The Asheville Citizen Times reports that on this day in 1821 France's Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile on St. Helena. So we started  to thinking, did Napoleon have a dog? Despite the many millions of pages written about Napoleon and all the pages he penned himself about himself, the answer to this question cannot be verified. But your Shop Dogs found the following text and we are running with it. In any case, it sounds like a good reason to raise a glass of something French. Come on over to the shop! We can talk about the fact that Napoleon Bonaparte was really born Napoleone Bounaparte to parents from the Tuscany region another day. 

Meanwhile, here is what we found on the dog controversy:

The Newfoundlander

"When Napoleon was on St. Helena he had a black and white dog called 'Sambo' - it had its ears cut off, in the Chinese style, and looked more like a seal. After Napoleon's death in May 1821 the dog was taken back to Europe by Countess Bertrand and her children." Napoleonguide.com 

This is Napoleon:

"Whispering Angel," Cotes de Provence Rose 2012 is on the shelf priced at $21.95. 

This lovely wine is a blend of grenache, rolle, syrah, cinsault and mouvedre grapes. Pale pink in color, with a fresh and fruity aroma, "Whispering Angel" is bone dry through the finish. Many in the wine appreciation world say that "Whispering Angel" is the benchmark for rose. Chateau d'Esclans is deep in the heart of Provence beautifully sitting about one half hour north of St. Tropez.

The winemaker says that the angels whisper in the Esclans Valley where this lovely wine is made.

Wine Spectator rated this one at 90. Tell us what you think.

Yesterday was really really really busy. So busy that a sales rep (learning the "talk") had to walk us after dinner. Nice guy. He had Bordeaux. We need a plan to ride the passenger cabin! Why? Because this is Bordeaux:

Oh no! We are never going to hear the end of this! John and Gina were interviewed by Bob Bowles!!! of Asheville Wine and Food !! oh yeah! on WZGM 1350 Asheville Independent Radio. Interview will be broadcast today about 4:30. We weren't there. Nope. Somebody had to watch the shop. Shop Doggin' is 24/7. Anyway, here is a studio shot:

Chasing ceeeeeese is funny, but this is serious. This is about the work YWCA does to empower women.

Empowering Women

A shop dog's responsibilities are many and varied. One of them is assisting with clean up. We had about 50 people in the shop last night to taste sparkling wine from Saumur. There was cheese. We prepared, shall we say, the plates for washing. Success! Now, if we can just figure out how to get into the passenger cabin of a plane! We need another plan. This is the Chateau Saumur.

Three Graces Dairy cheeeeeeeeeeese coming out for the wine tasting today. Another chance! Strategy. It's all about strategy. A plan. We need a plan. We can do this. We took out a bag of sourdough last week. We can do this. Less than 2 hours. Keep you posted.

This is about the Three Graces Dairy: 

Open letter to Trent Reznor,

Dear Trent, Thank you for adopting retired racing greyhounds and for your efforts to raise funding for more to find homes. You are most awesome and we love Nine Inch Nails! Please stop by our store, Metro Wines (some of us greys are not totally retired but that is another story!) when you headline the New Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit from October 25 to 27. We found this clip about you. Also, we loved you in Social Network.  Your most devoted fans, Shop Dogs.

Trent Reznor, the frontman of Nine Inch Nails, who also scored the movie The Social Network.

He has put up rare band memorabilia on eBay to benefit two greyhound rescue organizations, Greyhound rescue and California Greyhound Adoption Promotion.

There are four bundles of Nine Inch Nails collectors items including, limited edition CDs, t-shirt protypes, tour posters and other swag, all signed by Trent Reznor.

Current bids are hovering just above $1,000 so get your bid in soon!

The 2011 auction page said: "Trent is an animal lover and longtime supporter of rescuing greyhounds and has created this auction specifically to help his friends continue their work in saving these animals’ lives. Reznor himself has adopted several greyhounds."

This is Erte. Look at that greyhound. You know, you really can be too thin!

Anyway, please come to the shop on Wednesday from 5 to 7 pm for French. Your Shop Dog, Cate

This is Erte. 

Sleep! "Sleep is the best meditation." Dalai Lama

This is me and Bandit meditating on our day off.

Really rainy here but we are excited to tell you that people still came in the shop!  In fact, a nice couple just came in and specifically requested to meet us! They even knew our names. How cool is that? From where we sit, I can see a hole on the shelf where two six packs of Fat Dog have sold.  I forgot to tell you that a really nice lady came in the shop and was so excited to see Fat Dog Oatmeal Stout here. She says she is from Adamstown, the home of Stoudts Fat Dog and there is only one other shop around Asheville that has the Fat Dog. She was pretty happy. Us too. Signed Bandit, Shop Dog. 

PS  This is Fat Dog!

Metro Wines and Curator Gary Byrd launch the first in a series of Art and Wine presentations blending art history with the history of wine. The first talk will focus on Caravaggio's painting, "Bacchus," circa 1595, Rome. We have all seen this painting with a young Bacchus offering a glass of wine to the viewer. Gary will discuss the artist, the subject and Metro Wines will add and offer what is probably in the glass! Join us Wednesday, May 29th from 6 to 8pm at Metro Wines.

Long night of shop doggin' last night. Over 250 visitors tasted 6 wines at Metro Wines Grand Opening last night! We worked the crowd but good. We made several valiant efforts to reach the 3 Graces Dairy Cheese on the party table but failed. But hope springs eternal! today is clean up and who knows what will happen. Keep you posted. Saw a lot of rose and cava go out the door. Stand by for party pix but for now:

:

Our BIG TV screen just posted The Asheville Humane Society. Come see. Way cool.

We are so proud and honored to be part of supporting The Asheville Humane society. If you shop our store on Saturday, 10% of the proceeds of all the sales that day go to support the work at The Asheville Humane Society. Not every dog is as lucky as we were, finding a family and a forever home. So please come and shop. And visit The Asheville Society here: http://www.ashevillehumane.org.