Cork Dork's Cellar

Hello Everypony! I’m Cork Dork, owner and operator of Ponyville’s finest boutique winery and wine shop. I’ll periodically share recommendations and art on this blog, but feel free to ask me questions as well.

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Picnic

I think I’m picking up some bad habits from Rarity when it comes to roughing it in the outdoors.

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Bronycon 2016 SWAG 2

OOC MOD:  The second of several awesome Cork Dork commissions from Bronycon 2016. This piece is by Victory Dance http://victorydanceofficial.deviantart.com/

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Hardscaping

It’s not just about the grapes, though I wish it were. I’ve spent so much time over the past 6 months fixing things around the vineyard – like shoring up a hillside. I hope I have not neglected potential customers! But the wall; it’s almost done :)

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Bronycon 2016 Swag

OOC MOD: I managed to snag several awesome commissions at Bronycon, including this great piece by F. Lee (http://fleebites.deviantart.com/gallery/ http://fleebites.tumblr.com/). I love her organic, swirly style.

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Congratulations!

Topshelf is really doing the business. Congratulations on 1000+ satisfied customers.

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Two wonderful projects from @verulence and @mildlyliquored, celebrating our passing 1k followers.

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Congrats on reaching 1000 followers, Topshelf! And thanks for including Cork Dork – I actually do love stemless wine glasses  :)

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I didn’t ask for these feels

I’ll have to think of some Zootopia-themed pairings now :)

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Original line art is by Cork Dork. Colouring is mine.  [High Res] 

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Whoa! Nice coloring :)

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National Drink Wine Day

I may have to turn in my oenophile card. I didn’t even realize it was National Drink Wine Day until it was nearly too late. Fortunately, I was already planning to have pizza tonight, so a quick stop to the grocery store saved the day. While Chianti and Sangiovese are arguably more “traditional” (or at least stereotypical) pizza wines, I actually prefer zinfandel even though it isn’t always the best match. On a whim, (and being pressed for time) I picked up a bottle of Estancia’s 2013 Zinfandel. What luck! While I normally prefer a fuller bodied wine, in this case, the relatively high acid content made it a great match with my pizza :) If you are looking for a relatively inexpensive pairing for “red sauce” based pizza, but want a bit more flavor than typical Chiantis, I’d definitely recommend this wine.

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http://askcorkdork.tumblr.com/post/139330172692/happy-hearts-and-hooves-day

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Berry Punch put me up to this.  I put my trust into the wrong person; she said the key word was tasteful.  She said they would be tasteful ^_^;

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Happy Hearts and Hooves Day!

I think Topshelf must be a bad influence on me if I’m posting something as saucy as this ;)

I know I’ve probably raved enough about Line Shack’s Syrah, but I decided to treat myself this weekend. However, instead of the Syrah, I went with the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon. It is a terrifically full-bodied wine that is absolutely divine with chocolate cake :)

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Pairings

//OOC Mod: In all seriousness, Line Shack’s Syrah is quite good. Several years ago, my wife and I hosted a pony-themed wine tasting and had this wine paired with Rainbow Dash.  

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Line Shack Syrah

//OOC Mod: I actually drew this over a year ago, but never got around to adding text :P

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Harvest

Yes, although in the past, most of my grapes used for winemaking have come from Berry Punch, since the majority of my vines were planted just 3 years ago. However, this year my vines are finally mature enough to produce decent grapes though it may be a few more years before they are great.

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Original line art is by Topshelfblog. Colouring is mine. [Inkbunny]

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Aaayyy @askcorkdork

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Whoa, nice coloring http://that-art-skunk.tumblr.com/ :)

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Competition isn’t always such a bad thing. It means that sometimes @askcorkdork , and not me, has to carry Berry Punch home.

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The things one does for good friends/customers. I have a feeling Twilight Sparkle never had to write about this friendship lesson.

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Boozy Floats

Right before the end of summer, I had some friends for a boozy ice cream social. Although fall is now in full swing, I wanted to share three of these great floats before the weather gets too cold:  Boozy Root Beer Float, Dark Chocolate Bourbon Cherry Soda Float, and Raspberry Bellini Float.

I’ve listed the ingredients below though you can vary the actual ratios depending on your taste. Of the three, my favorite is the Dark Chocolate Bourbon float :)

Boozy Root Beer Float: 2-3 scoops vanilla bean ice cream 3 oz. Spiced Rum Top with a nice root beer In a beer glass, plop in your scoops, add your booze and top with a nice root beer.

Dark Chocolate Bourbon Cherry Soda Float: 1 pint of dark chocolate ice cream 4 ounces of bourbon 2 bottles of cherry soda

Raspberry Bellini Float: Frozen raspberries with a scoop of raspberry sorbet and Prosecco