The BEST in Artisanal Wine.

The story of the Black Tie Group traces its roots back to the historical break-in of the Sonia Delaunay Museum of Art Deco Architecture, in Yuma Arizona. The monumental act, which took place December 25th 1991, started at exactly 8:23PM when founding member of the Black Tie Group, Matteo Verlice, smashed in the front window with a lead pipe he found in the street. The act, motivated by political unrest, with vandalism as his original intent, took a turn when he spotted an illuminated bottle on display. Light glared off the bottle of 1942 Zagreb Montepulciano guiding his path towards the god given gift. He took the bottle and ran out of the back utility door onto the corner of Avenue B and C. He stowed the bottle in a Flamboyant Old Man's 2nd floor apartment, to later be re-discovered.

Over two decades later in 2012, Matteo Verlice finds himself living with his parents in Ann Arbor, MI. Verlice's friends, Ignatius "Shart" Salacia, and Charles J. Beckett, were eating with him in a dilapidated Applebee's on July 3rd when they learned of Andy Griffith's passing away. Inspired by realizing their own mortality (and the death of a legend) the trio decided to make the pilgrimage to recover the 1942 Zagreb Montepulciano. The Three Amigos couch surfed and lollygagged their way over to Yuma, Arizona where they retrieved the bottle and decided to follow their dreams.

The Threesome pooled their savings and hired a limo/taxi to take them on a cross country trip to Baltimore. Motivated by illicit substances, they chugged the 1942 Zagreb Montepulciano while going 90mph down Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Dr. The Exquisite dirt flavors mixing with the Other-worldly, essence of rutabaga made the triumverate realize, that the only future for them was starting their own winery.

Verlice, Salacia, and Beckett settled down in Baltimore where they started their artisanal wine company, Birdcage, out of the back of a burned out Buick LeSabre. The triad prided themselves on their unusual methods which included:
. Aging the wine upside down
. Tie-Dying the grapes with passion
. Showing the bottles a good time
. Slash and burn techniques
. Smear Campaigns
. Shielding the wine from radiation
. Infusing the wine with GMOs and MSGs
. Handling grapes with nitrile glove while wearing surgical masks
. Curing the wine under the soft glow of a uv light
. Adding acetone fumes
. Giving the wine a harsh talking to
. Unusual circumstances

Birdcage was a raving success due to their wine's unique flavor. In an interview Verlice said "The wine is best ingested while being exposed to noticeable levels of radon."

Verlice, Salacia, Beckett and their company created a wild and colorful legacy, that will not be forgotten any time soon. The Black Tie Group was created to honor the lives and careers of these brave profound men, and to mourn the loss of Andy Griffith.

--Matteo, Shart, Charles