Dr Vino's wine blog

In the past week, I’ve gotten solicitations from practically every wine shop in NYC. This is the home stretch of the sacred fourth quarter and they are all vying for our business! But there is something missing in their gift baskets.

I got an email from BottleRocket with wines and books in their gift baskets.

I got printed materials from Zachy’s showing wine and stemware selections in theirs.

I got print and emails from Crush suggesting their gifts of miscellaneous essentials for wine lovers including a Laguiole corkscrew with a black horn handle.

What do all of these things have in common? They are all missing gourmet cheeses or other foods. Why? The kibosh on the food-wine pairing is courtesy of the ancient laws that govern wine retailing in New York State that prohibit wine retailers from selling food (or cigars). You never know what might happen if you could buy Camembert with your Sancerre…New Yorkers can say it with wine this holiday–just get the cheese from somewhere else.

Related: Interactive map of NY wine shops

tags: wine | wine gifts | new york

If you are spending your Thanksgiving in greater LA, then you’ll no doubt be looking for a worthwhile shop to get some vino. Fortunately that won’t be a problem since LA has some of the best wine stores in the country. And now I have plotted them on a new, interactive map for your wine-loving convenience.

See the map

Click each pin for a brief description of the shop as well as contact info and hours. Zoom in, pull back, even switch to satellite view and see which celebrities are there right now–or if there’s space in the parking lot! (OK, it’s not real time info but that would be helpful!)

I haven’t included any supermarkets nor the various locations of the chain BevMo. I figure that wine isn’t the main reason reason that people go to supermarkets, as good as their selection might be. And for BevMo, I got to tired to plot their locations so you can just go to their site.

I offer a major tip o’ the hat to Dan Fredman who helped me get my orientation in the wine geek’s LA.

http://www.drvino.com/losangeleswineshops.php

tags: wine | wine stores | los angeles | google maps

It’s only 15 days until the campaign of spin stops and you can vote on that decisive electoral issue. You might think I am talking about foreign or economic policy. I’m actually talking about wine.

As I have written previously, Massachusetts has a state-wide ballot initiative taking place on November 7 that would allow wine sales in food stores. It’s a no-brainer from a wine lover’s perspective: buying wine where you buy your food makes it easier to have wine with your dinner. It’s such a novel concept that 34 states already allow the practice. People in Massachusetts should vote yes and make it 35 states.

But the issue makes people say funny things. Is it the wine talking? Or the campaign contributions?

“A dramatic expansion of alcohol sales as proposed in Question 1 would undermine the system as a whole and make meaningful enforcement nearly impossible,” Eddie J. Jenkins, the chairman of the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, said last week.

“I am opposed to Question 1 because it would make alcohol more accessible to underage persons and will dramatically increase the availability of alcohol in Massachusetts,” said Ted Mahony, the agency’s chief investigator.

Not only are these positions laughable–ever heard of carding?–but these unelected officials are now having their statements reviewed by an Ethics Commission since they are not supposed to “engage in political activities” while on the job. Their boss, State Treasurer Timothy Cahill, an opponent of the measure, gave them the green light to speak out according to the Boston Globe. He received $22,000 last year from distributors in campaign contributions.

In an unusual coalition against the measure, package store owners have been joined by some distributors and 28 local police chiefs. Since the measure is backed by Stop & Shop and Shaw’s, two supermarket chains, the distributors who are opposed must fear that retailer consolidation would be a significant counterweight to their market power. The cops’ demagoguery about drunken driving I just don’t understand.

Supermarkets do not have reputations for selling high quality wine. And they don’t always deliver wine at the best price. But there’s always the chance that they will try. Certainly Whole Foods does a good job though you pay a premium for the convenience. And Trader Joe’s has solid offerings at reasonable prices. Maybe they will serve as guiding lights for the bigger chains in Massachusetts.

Both sides have raised $7.6 million thus far according to the Boston Globe. And the irony is that if the measure passed, as polls suggest, November 8 would not bring cases of Kendall-Jackson to Stop & Shops. It would simply allow the right for municipalities to set their own rules.

I would vote yes to make wine one step more convenient and more like a normal, enjoyable consumer product, a part of everyday life.

tags: wine | massachusetts wine | supermarkets

The best way to get a wine edu-ma-cation is to taste. The more you taste, the more you learn what you like and don’t like. And oh yeah, then you can one-up your friends with all those crazy wine descriptors, such as “the inside of a walnut shell.”

Appellation Wines has upgraded their free tastings and now will have regular free tastings 5-8 on Tuesdays. They encourage you to make it your new happy hour.

Many other NYC shops have regular free tastings including my faves, Astor, Crush, Moore Brothers and more. Check my NYC wine shop map for details.

And as if drinking free wine wasn’t enough, you can now have wine books read to you–by the authors themselves!

Bottlerocket Wines continues their excellent “eclectic salon” series of meet the author events. Some upcoming dates of note for these free events:

Jancis Robinson, Oxford Companion to Wine, 3rd edition, Monday, October 23, 6 – 8 pm
Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, What to Drink with What You Eat, Wed., October 25, 6 – 8 pm
Jay McInerney, Hedonist in the Cellar, Monday, Nov. 6, 6 – 8 pm

Well, there may not be much reading–but there will no doubt be much schmoozing (and boozing?).

Shop info can be found here

tags: wine |

“Hi. I’m looking for the Vieux Telegraphe 04?”

“Did you buy it on futures?”

“No.”

“Then, no, I’m sorry there’s none left available.”

Such was my first call trying to find the wine, which I had tasted previously but failed to buy via futures. Actually, it wouldn’t have mattered if I had bought the futures since the retailer that I had called, Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants in Berkeley (the retail arm of the wine’s national importer), doesn’t ship to my home state of New York.

So I checked wine-searcher.com. Sam’s in Chicago had the wine. I called them.

“We don’t ship to New York,” came the reply.

What?!? I’ve ordered from them before.

I called Sherry-Lehmann in New York City. They had the 03.

“When do you expect to get the 04?”

“It’s on order but I’m not sure when it will arrive. A lot of times the distributors hold back new vintages until the current one is sold out. The 03 is really delicious.”

In fact, it did seem to be a regional phenomenon since I couldn’t find a retailer in the East with the wine in stock.

What was I to do? Stay tuned…

tags: wine | buying wine

wine woot! Have you discovered the loot?

I just placed my first order since I was unable to resist two bottles of 01 Pepperbridge Cab from Walla Walla for $59.99 + $5 shipping. It’s usually $50 a bottle. (find this wine)

After punching in my order the delivery message was a little cryptic about when I would actually get the wine. I doubt that Woot handles the inventory but somehow shipping is always $5. I’ll keep you posted as to how long my order takes to reach me in NY. This is, of course, the beginning of the frugal wine buyer’s window for shipping wine by ground across the country. The summer heat is gone and the tundra has yet to freeze.

What is woot? Besides being yet another made up name since all existing domain names were taken, they offer a deal-a-day on general merchandise and a deal-a-week on wines. So every Sunday at midnight, they put up a new deal and the old deal is gone forever. The writing is hilarious. To wit:

Hey, taxpayer! Get ready to hand over some more of your hard-earned wages to those clowns in Washington! Only this time we’re talking about ye merrie winemakers at Pepper Bridge Winery in Washington state. And if you enjoy ultra-premium, critically-acclaimed wines like the Pepper Bridge 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, this is one bill you’ll happily pay.

With a sales pitch like that it’s not hard to believe that the winery has sold 1200 bottles through Friday. I just stumbled on this news item where one of the Pepperbridge owners implies they are selling it as a loss leader, saying “Just given that it is a one week deal and nationwide exposure on a popular site to our wine, its been worth it for us.”

As of midnight tomorrow, though, the deal is over. And then the next one starts. Woot!

tags: wine | woot | online wine shopping

Caves Augé

Credited with being the second oldest wine shop in Paris, Caves Augé is on Boulevard Hausmann. It’s not sandwiched between the big department stores on this famous street, but instead it is down the boulevard, around the traffic circle and on the less touristy, more neighborhoody, end of the grand boulevard.

The store is known for stocking many “natural” wines, particularly from the Loire, as well as older vintages from Bordeaux and beyond. Many of the producers represented are not exported to the US, which makes it a rewarding exploration for the visiting American wine geek. Tons of boutique bottlings of armagnac, cognac, sherry, vodka and other spirits cluster in one corner. Even though wine treasures abound in the small shop, not everything is beyond the reach of the budgets of mere mortals as there are many interesting wines available under $20.

But the wines may be beyond the physical reach of customers. The small shop is packed with excellent French wines. And I mean packed. The display tables are laden with their bounty and on the walls, wines are shoved into bins. I dared remove a wine from Provence to inspect the label and Marc, the store manager, barked at me in French from across the store “I’d prefer if you looked with your eyes and not with your hands.” Ah, a customer service flashback to 1850.

One reason to go to Caves Augé is when you don’t actually have to be in the cramped store (being scolded). During the spring and the fall, the store recruits many producers to come and pour their wines for customers. According to those who have been, it is a great event, casually sipping on the grand boulevard on a weekend afternoon, with some of the most interesting independent wine makers in France. Be sure to check with the store to see if your visit coincides with one of these days.

Caves Augé
116, Boulevard Hausmann, Paris 75008
Tel: 01.45.22.16.97
Open 9 AM – 7:30 PM. Closed Sunday and Monday mornings.
Manager: Marc Sibard

tags: wine | Paris wine shops | France travel

Dear Dr. Vino,

Have you even considered taking your 10 for $10 list, or the most that you can find at a single store, and putting them in a case or half case that people can buy. I see that you have a “find this wine” link, but maybe people would be more inclined to buy MORE wine and sample the bunch if there is some way of YOU assembling the case online at a store and providing a link for us to purchase the box. Is this not possible? Thoughts?

yours truly, Alastair

* * * * * *

Alastair,

Great question. In fact, it is so great, I’d love to open it up to input from other readers.

I hear your frustration (and of course praise you for your fanatical dedication) and maybe it’s something I should consider. I’ve previously touched on the difficulties of making wine recommendations for the US market. I just don’t have the market clout for shops to be arranging their end-cap displays with my picks.

I source my wines from a lot of shops but I would recommend checking Sam’s Wine in Chicago or Astor Wine or Crush Wine in New York City since they ship to many states and I buy a lot of my wines from them. But that said, I could easily compile a case (or two or three!) of wines I like from each of these stores or others of my faves in NYC or Chicago or SF.

What do you think, dear reader? Would you like it if I arranged for some value wines that I recommend to be found at a vendor with more or less national shipping? Would you have liked a one-click “buy now” button for my summer wines list for example?

My only hesitation is that I only recommend wines because I like them not because I have any inventory to move or sales targets to meet. I think it’s an important distinction: I recommend wines, I do not sell them and I have no desire to cross that line.

If I arranged some of my picks with a retailer, it would indeed be easier for you. And I wouldn’t have any inventory. Or sales targets–if I couldn’t find wines that I liked from one vendor at any particular time, then I simply wouldn’t put together any cases or half-cases of my picks.

I look forward to your thoughts.

* * *

Win some wine — thru Sep 7

tags: wine | wine blogs