by Dan Perkins WFN Guest Blogger
If you’re reading this blog hoping to gain more wine knowledge and how you might enhance your wine drinking experience let me share this little secret with you: It’s not always about the wine. Much of what you’ll learn and what you’ll gain is in what I refer to as the accessories. These are bits of knowledge and shortcuts to making wine a passion and also making wine accessible to everyday living. Unfortunately, this leads to the “curse.”
What is the curse? Well, remember back when you enjoyed that first glass of Sutter Home White Zinfandel? You really liked it. But later you begin to notice that sugary taste and residual headache and before long you were pining for something a bit drier... then sometime after finding Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay you started to find the wine was a bit flabby with an all too familiar sweetness that caused you to look for a shade of pink in the glass...
So, then you decided a couple of dollars more for a bottle of “nice” chardonnay really wouldn’t make much of an impact on the wallet so you began to regularly purchase Mondavi, Markham or Franciscan... but then white wine just wasn’t cutting it anymore so you decided to make that leap over to the “red” side and before you knew it you were buying wines by the case for four and six hundred dollars a pop!
Yes, my friends... that is the curse.
Your taste in wine will evolve and as it evolves you’ll notice the differences in why some wines...
...are only a couple of bucks and why others require taking out second mortgages on your home. However, that doesn’t mean you should pay top dollar for quality wine. There are many new wineries putting out some fine wines but not demanding the high prices because they are yet to be discovered. Like many businesses, wineries are also susceptible to operating on small or even negative margins while following a business plan toward profitability. The key is knowing about these producers. Secondly, there are negociants or wine buyers who take the wine of smaller growers and winemakers and sell the product under its own name. Finding these wines can afford you great quality at small prices.
Several years ago, I was talking with Michael Havens of Havens Wines in his cellar. He had over 1500 gallons of quality merlot that could be bottled as Havens Merlot had he enough barrels to cellar it. This is the same juice that would sell for $25 dollars or more. Instead he was selling it off to a negociant. In fact; had I a barrel (which holds about 60 gallons and produces over 25 cases of wine) I could have purchase this wine for about $13 a gallon... you do the math! Of course there’s the cost of the barrel and bottles; but still.
So how do you find these deals? Great question. You either do a lot of reading and online research and then you’ll need to find and taste these precious little jewels or you can get to know the local wine shop guy or gal and get their already, qualified opinions.
Now when I say “local wine shop” I’m not talking some little mom and pop store (but those are the best!), I mean some place you can go, which has a good selection and the people who stock the shelves are personable. Even the local supermarket can be a good place if the person who runs the liquor department cares about wine... so how will you know? Just start up a conversation. If you see their eyes light up and they start giving you information beyond what you’ve asked... you got a live one on the hook!
When I first started learning about wine I was given a wine from one of my wife’s friends whose husband owned and operated several popular restaurants in LA. I didn’t know what this wine was so I happened into the local Trader Joe’s (a discount gourmet food shop here on the west coast)and asked a guy there who was stocking boxes of cheap, close out wines. When I asked him about the wine I received from a friend, a 1976 Chateau Petrus, he just looked at me and said, “I’d like to have your friends!” It just happens Chateau Petrus is one of the most expensive and highly regarded wines in the WORLD! From that moment on this guy and I were not only on a first name basis (his name was Tim by the way), every time I walked in he was quick to get my attention and tell me about the great, new wine that came in for only five bucks!
Years later I would move to the Palm Springs area and walked into a local shop and met Dan. Soon we began having Friday afternoon wine sessions. I would walk in and he would have already selected high quality wines for pennies. In fact he would save samples of wines he had tasted and have me try them... “So what do you think?” I would nod my approval... “Drinks like a thirty dollar cab doesn’t it?” Again, I would nod... “Seven bucks!” He would start putting my allotment on the counter.
So, how do you find places like this?
This is key... Walk into a shop or a store and start asking questions. What you hear will tell you about the care and passion the store or personnel have for wine. Next, on the second visit, will they remember your name or remember your last visit? This means they’ll recall what you like and how to steer you in the right direction with your hard earned cash. Also, if they try to sell you more expensive wines... or “up-sale” you wine... that’s not the shop for you! A good wine shop is interested in keeping your business for the long haul not the short sale. Finally, and most importantly, this has to do with personality: Do you like the people who are waiting on you? The above suggestions will tell you whether you can trust them, but you should like the folks who are helping you. Why? Because, for a wine lover, going into a wine store is like going to the library for an avid reader. It should be an exciting experience and one where you know you are walking away with something very special.
Finally, you may be in a place where a wine shop is not in the cards... Well, you still have the internet! But don’t just order wines... you can still call and talk to a live person and they will be able to give you the same experience as though you were there in person.
Again, why all this matters is simply a matter of economics and availability. Drinking wine is meant to be a wonderful experience... for those who drink wine religiously, drinking wine becomes more enjoyable when you can drink it with better quality and more inexpensively. Why? Because no one likes being under a curse!
For a great wine shop check out mine at HERE
Cheers!
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