Big box wine stores

Joseph, One of my more familiar haunts is Sam's in Chicago, another mega store. They are a bit different, as their staff are by and large quite knowledgeable (though not always sharing my tastes), but their shelf talkers are every bit as unreliable as Total Wines'. I was there yesterday, as a matter of fact, killing time while waiting for the Chinese consulate to process my visa request, and decided to buy some '04 dry German Rieslings, an area I'm not terribly familiar with. What I did was to focus on some names I knew (Prum, Dönnhoff, Muller-Catoir, Hexamer, etc.) and to look at the back labels of those I didn't know. I chose an unfamiliar wine that was a Terry Thiese selection and chose an unfamiliar Beaujolais because it was a Kermit Lynch import.

(BTW, we opened that KL Bojo last night:

Served chilled with a "picnic" dinner. Very cheery and satisfying.)

I usually find that, when dealing with unfamiliar imported wine, I trust the importer and/or broker more than any other information.

Mark Lipton

Florida must be a tough place to find reliable supplies of good wine at low cost. Everyone I know in Florida (present company excepted!) either drinks cheap White Zin, or Budweiser. ;-)

Many of these places truly work like warehouses. and I am concerned for the temperature variations (storage conditions) of the wine. So I ask - carefully, to probe if they even really understand the issue. IMHO, some places are really all about moving large quantities to a market that intends to drink the product right away. Ergo, there isn't as much care for storage conditions as I would prefer. Others, especially those that specialize in wine, seem to take more care. Again, it seems you can usually tell by asking some probative questions - if they don;t even really understand why you're asking, it's a good sign there may be something to be concerned about.

The other thing I have found when I buy from Beverages & More here in California, is to know what I want before I go. They have a good online store, so I review it - looking for deals, good wines, etc. And then I price compare with other large wine merchants in Nor Cal. That way I avoid confusing myself at the store.

As for the resident wine expert ratings - thus far, haven;t found any that I can trust. Have you?

Mark Lipton wrote in news:e80rfn$pci$ snipped-for-privacy@mailhub227.itcs.purdue.edu: I chose an unfamiliar wine that was a Terry Thiese

The Kermit Lynch suggestion is not new to me, KL is one of the go to labels for me as well.

I would be glad to have such a store available in PA. But I'm not holding my breath.

Dan-O

"Ric" wrote in news:08Tog.75470$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr11.news.prodigy.com:

I know those guys, they are my neighbors

I was mostly listening to the spiels to others last night, another thing I do, see what they are touting and "why"

Why, isn't "This one got a 95!" from somebody descriptive enough for you? ;-) I normally say I drink wine not numbers. It has gotten me some good wine in the right places like a little wine store in Tournon, France but tends to get a "smart ass" look in the US.

"Joe \"Beppe\"Rosenberg" wrote in news:k6ednWOYGO2HzDnZnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

That is true for the distribution (as oppossed to retail of most liquor in the US and surprise surprise if you can't figure out which former "racketeering" group managed to become "legit" quickly and efficiently, clue who had the connections for imports and machinery for delivery?

I give up - who?

"Ric" wrote in news:g_Yog.161741$F snipped-for-privacy@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net:

The bootleggers. Criminal to model citizens in the stroke of a pen.

awww .... I thought you were poking fun at Joe Kennedy. ;-)

"Ric" wrote in news:Fr_og.161763$F_3.42915 @newssvr29.news.prodigy.net:

If the boot fits . . .

Leg it??? :P

Mark Lipton