir from France ($12.99), Klee from Oregon ($17.99) or The Gardener Pinot Noir from right here in Sonoma ($25).
- Sparkling wine (Prosecco, Crémant, Champagne) to have on hand for a celebratory start to the gathering or mimosas in the late morning.
Our wine specialists at the Annex can help you curate a terrific summer drinking list with both familiar favorites and new varietals!
Food Prep and Shopping Suggestions:
These finger friendly bread based snacks are great for noshing at formal and informal gatherings.
Step 1: Slice 1 to 2 loaves of French bread (try an Acme baguette) into 1/4-inch-thick rounds.
Step 2: Brush each slice with olive oil (Burroughs Family Farms Bulk Olive Oil is on sale right now. And it’s delicious!) or melted butter (I love how affordable and tasty the Cadia butter is)
Step 3: Place the rounds on baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees until crisp throughout and lightly golden around the edges, about 15 minutes.
Toppings:
1. Spread with Coeur Chevre organic fresh goat cheese, orange marmalade (try one from Frog Hollow or Full Belly Farms, both are located right across from the cheese section) and fresh mint.
2. Spread with fig jam (Inna just delivered their black mission fig jam!), top with blue cheese (Farmstead Original Blue) and prosciutto (try La Quercia) or ham (I love True Story).
3. Spread with fig jam, top with goat cheese and chopped walnuts (grab a bunch from our bulk bins).
4. Spread with butter, top with thinly sliced bread-and-butter pickles (Woodstock or Cadia are both great choices).
5. Spread with hummus (grab our Annex made pre-packed Hummus), top with olive tapenade (try the Divina Kalamata olive spread).
These toppings are all items that are fairly easy to either keep in stock or grab quickly from one of our stores.
Here’s to happy, memory-making gatherings!
-Sarah
Ever Since 1982…
We are celebrating 35 years this month!
As a token of our gratitude, we are giving away 35 gifts at each location (Berkeley, El Cerrito and The Annex)
The giveaways will take place in store so all you have to do is be there at the specified time. At the drawing times, a member of our team will invite participants to gather in a specific location, count each guest and put a slip of paper per person in a jar (one of which will say: “Congratulations, You Won”!). The lucky person who draws that slip of paper will walk away with a gift.
We are including the calendar here. You can also find drawing dates and times on our Facebook pages.
Thank you for your continued support of our local, independent, employee-owned business!
See you soon!
-The Natural Grocery Company
For official rules, please visit us in store. Rules are posted at the drawing site and in store.
Thank you!
Farm Discovery Day
We had a blast visiting the McClelland’s Dairy Farm this past weekend. At an event sponsored by Organic Valley, they pulled out all the fun farm toys! We got to spend time with calfs, shake and make butter, drive mini tractors, play in corn pits and drink milk (lots of milk!). Check out the pictures for a diary of the day. It’s always wonderful to see where our food comes from. I couldn’t help but pick up a dozen of their eggs before heading back to the city. Their bird’s beaks never get clipped so they roam the fields and eat tons of bugs and grass…all the good flavor making ingredients that lead to yummy eggs.
Don’t worry if you missed the event. McClelland’s eggs and Organic Valley milk and dairy products are available at our stores. 
Why Drive to Napa?
Taste 30 small production wines at the ANNEX for just $10!
We are hosting our 5th bi-annual Grand Wine Tasting and Price Crush Wine Sale. On Sunday, October 9th from 2 to 5pm come to the Prepared Food Annex (10387 San Pablo Avenue) to taste 30 wines by artisan producers. The ticket price for the event is $10. This may be the most affordable wine tasting event in the Bay Area!
Annex Wine & Beer handpicks products to bring you clean, natural, sustainably-produced wines, a large number of which are certified organic and biodynamic.
If you would like to read more about us and other natural wine shops in the East Bay, check out this article.
Floral Design – Wedding Season!
We love it when guests come to us for their important celebrations!
Recently, one of our wedding clients sent us photos of the flowers crafted by Jenny Barrett (our floral department manager) for their wedding. The shots are stunning and so are the flowers! It sounds like they had a fabulous celebration. Congrats to them and thanks for sharing your special day with us!
