Fourtheye » Caduceus

Merkin Vineyards Chupacabra 2006 now available in Australia

hellboy — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:29:45 +0000

Those of you who pre-ordered the Chupacabra 2006 via Sip & Listen should check your emails, as this wine is now available for order. You only have a week to redeem your code before the wine goes on sale to the public, presuming there is any leftover.

Word is that more wine, this time from Arizona Stronghold will be available mid-2012!

Conditions of My Parole video, Arizona Stronghold Tasting

hellboy — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 12:36:45 +0000

According to a tweet from Maynard the other day, Rolling Stone will premiere the video for Conditions of My Parole on Monday morning. I expect it will follow the prison theme that seems to have dominated the artwork on the latest Puscifer album (which in case you’ve forgotten was released a few days ago!). There’s also an interview with Maynard on Artist Direct.

I came across the 20 Brix website today, which has an Arizona Stronghold wine tasting being held this Tuesday the 25th of October. The 20 Brix Wine Bar is in Milford, Ohio, and the evening will in theory feature five wines as well as food matched to the wine you’ll be tasting. Here is a little more detail:

Tuesday October 25th
Arizona Stronghold
Maynard James Keenan of the band Tool has a hand in the production of these wines.
Come taste great wines from this New World Region
6:30pm
$60

Sounds a little expensive, but if this sounds like your thing, and you live in or near Milford, check it out!

In other news, there have been some technical issues with Fourtheye which I’ve spent a little time fixing tonight. Some of you may have noticed missing comments, slow response time and timeout, but fingers crossed those issues are resolved now. Let me know if any of you have any further queries.

Merkin Vineyards Chupacabra 2006 gets Australian release

hellboy — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:08:36 +0000

Matt Irwin & Trent Allen, a couple of entrepreneurial Aussies have managed to secure the right to distribute Maynard’s wines into Australia. This makes us the first country outside of the USA to have official distribution for these products. It’s not a release of the entire range however, the first shipment will be the Chupacabra 2006, and I’d expect if this sells well then future wines will also become available.

From the press release:

sip & listen…
Sitting around the dinner table after a couple of days skiing in the Canadian Rockies, childhood mates Matt Irwin & Trent Allen cracked open a bottle of Chupacabra while listening to Tool’s Salival, and wondered why this amazing wine was not available back home. With backgrounds in the wine business & music industry, they have secured exclusive rights to import Maynard’s wines to Australia.

The wine…
The first shipment is a limited amount of Merkin Vineyards Chupacabra 2006. This will be the first time any of Maynard’s wines will be available outside of North America. It is also the only time we will see Merkin Vineyards, as Maynard and Eric have decided to limit distribution of the Merkin/Caduceus lines and focus on Arizona Stronghold Vineyards. 2012 will see the first ASV wines hit Australia, but we will have to wait and see how much sip & listen can secure for the people down under.

The Chupacabra is coming…
Merkin Vineyards Chupacabra is a shape-shifter, evolving vintage after vintage. The 2006 is a blend of traditionally French grapes that have found a home in the Californian landscape. From the Tasting Notes "Bold and mysterious, the wine shows both a light and a dark side. From black fruit, tobacco and forest aromas to flavours of kiwi, grapefruit and nettle on the lighter end, this smoky and complex red is enticing from the first sip."

Reserve a bottle…
Word is spreading quickly and Matt & Trent are receiving daily requests to reserve bottles for people. Merkin Vineyards Chupacabra 2006 will retail in Australia for $34.99 per bottle or 3 for $100 (inc. GST, postage not included). If you are interested in buying a bottle (or 3!), email your name and order to sipandlisten@hotmail.com. If you are after a case, please email for a price. You do not have to pay until the wine is released in a few weeks time. You will receive a reservation number which puts you in a draw for an Arizona Stronghold merch pack (inc. Chupacabra Australian Release Bottle no. 353)!

You can also follow their progress on Facebook and Twitter.

Not sure how many bottles these guys are importing, so it’s probably worth getting your order in quickly!

Maynard interviewed by Wine Spectator

hellboy — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 22:02:24 +0000

Alex emailed me a link this morning to a new interview with Maynard by Dana from Wine Spectator. Don’t go expecting Tool, APC and Pucsifer news and you won’t come away disappointed…

Maynard in Wine Week part 2

hellboy — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 23:28:10 +0000

Part 2 of the Wine Week interview with Maynard is now available on Youtube:

Maynard on Wine Week part 2

An interesting interview for wine fans, Maynard talks about obviously the wine, how it effects touring, and also that he has no plans to export the wine to Australia (or presumably elsewhere).

Maynard discusses wine, Adam Jones Metallica poster

hellboy — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 01:52:17 +0000

Maynard spoke with the guys on Australia’s Wine Week in Melbourne the other day, and in part 1 of this interview he chats about a range of wine related topics:

Maynard speaks with Wine Week

Adam provided the artwork for one of the posters in the current issue of Guitar World. Tim was kind enough to take a photo of it for us:

Looks pretty cool to me – if I see it in the newsagent I think I’ll grab a copy!

My Tool trek has finished for now – only one more show left, tomorrow night at the Perth Big Day Out. Western Australian’s don’t miss out on this amazing show!

Maynard speaks winemaking with 1 Wine Dude

hellboy — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 06:16:42 +0000

Maynard tweeted this afternoon an interview that he recorded with the 1 Wine Dude. It’s reasonable long (over 40 minutes) but I’ve just listened to the whole thing, and it’s well worth checking out, as Maynard touches on a range of subjects, including how wine making works in with his various band commitments.

Maynard Stuff

hellboy — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 06:32:44 +0000

A few Maynard related items this afternoon. Firstly, as I’m sure most of you have read on Toolband a selection of his wines won 9 medals at a recent Arizona Republic Wine Competition. Head over to the Caduceus site or Toolband for more details. Congratulations to Maynard on his endeavours and I hope to one day sample his fermented grapes.

I read somewhere (I can’t for the life of me remember where – perhaps someone can “remind” me) that not only will A Perfect Circle be appearing on the Last Call with Carson Daly show tonight, but Maynard will also be making an appearance. Don’t turn off your television!

Lastly, there’s a good review by Raymond Flotat on mxdwn.com. Not idea what that stands for but the pictures are pretty tasty. Enjoy!

Maynard Talks, Danny Drums

hellboy — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 09:54:36 +0000

Maynard has a quick chat with Spin magazine, in which he talks about the latest happenings at his vineyard. Highlights include:

Do those retirees ever ask what Merkin, the name of your vineyards, actually means? (it’s a pubic hair wig)
They probably do and I probably look at them with a blank stare and ask if they want some more wine.

I heard on the grapevine that they may have had significant problems with javalenas this year (watch Blood Into Wine if you don’t know what this is). I hope for Maynard and all the crew at Caduceus’ sake that they can make the best of the harvest they’ve been able to collect.

As we all know Danny took part in a John Bonham tribute night last weekend, and a few of our Fourtheye comrades took the time to send me a couple of links to his performance:

Maynard on Blood Into Wine

hellboy — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 04:33:26 +0000

In a new interview with Artist Direct, Maynard discusses the Blood Into Wine movie, which is now available on DVD. He talks about wine making, the movie, and a little about Puscifer. No Tool news for those who are only interested in one thing (apart from sex):

It’s an inspiring film because audiences very rarely have the opportunity to see how intense the winemaking process is.
It’s been removed from our culture. Prohibition pretty much interrupted the whole appreciation. It’s odd. That was such a huge move. Prohibition, The Great Depression, World War I and II, there’s this thing that happened on our soil that removed a lot of that appreciation from the table for us, quite literally. Now, we’re catching up with it. There are all of these celebrity chefs and cooking shows. More wine is being appreciated by people and not to the point of indulgence. You don’t drive down the highway and see corkscrews and bottles along the side of the road; you see Budweiser cans. It’s not like it’s that kind of growth. There’s an appreciation for art and a consciousness that’s attached to it.