Go Big Red! A Slight Diversion into March Madness

Originally published on March 22, 2010.

I don’t usually pay much attention to March basketball fever. But this year, Cornell University* has been advancing. And advancing. And has actually advanced to the Sweet 16. It’s MADNESS!

So to celebrate, from now until the end of the game on Thursday, I’m offering a sweet Sweet 16 deal. 16 bottles of (BIG) RED wine and you’ll get a 16% discount. (And no, they don’t have to be big, full-bodied red. Just red.) I figure it’s only fair since I credit the Cornell Hotel School wine tasting course as my formative wine experience.

Now those of you who actually pay attention to my views on wine store price structure are saying, “hey, you always tell me that if a store has a standing discount of 15%, their margins are probably too high to begin with.” And that’s true. But this is not a standing discount. It’s limited-time-only MADNESS! It disappears as soon as the game is over on Thursday. If the Big Red win, I’ll come up with another discount scheme (maybe 8% off on 8? Or a stupid crazy deal on Finger Lakes Riesling?) But I’ll cross that (suspension) bridge when I come to it.

And to make things more fun, you have to know the secret phrase to get the discount

Which you would know if you subscribed to the Frankly Wines newsletter.

Which you can do right here.

A NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: That link’s dead, so maybe consider subscribing to the Copake Wine Works newsletter!

If you’re seriously considering taking me up on this offer, come into the store or if you order on-line, type the secret phrase in the comments box when you check out. The regular 10% discount will show up in your shopping cart and we’ll credit the remainging 6% after checkout.

Go BIG RED!

* Guess where I went to school