How People Buy Wine

A few years ago, before I was in the wine business, and had a little more disposable income, I would visit my favorite wine purveyor every other week or so, and stock up.
One visit would concentrate on "value" wines, usually around $20 per bottle. The next visit would be for "nicer" wines, usually $30-40 per bottle. Rarely would I spend over $50 per bottle. I would usually buy 2 or 3 bottles of the same wine at a time. If I really liked a wine and it was a good value, I might splurge for 6 bottles, or sometimes, even a full case of 12. I would always be sure to buy the latest and greatest Cabernet, and then fill in the rest of a case with Italian, French, Spanish and other wines. The white wines usually fell into the "value" category.
Now, being in the wine business, it's fun to watch other customers buying patterns.
You always get your mixed case buyers, but I would say 3 bottle buyers are the most common. With 3 bottles you're not overly committed to a particular wine, but you can still try it over a period of time to see how it evolves.
Most common purchase quantities per my observation at Balaban's:
3 bottles
6 bottles
2 bottles
4 bottles
1 bottle
12 bottles
Does anyone really care about this?
Probably not.
My blog.

Tom

Should I decant my wine?

A customer came in the other day and bought a couple of wines I recommended. I love when that happens. As I was checking him out, I suggested that he decant one of the wines. He asked what I meant, and I told him to pour the wine into a decanter for an hour or so. Then he asked "what's a decanter"? I was speechless for a moment. Have I become a "wine snob"? Why should I expect everyone to know what decanting is? So I explained it to him and he merrily went on his way - another happy customer!
Which brings us back to the topic of decanting.
There are two reasons to decant your wine. For older reds (10 years or more), you decant to strain off the sediment that may have developed over the years. If you've ever had the experience of chewing these solids that form in red wine, you know that they need to be removed. "Purists" will scoff at this, but the easiest way to decant these wines is to pour them from the bottle through a strainer into your decanter.
The second reason to decant is to aerate young wines. This usually applies to young reds, but I've seen whites also benefit greatly from a little air. The extra air opens up the nose and softens the tannins. Once again, purists will hate this idea, but, what I like to do is pour the wine from the bottle through  portable aerator into the decanter. This provides extra aeration and will benefit any young wine.
Decanters come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, and prices range from $5 to $1000+.  Seriously.
The good news is they all pretty much accomplish the same thing, so expensive will likely get you a prettier decanter, but not necessarily a better one.

Have a great weekend.

Tom

Cult Wines - Fact and Fiction

A couple of weeks ago in one of my newsletters, I used the term "cult wine" to describe Bryant Family Cabernet Sauvignon.
And it makes me think: Is Bryant really a cult wine, or did I use the term to shamelessly sell the wine?
I would say the answers are "yes" and "yes".
The term "cult wine" has been around for several years. The wine industry uses the term "cult", whether it is legitimate or not,  to sell wine, because wine buyers want cult wines.
So what is a "legitimate" cult wine?
Let's see what Wikipedia says: "Cult wines are those for which dedicated groups of committed enthusiasts will pay large sums of money. Cult wines are often seen as trophy wines to be collected or as investment wine to be held rather than consumed."
In addition, cult wines are almost impossible to get. They are usually purchased through winery mailing lists, and those lists are closed to new buyers. Waiting lists can be as long as 10 years.
In other words, you have to wait for existing list members to either die, or drop off the list for some reason.
Pretty wild, huh?
Most of the major wine producing countries produce some cult wines, but, here are a few of the more famous ones from the good old USA:
Screaming Eagle: $1500-$2000 per bottle!
Harlan: $500-$800
Scarecrow: $300-$400
Bryant: $400-$500
You also have Sine Quo Non, Araujo, Colgin and Saxum.
Opus One, Dominus, Peter Michael, Dunn, Kistler and Caymus are also considered cult wines, but, their production is higher, and consequently, they are a little easier to find.
Buyer beware: If someone is trying to peddle you a "cult wine" - it probably isn't.

Tom

                        

Winery Focus: Schramsberg

The more you read these blogs, the more you will see my obsession with Champagne and sparkling wines.
We started off our Thanksgiving with a wine from my favorite domestic sparkling wine producer - Schramsberg. This is what we had:

NV Schramsberg Mirabelle Brut - $24 at Balaban's (Shameless plug acknowledged)

Schramsberg also has one of the best winery tours I've ever experienced.
So, next time you're in Napa, make sure Schramsberg is on your list of wineries to visit.
You will have to make an appointment, but it's well worth the extra effort. You will get an informative tour of the cool Schramsberg caves, and an interesting overview of the winemaking process. They make their wine the same way as Champagne which is known as methode champenoise. They even still turn the bottles by hand, which is known as riddling. You'll hear all about it on the tour.
At the end of the tour you end up in a candle lit open area of the cave, where you taste all of the Schramsberg wines - or at least most of them.
You might also get to taste the still wines that are made under the J. Davies label - a Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.
All the wines are excellent.
I can't wait to go back!
Have a great weekend.

Tom

A section of the Schramsberg cave

Champagne - The Real Stuff

I love Champagne. 
It's the wine of celebration, it's very food versatile and it makes me happy when I drink it.
But, alas. as hard as I try, I still sometimes mis-use the name "Champagne".
Champagne should only refer to sparkling wines produced in the French wine region of Champagne.
Even within France, if the wine is not produced in Champagne, but is made in the Champagne method, it is called a Cremant.
That Champagne method that I mentioned is known as methode champenoise, which is a "process" that is used to make the world's finest sparkling wines.
If you want to learn more about the methode champenoise process, I've included a link below. It's actually pretty interesting.
In general though, when someone asks for Champagne they are thinking of a dry white or rose' sparkling wine.
Here are some price ranges for dry sparklers available at Balaban's. Only the domestics and Champagnes use the methode champenoise, which is reflected in the price:
Spanish Cava:  $15 - $25
Italian Prosecco:  $18 - $30
Domestic Sparkling: $20 - $100+
Champagne: $40 - "the sky's the limit"!

http://www.winesparkle.com/what.html

Tom

America's First Great Wine

My wife, Judy constantly sends me articles to use for these blogs.
I rarely use them, but she keeps sending them.
She's a good woman.
But an article she sent on "Amerca's first great wine" really intrigued me.
Of course, Thanksgiving is tomorrow. And since this is truly an American holiday, I always have some domestic wine to serve with our meal.
Can you guess what wine I'm NOT going to pour on Thursday?
How about Catawba?
Anybody out there having Catawba with their turkey?
Probably not.
Well, America's first great wine was made from the Catawba grape.
The style of the wine was a sparkling rose' and it was made by Nicholas Longworth in the Ohio River Valley in 1842.
Up until this wine was made, all American made wine was, well, let's just say, really, really bad. Like the article said, "the wines produced had "foxy" and musky aromas. They were terrible wines that nobody wanted to drink".
One last piece of trivia: The Catawba wine was so well received, that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow celebrated it in his poem "Ode to Catawba Wine".
I thought that was interesting.
I'm still sticking with Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Noir though.
My thanks to all who read these blogs.
Have a great Thanksgiving!

Tom

Wine Spectator's Top 10 Wines of 2013

This year Wine Spectator celebrates the 25th anniversary of  "the top100 wines of the year list".
This used to be a very exciting time in the wine world.
But I'm using the past tense, and here's why.
By the time the list comes out, you can't get most of the wines. And the ones you can get are often very expensive.
This wasn't always the case, but it has been for about the past 5-7 years.
Here's a look at this year's top 10, with the suggested retail price and with commentary on my ability as a retailer to get the wine:

#10: 2010 Quilceda Creek Cabernet, $135 - no longer available
#9:   2010 Lewis Reserve Cabernet, $135 - no longer available
#8:   2010 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape, $120 - no longer available
#7:   2010 Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape, $120 - no longer available
#6:   2008 Mascarello Monpravito Barolo, $110 - no longer available
#5:   2010 Kongsgaard Chardonnay, $75 - need to be on winery's mailing list to purchase
#4:   2010 Hewitt Cabernet Sauvignon, $92 - not available in Missouri
#3:   2010 Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir, $65 - Balabans received a 6 bottle allocation
#2:   2010 Canon La Gaffeliere Bordeaux, $103 - no longer available in Missouri
#1:   2004 Cane Rioja Imperial Gran Reserva, $63 - not available in Missouri

See what I mean?
When a list like this comes out, wine enthusiasts want to buy the wines, and they get frustrated when they can't.
And they take their frustrations out on the retailers, not Wine Spectator.
So there you go.
Anybody want a bottle of Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir?

Have a great weekend!

Tom

The Wine Ratings Game

During my high school and college years, I received my share of "A" and "C" grades.
How did I react to each?  A = Satisfaction. This is what I worked for and "deserved" to receive!
C = DEVASTATION! Woe is me - I'm no better than "average".
All the major critics use the 100 point scale to grade wine these days. Let's take the Wine Spectator scale and translate the score range into school grades (A through F):

• 95-100: Classic: a great wine = A to A+
• 90-94: Outstanding: a wine of superior character and style = B+ to A-
• 85-89: Very good: a wine with special qualities = C+ to B+
• 80-84: Good: a solid, well-made wine = C to C+
• 75-79: Mediocre: a drinkable wine that may have minor flaws = D- to D+
• 50-74: Not recommended = D- to F 

So, how many 80-84 point wines have you bought lately?  Huh?? 
Are you on the hunt for any 85-89 point wines? These are "very good: wines with special qualities".
Probably not.
It almost seems like if a wine doesn't get at least a 90 point rating, it's not worthy of our hard earned money. 
Too bad.
Like our grades in school, standards for wine ratings are sometimes unrealistically high. Everyone wants the highest scoring wines at the best possible prices.
Retailers won't even post a score of 80-84 points, because they know it will be the death of the wine.
I've had many really good wines with scores of 87-89 points that are also excellent values. But, the sad thing is, I usually don't advertise the scores. I just promote the taste and value of the wines. 
Nothing is going to change any time soon. Certainly not because I wrote a little blog about this.
But, I think if we would all lighten up a little about wine scores and trust our own palates, we would actually enjoy a greater variety of wines, and we would enjoy them NOW - without waiting for some "grade A" wine to evolve over the next 10-15 years.

Tom

Wines For Thanksgiving

Ahh, the holidays. Family, friends, food, wine, football  .....  travel delays, bad weather, arguments, kitchen mishaps, naughty kids, frustration, confusion.

CRYING!
How do we get through the holidays every year?
My family drinks!
Which brings me logically to the point of this blog: Thanksgiving wines. Selecting the right wines is not so much about the turkey, but all the sides that go with it. If your family is anything like mine, you're going to have all kinds of diverse flavors bouncing around your Thanksgiving table.
So the key is to have several "food friendly" wines that you know your family and friends will enjoy. Here's a good list to choose from: White: Chardonnay, Riesling (dry and slightly sweet), Chenin Blanc (dry and slightly sweet), Alsatian Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer.
Red: Pinot Noir, Cru Beaujolais (Morgon or Moulin a Vent are two of my favorites), Barbera, and Grenache.
And of course dry sparklers - especially Champagne. These are a must.
I know our wines will consist of a Champagne, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Chateauneuf du Pape. Probably more. I know CdP was not in my recommended list above, but, our family likes it, and it's become a tradition. It's also usually Grenache based, which is listed above.
My only other Thanksgiving wine rule: Make sure you have plenty of whatever you're serving! 

Tom

Chardonnay - The King of White Grapes!

Chardonnay has been beaten up a little over the years.  Remember the days of ABC - "anything but Chardonnay"?
And there have been, and still are, a handful of producers who seem to manipulate their wine so much that all they're left with is an oaky buttery mess.
But, for the most part, there is more high quality Chardonnay being made today than ever before - at all price levels.
So is it a stretch to label Chardonnay as the king or queen of white grapes?
I don't think so.
You might be able to make strong arguments for Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah or Pinot Noir for greatest red grape, but, I don't think another white grape comes even close to Chardonnay.
Here's a handful of some amazing domestic producers: Chateau Montelena, Paul Hobbs, Kistler, Ramey, Pahlmeyer and Lewis.
Their wines aren't cheap, but, treat yourself to one of these every now and then and you will be in wine heaven.
You can also get great Chardonnay made in a variety of styles at very reasonable prices, say $10 - $20 per bottle.
Once you leave the United States, you have what are considered the greatest Chardonnays in the world from Burgundy and Chablis. These are beautiful, age worthy wines that are ideal for fine dining or special occasions.
Finally, there is Champagne and sparkling wine - always a personal favorite.
Blanc de Blancs Champagne is made entirely from Chardonnay.
I'm just really scratching the surface here. Great Chardonnay is made all over the world. I've tasted excellent Chardonnays from Australia, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand and Italy.
So, if you still happen to be in "ABC" mode - SNAP OUT OF IT!
Get out to your favorite wine monger (hopefully that's Balabans), ask the resident wine geek (hopefully that's me) for some recommendations, and enjoy a glass of Chardonnay.

Tom

   

Wine and Sushi

We had our sushi fix last night.
It was almost two weeks since our last sushi meal and I was starting to get a little cranky.
I'm better now, though.
Sushi and sashimi offer a broad spectrum of interesting wine paring possibilities.
There's tons of information on line for paring wine and sushi, and there are really no hard and fast rules.
So these are just my opinions.
If I'm just having the raw fish, or sashimi, I like to stick with something subtle and simple.
The flavors of the fish are so delicate and elegant, the wines should have similar flavor profiles.
Champagne, Pinot Noir and premium sakes do the trick for me.
If you're going the sake route, make sure it's a high quality "cold" sake.
Never hot. Never!
Once you begin to add soy sauce, wasabi, spicy mayo and a host of other flavors to your nigiri (sliced raw fish on molded rice), or maki (sushi rolled in rice and cut into pieces), you have a whole new ball game.
Speaking of ball game, the Cards had another great season, winning the National League pennant only to lose to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. There's lots of great baseball in store for St. Louis in the future, though.
Congratulations St. Louis Cardinals!
But I digress.
Once you add all these intense flavors to sushi, it's time to notch up the intensity of the wine.
Alsace offers some great options with Pinot Gris, Riesling and Gewurztraminer. I also like French or domestic Viognier. These white wines provide ample fruit and some spice of their own to compliment those intense flavors in the sushi.
I also like Rose' and Pinot Noir here.
There is a growing contingent of sushi/wine lovers that say the best way to go is red Bordeaux or California Cabernet Sauvignon.
I don't know about that one, but, I'm not opposed to giving it a try.
Anyway, as you can see, there are loads of options to try.
If you're experimenting, bring a couple of different wines in case one of them doesn't work for you.

Have a great weekend!

Tom

Wine, Beer and Halloween Candy

Trick or Teat!

You know, I never really liked Halloween all that much.

Even as a kid, my mom would force me to go trick or treating.

Oh, I liked the candy, Reese's peanut butter cups and Snickers being my favorites, but I just didn't enjoy dressing up like a clown or a monster and begging for it. My little sister brought in enough for both of us, she liked dressing up, and never had a clue that I was pilfering her candy. 

Perfect.

Anyway, we're stocked with candy at home now, and I do enjoy handing it out to the kids.

And ..... 

I hope their's a bunch left over, so I can eat it with some beer and wine.

Here are some interesting parings, some of which I created, and others that I've read about.

Snickers: beer: milk stout; wine: Brachetto. There is a lot going on in a Snickers bar, with all those sweet and salty flavors attacking your palate. Brachetto is a sweet rose' sparkler from Italy. The sweet strawberry flavors will complement the milk chocolate, while the bubbles and slight acidity will do well with the salt.
Milky Way: beer: milk stout again or an English barleywine. Wine: Tawny Port - no doubt about it.
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup: beer: sweet or imperial stout or a sweetened fruit lambic; wine: The Brachetto would work here too, but I think a Merlot would also be very interesting.
Sour Patch Kids: beer: Flemish red ale or American IPA; wine: tough one. When in doubt - Champagne!
Candy Corn: beer: English ESB or American or English IPA; wine: gotta be sweet. Icewine or Sauternes.
Dark Chocolate: beer: chocolate or coffee stout. wine: something big, like a  Syrah/Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon would both do nicely here.

Boo!

Tom

    

Food, Wine and Mouthfeel

Here's another of one those wine terms for you: Mouth feel or mouthfeel.
This describes the sensation of wine in the mouth. What is that mouth of yours "feeling"?
Typically, you will be describing a texture. Silky, smooth, rough, harsh or hot are a few of the sensations we experience as we taste various types of wines.
The beauty of a wine's mouthfeel is that when paired properly, it is in perfect harmony with a particular food's mouthfeel.
The classic example is matching the full bodied, tannic mouthfeel of Cabernet Sauvignon with the smooth, slippery  marbled fat found in quality cuts of steak.
Other classics include:
Champagne and potato chips (acid and bubbles vs. salt)
Chablis and oysters (crisp minerality vs. briny, salty and creamy)
Sauternes and Foie Gras (rich and sweet vs. rich and savory)
Does anybody care about this stuff now?
Nah.
It's World Series time, and the Cards are in the thick of things again.
Have a great weekend.

Tom

Here are two famous Cardinals fans:

Fredbird

Elmo

                                

Cabernet .... Franc?

What do you think of when someone says Cabernet Sauvignon?
Big, bold, noble, powerful, elegant - "the king of red grapes"!
And, what do you think of when somebody says Cabernet Franc?
Eh ... maybe nothing at all.
Ok, I'll admit Cabernet Franc is no Cabernet Sauvignon.
That's like comparing, say, a White Castle hamburger to a dry aged New York strip.
But guess what?
I like White Castle hamburgers.
And I also like Cabernet Franc.
Cab Franc is one of the five grapes used in making the great wines of Bordeaux. It is also often used in red blends in California, Washington and really, all over the world.
The Right Bank of Bordeaux uses Cab Franc as its "lead" blending grape.
Further north in the Loire Valley (still in France) Cab Franc is the ONLY grape used to make wine in the regions of Chinon, and the lesser known Bourguell.
Anyway, right around now you may be thinking:
Tom .... Shut up already! What does it taste like?
Here are some tasting notes from a fantastic Cab Franc we have at Balabans:
2007 Nicholson Jones Cellar Arts Napa Valley Cuvee - $35
70% Cabernet Franc/30% Cabernet Sauvignon
The nose opens with cedar and old wine barrel aromas, then unleashes notes of savory baking spices.
The flavor packs intense red fruits of strawberry, raspberry and plum with hints of mint and lavender.
Doesn't that sound delicious?
Believe me - it is.

Tom

                           

Are you aging your wine too long?

There's nothing more satisfying than drinking an aged Bordeaux, Burgundy or California Cabernet. Those are rare but always special wine moments.
However, for the most part, I prefer my wines young, and I really don't think most wines evolve that much after 5 years - maximum 10. I am also, I would say, hyper sensitive to oxidation - a process that occurs in all wines as they age.
I just don't like it. 
Oxidation - sounds like a topic of a future blog to me.
Anyway, young wines were not always so drinkable. Only in the past 20 years or so did you find this phenomenon with young wine, especially reds.
One of the main reasons for this "youthful drinkability" is a process called "green harvesting". This practice has been in place since the 1980's, but did not become common until the 90's.
Green harvesting is the removal of immature grape bunches from the vine, typically for the purpose of decreasing yield. What this seemingly simple process does for wine, however, is magical.
Removing the immature grapes while they are still green induces the vines to put all their energy into developing the remaining grapes. This results in wines that are more ripe and well rounded with softer, silkier tannins. Also, the "greenness" that can occur with underdeveloped grapes is significantly reduced.
The ultimate outcome is the production of wines that don't need to age as long as in the past.
Wine countries all over the world have adopted this process, so you will even find some young Bordeaux and  Barolos that are more approachable in their youth. 
Wine Spectator editor, Matt Kramer, wrote an interesting article titled: "Is It Worth It to Age Wines Anymore?" If you want to know what a supposed expert thinks about this topic, check out the link below:

Tom

http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/47848

How to learn more about wine: Taste!

The world of wine can be very confusing, frustrating and even intimidating at times.
There are so many grapes, countries, regions and different wine terms, it can make your head spin.
I like to say I learn something and forget something about wine every day.
Yep. That's what I like to say.
So, what to do??
I recommend tasting. Taste as much and as often as you can. Now, this is not the same as "drinking" wine, although that's not necessarily a bad thing either. Tasting implies that you taste several wines within a short period of time. You don't even have to swallow the wine. That's why you will always see spit buckets at serious wine tastings.
Tastings are the best learning experiences you can have. Side by side, you can really taste the difference between a Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, or, the difference between French Chardonnay and California.
Ever think that Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are similar in taste profile? Try one right after the other.
The St. Louis area offers many opportunities to taste wine for no or minimal cost.
Of course there are all of the Missouri wineries. There are 7 wine regions here, four of which are American Viticultural Areas (AVA's): Augusta, Hermann and two regions in the Ozarks.
All of the major liquor stores, wine shops and many grocery stores have complimentary tastings Friday nights or on Saturdays in the afternoon.
Here at Balabans, we taste four wines, two white and two red, every Saturday from 1:00 - 3:00 PM. We serve the wines with our Artisanal cheese plate, and this is all complimentary.
We also have Wine pairing dinners every month on a Sunday evening. There are five courses paired with five wines, and these dinners are amazing - in my humble opinion.
So whatever you do, don't be intimidated by wine - it offers way to much enjoyment for that.

Tom

Baseball

If you know anything about St. Louis, you know baseball is not "just baseball".
It's religion here.
And our beloved Cardinals just made it past the first round of the playoffs - again.
This year was a little different for me, though.
I normally want the Cards to just crush the competition and move on.
But, you know, I really liked the Bucs. They are a class act, and, if the Cards wouldn't have won this series, I would be pulling for the Bucs all the way.
So, how do I celebrate when the Cards win postseason baseball?
Champagne, of course!
I didn't have any last night, but, I have the whole weekend ahead of me.
Can't wait for more baseball - can't wait for Champagne!

Tom

       

              

Wine Bottle Size Trivia

Brian, one of our owners here at Balabans, hosted a party this weekend and cracked open a special bottle from his cellar.

It was a 6 Liter bottle of 1986 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon. He said the wine was "excellent", which was no surprise to me.

Me. I was driving to Chicago with my wife. As I'm telling her about this wine, she asks: "so how many bottles are there in 6 Liters"?

I responded "8". And then thought, wait, maybe it's 10. Or, is it 12?

Dang. I wasn't sure. I hadn't thought about this in a while. 

So, after we got home, I revisited wine bottle sizes.

Incidentally, my initial response was correct. 6 Liters = 8 regular bottles of wine.

Here are some other bottle sizes. These sizes are for still wines. Bottle sizing is a little different for sparkling and Champagne wines.

187.5 ml - Piccolo or Split - Typically used for single servings of Champagne.

375 ml - Demi or Half - Holds one half of the standard 750 ml size.

750 ml - Standard - Most common wine bottle size.

1.5 L - Magnum - Equivalent to 2 standard 750 ml bottles.

3.0 L - Double Magnum - Equivalent to 2 Magnums or 4 standard  bottles

4.5 L - Jeroboam - Equivalent to 6 standard bottles 

6.0 L - Imperial - Equivalent to 8 standard bottles or 2 Double Magnums

9.0 L - Salmanazar - Equivalent to 12 standard bottles - a full case of wine!

12.0 L - Balthazar - Equivalent to 16 standard bottles.

15.0 L - Nebuchadnezzar - Equivalent to 20 standard bottles.

18.0 L - Melchior (not pictured) - Equivalent to 24 standard bottles - 2 cases of wine!

Tom

Now those are some BIG bottles!

When is wine a good value?

It seems you can buy wine almost anywhere these days. That can make it tough sometimes on your friendly, local independent wine retailer.
Sam's, Costco, Trader Joe's, Walgreens, Amazaon.com, even Aldi's is hawking wine at dirt cheap prices. 
I generally consider wine to be a good value if it is under $20 retail and of high quality. The high quality part is essential. At Balabans, I spend more time trying to find high quality value wines than anything else. A quick physical count shows we have over 100 labels under $20, with many wines at $9 and $10. And I can guarantee you every one of those 100+ wines is of high quality. Because somebody here tried them before they were purchased.
Cheers to value!

Tom

Wacky Wine Customers

A lovely couple had just finished lunch the other day, and as they were leaving, they hesitated and began lurking in the retail section of Balabans.
I was passed out at the bar at the time, but you know how you get this strange feeling sometimes that suddenly wakes you up and you don't know why that happens but you're happy when it does because something good usually happens?
Well that's exactly what happened to me!
I woke up, checked for drool and dashed over to them, smiling, asking:
Can I help you folks with some wine selections?
They: We would like a Pinot Grigio.
Me: I have several Pinot Grigios at all price levels. Do you have any favorites?
They: We like sweet Pinot Grigio.
Me: Really? I'm sorry, I only have crisp, dry Pinot Grigio from Italy or Pinot Gris from Oregon.
Me again: Have you ever had a sweet Pinot Grigio?
They: No, but we think it would be good.
Me: Uh Huh.
Me again: If you like sweeter wines I have some great Rieslings from Germany that you might like.

Time passes as they contemplate this life altering decision. I'm worried that I might fall back to sleep right in front of them.

Suddenly they ask:
Do you have any Missouri wines?
Me: Sorry, I don't.
They: No?? What kind of wines do you have?
Me: France, Italy, Germany, Argentina, Spain, California, Washington .............
They: I hear California is starting to make some good wine.
Me: Uh Huh.

Now I'm thinking: do I slit my wrists now and end this, or should I continue to try to sell them something.
I continue:
You know, I think you really might like this Riesling. If you don't, it's only costing you $13.
They: Ok. We'll try it.

I know I'm being silly here, but the above exchange is pretty much verbatim.

I hope they like the Riesling.

Tom

Weird Wine Grapes

Everyone is familiar with Chardonnay, Cabernet Merlot and other popular grape varietals.
But, what about grapes like Abrusco, Baga or Vermentino? Ever heard of any of those?
These little buggers make good wine too.
Let's take a closer look at one these grapes.
Vermentino.
Let's break down the name:
Vermen, rhymes with vermin. And what is vermin?
Here's what Webster says: small insects and animals (such as fleas or mice) that are sometimes harmful to plants or other animals and that are difficult to get rid of. Very bad
Tino: well, tino isn't really a word.
But isn't vermin bad enough? Don't you feel sorry for the Vermentino grape now?
This little guy probably gets beat up in the vineyard all the time by his fellow grapes.

Seriously though, Vermentino is a grape indigenous to Central Italy and it is widely planted in Sardinia.It is also used in Languedoc, France. The wine is white, and you could say it is similar in style to Pinot Grigio: light, crisp and refreshing with balanced acidity making it a good food wine - like all Italian whites. 
It's also very reasonably priced. I don't recall ever seeing a Vermentino over $20.

So if you happen to come across a Vermentino wine at your favorite wine monger (hopefully that's Balabans)
Don't be afraid.
Give it a try.

Tom 

Vermentino

                                         

STOP PICKING ON ME!!

A great afternoon at a Missouri winery.

Judy and I went to Blumenhof Winery in Dutzow, MO this Sunday.
This is one of our favorite local wineries. The people there are great and the wines are decent. Even though they serve food, you can bring your own picnic, which is what we did.
This Sunday, the weather was ideal.
The live music was a blues band - they were excellent.
Of course, the company was perfect.
We had a dry white blend, a semi-dry white made from the Traminette grape and a dry red made from the Cynthiana grape.
These are about as good as Missouri wines get.
And no, we did not drink 3 bottles of wine.

So you're probably about to ask the following questions:

Tom, Does Balabans carry these 3 wines?
No.
Do you plan on bringing these wines into Balabans any time soon?
No.
Well, what the heck? What Missouri wines DOES Balabans carry?
No.

No.

We're looking forward to our next visit to Blumenhof - probably when Erin Bode is playing in October.

I'll explain all the "nos" in a future blog.

Go Cards!

Tom