Time to Vent

So this young woman comes into the store and tells me that she doesn't know much about wines and that her friend told her we were having a going-out-of-business sale (Strike 1, she's pegged as a vulture). Then she tells me she heard we were having a party next Saturday and what is going to be on sale then? (Strike 2, she's pegged as a cheapskate). I told her that depending on how much inventory we have left will decide what kind of sale we have as it gets closer to closing. She said that she also heard that we had a 50% off everything sale (Strike 2A, see Strike 2). I told her that was 50% off 50 wines and they're all gone. Then she proceeded to ask me about this that and the other wine asking how sweet each one was. Then she stopped to call her friend to ask about a wine he had. She tells me that he buys this one wine from PRP and do we have it? I told her that they hold the rights to every wine they sell and we can't get them.

So she looks around some more and asks me why we're going out of business and what will I do next. I told her that Total Wine came to town and took away our business and that I haven't decided what I'll do now. She looks around some more and asks more questions. She asks me about a "Doctor-something wine" (figuring that it's Doctor Loosen). She then tells me that she usually gets it at Total Wine (Strike 3, you're out!) I looked her right in the eye and told her "You know, it's incredibly tacky to tell someone who is going out of business that you shop at the very place that is putting them out of business". She told me that there are other places in town who sell wine, and I told her that we were doing fine until TW came to town. She said "OK, I won't buy anything then" and she left.

I can't deal with insensitivity and ignorance. GOOD RIDDANCE!

Tenuta del Ornellaia "Ornellaia" 2003

photo © Linda Blakely 2007

Robert Parker rated this wonderful wine 93 points, stating "The opulent 2003 Ornellaia (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot) presents a dramatic contrast to the 2004 in its super-ripe, open nose and jammy dark fruit. Ample and warm on the palate, it is clearly the product of a very hot vintage, yet it shows notable freshness along with much persistence, great overall balance and a lingering note of sweetness on the finish. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2018.

Wine Spectator rated it 92 points. This is what they had to say: "Subtle aromas of currant, coffee and blackberry, yet rather coarse on the palate just now. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long, long finish. Needs some time to mellow. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best after 2009."

I thought this was an absolutely luscious wine. I had it with a perfectly cooked steak (rare!) with Lyonaise potatoes and it couldn't have been a better pairing! Tom was not as impressed, but he thinks his palate has been off lately due to taking medication for a sinus infection. I believe I enjoyed it enough for the both of us ;-)

It takes all kinds...

OK, so I was in the store this afternoon packaging up a shipment for eBay and this young woman walks in. I ask her if I can help her. She asks me what kind of perfume I wear. I told her I don't wear perfume because hubby is allergic. Then I ask her why she wants to know. She says that she's selling discounted perfumes. I pointed out the two very distinct "NO SOLICITORS!!" signs on either side of the door. She said, and I quote...

"But I'm not selling my body"

And she was serious.

:-l

Montes Carmenere Purple Angel 2004

photo © Linda Blakely 2007

Rated 90 points by Wine Spectator: "A bit pumped up with flashy toast, but shows solid raspberry and blackberry fruit, with mocha, tobacco and mineral notes on the long, nicely integrated finish. Drink now through 2008."

An incredibly delicious wine, for sure, but I have to disagree with the aromas they found. I got fresh-roasted coffee beans with a touch of grilled green peppers. The body was dense and lush with silky tannins and a long finish.

The End

photo © Linda Blakely 2007

This week Tom wrote this in our weekly email newsletter:

"After four years, Southside Cellars is closing its doors. Our last day of business will be June 30, which is a Saturday. We'll have an all-day event on that day, to say good-bye to our loyal customers and good friends. We've had a lot of good times here with many of you, and we'll miss those good times (and you.) We sincerely hope that some of you will stay in touch.

We know that many of you will miss our twice-weekly parties (that we called "wine tastings"), the wine and food events, the wine clubs, Divas, Tom's bread and maybe even this newsletter. We are happy to have had the opportunity to share them all with you. We wish we could do it some more.

Unfortunately, it's harder and harder for small retailers to compete in a market that is increasingly dominated by big-box stores. We find that we no longer can. Maybe it's the way of the future, but we'll miss the personal touch, interacting with our customers, sharing the good times and becoming friends. Linda and I will always look for small, locally owned stores and restaurants and give them our business and support.

All of that said, we've got a lot of wine we need to sell. We are open for business our usual hours until the end of June, so don't be strangers. And this isn't the last newsletter, either, although there won't be too many more.

Our wine tastings will stop at the end of May, mostly because it's hard to get support from our suppliers when they know we won't be buying anything from them, but we'll have three more: two this week (Thursday and Saturday, as usual) and one next Thursday. Each of them will be hosted by the reps who have given us the most support, and stuck by us through the lean times this past year."

I can't tell you how angry I am. Not only at the big store that's putting us out of business, but also at those customers who left us to shop there. You know who you are. Go ahead, shop there. You won't get the personal service you got here. You won't get the passion for the product that you got here either. What you will get is some uninformed flunky who has no vested interest in the company trying to tell you how good their private-label shit is that the company makes a huge profit on. And you know what? You deserve it.

Hahn Syrah 2004

photo © Linda Blakely 2007

Just about everything Hahn makes is good, IMO. The Central Coast Syrah is no exception. Full of juicy, ripe fruit (raspberries, blackberries) with soft tannins. This wine would be too easy to guzzle, so a bit of restraint is called for. But I'm a professional, so I'll take my chances ;-)

Ever had a "bad palate" day?

photo © Linda Blakely 2007

We've all heard of "bad hair days", but have you ever had a "bad palate" day? I think I experienced that last night. Tom and I took the leftover wines from the store's wine tasting over to our favorite restaurant to have with dinner. We were both somewhat underwhelmed with the wines.

The Lyeth Meritage, which we both have really enjoyed in the past, was thin and lifeless.

The John Duval Shiraz Entity left us shrugging. This was a wine produced by the previous winemaker for the infamous Penfold's Grange. Don't get me wrong, it was good. Very good. But I think it had some big shoes to fill. Had we just tasted it not knowing that it was made by Duval, we might have enjoyed it for the wine it was. Also, the wine was from the Barossa region, which usually indicates a dense, concentrated fruit bomb. The Entity was more subtle and elegant, which I think was more like a McLaren Vale or Clare Valley Shiraz.

The Jim Barry McRae Wood was the best of the three, but it was still not as great as what it had been in the past.

All in all, we think we were just having an "off" night. The store is floundering, customers are losing interest and we are feeling the effects personally. We'll try the wines again in the near future under more happy circumstances. Heaven forbid we are just losing our taste for wine. I shudder to think.