Author: Christy

Why Con Edison Loves Wine Stores

Originally published on April 26, 2009.

My new iPhone (I finally broke down and got one) says it’s 89 degrees outside. And it was 80-something yesterday. Which means the A/C went on yesterday and hasn’t been turned off yet. Looking at the weather charts, I may be able to shut it down on Tuesday night. That’s better than letting it just run until October. Eventually it will go on non-stop until, yes, October. But hopefully that won’t need to happen until mid-May.

You can see why Con Ed loves wine stores. A/C from May until October! The wine must stay happy….which keeps Con Ed happy. It is EnergyStar rated, but I’m sure it doesn’t do much for the total carbon footprint of all those wines making their way to New York. Unless you live in a cave, or Alaska, there’s not much else you can do to keep the wines cool at their end destination (although I’d be happy to hear suggestions….if they’ll keep my A/C bill down.)

What We Drank Tonight at Frankly Wines….

Originally published on April 25, 2009.

….”drank” isn’t the correct term. In the state of New York, you can’t legally drink in a wine store because the specific license only allows for the sale of wine to be consumed off the premises. This is the origin of the fancy, industry term “off-premise account” which is the opposite of an “on-premise account” where you can only sell wine to be consumed (are you ready for it….) on the premises. The non-fancy industry terms for on-premise accounts are “bar” and “restaurant”.

So no one was drinking. But there was some tasting going on, as there always is on Saturday afternoons and evenings.

Today’s selection was our newest Soave, the Il Selese from I Stefanini, a small family winery in the Veneto region of Italy. We’ve been stocking the line since Dominico Selections began importing it less than 6 months ago. When Terry first pulled it out of his bag, I had no intention of stocking it. The Soave region has a bit of a bad rap due to the many bottles of plonky, utterly forgettable wine it produces and I didn’t really expect this to be much of an exception.

Surprise! The wines were really good.

So good, I bought several cases of the Monte de Toni, the winery’s mid-priced offering. It was winter at that point, and that particular wine had a wonderful hazelnut/almond note and a rich texture that was a good match for cold winter days. It was $16.99 which is a nice price for people willing to take a chance on something a little different.

But now it’s getting warmer, so I decided to swap in the Il Selese, the winery’s entry-level offering. It’s perfect for summer with lovely, pure, juicy, almost nectarine-like fruit notes and just a touch of the nuttiness you find in the Monte de Toni. And at $12.99, it’s particularly easy to love.

So back to the tasting (not drinking!) The wine was indeed a perfect match for today’s bright, sunny weather. If you always like your wines bone crushingly dry, extremely minerally or lemon-rind citrusy, this probably isn’t the wine for you. But if you’re up for a bottle that pairs sunny, happy fruit with a little extra nutty complexity all wrapped up in a very easy-drinking package, the Il Selese is worth a try – and of course, it’s available at Frankly Wines!

Window Decorations and the Martha Stewart Principle

Originally published on April 23, 2009.

I don’t know if I made this up or if I read it somewhere (I probably read it somewhere), but the Martha Stewart Principle of decorating is that if you take some object, no matter how simple, and multiply it 10-, 20- or 100-fold, it will look much cooler, or at least much cuter. For example….

…a cupcake tower….

…or a bunch of lemons in a bowl…

….or a bucket full of puppies.

The Frankly Wine cork wall is an obvious exploitation of this principle. But it also gets put to use in our ever-changing window displays. Last summer’s display featured about 100 beach balls. This years “April Showers Bring Sping Flowers” theme features bunches of pinwheel flowers and a bowl full of cocktail umbrellas. It’s impossible to not take notice of a giant fishbowl filled with cocktail umbrellas. Look at the picture below and just TRY to disagree!

Another 3-Pack: Rah Rah Riesling!

Originally published on April 20, 2009.

Wine geeks love Riesling. Perhaps because this grape reflects the specific site it’s from in a way that drives wine geeks crazy with wine geek glee.

But you don’t have to be a wine geek to enjoy a good Riesling. At Frankly Wines, we’ve put together a 3-Pack to introduce you to three from around the world. And because we don’t want fear of sweetness to scare anyone off, there’s not a sweet one in the bunch. All three are dry, dry, dry.

Van Voxlem Saar Riesling 2007 (Mosel, Germany): Heir to a massive beer-related fortune, Roman Niewodniczanski takes a “no expense spared” approach to his wines. He tracks down and purchases fabulously old vineyard sites that have been neglected and brings them back to their former glory. His single vineyard wines show all the complexity, concentration, and site-specific nuance that drive Riesling lovers mad. This bottle, from fruit sourced throughout the Saar shows off stunning minerality, bracing acidity, and notes of citrus and green apples. It’s one of those wines that is even better on the third day than the first, so drink it slowly, if you can! And if you don’t find this one dry enough, you may want to consider drinking sand with you next meal.

Torlesse Riesling 2007 (Waipara, New Zealand): NZ Rieslings may not be as well-known as Sauvignon Blanc, so consider it your little secret. Cool temperatures + dazzling sunlight result in a wine with zippy acidity, stony minerality and a bright, focused note of refreshing lime. This one, like many from NZ (and Australia) show an early hint of petrol character that German Rieslings tend to only get with age. Yes, petrol, oil, kerosene…just a touch of it is considered a good thing.

Ravines Dry Riesling 2007 (Finger Lakes, New York): A little bit closer to home – the Finger Lakes. Riesling likes a cool climate and it’s definitely cool up there. This one is the most floral of the bunch, with lime and mineral notes to spare. If you think Finger Lakes = sweet, this Riesling should change your mind.

PRICING: $49.99 (regular price $54.97).

Hammer Time! : What I Won at the Auction

Originally published on April 19, 2009.

Even if it was a little less than exciting, the auction was a success.

Managed to pick up:

  • Chateau Plince 2003 (Pomerol, Bordeaux): a replacement for my Bad Boy Bordeaux which is down to 4 bottles and counting.
  • Chateau Lafon-Roche 1985 (St Estephe, Bordeaux): a replacement for my La Lagune 1998 which is down to almost 2 cases. The La Lagune was my go-to recommendation for classic Bordeaux with some age on it. This one will also be in the $50 – $60 range which seems the sweet spot for this wine of this age that’s showing nicely but not too “namey”.
  • 1978 Dom Perignon, because, really why not. I got it for $150, which is practically wholesale for a bottle of the frighteningly young 2000. There was some 1998 and 1996 DP available as well, which wound up going for around wholesale cost, but it was at the end of the auction and I was feeling poor.

What I didn’t pick up that I wanted:

  • A mixed case of FX Pichler Rieslings and Gruners
  • A mixed case of Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape
  • Various lots of Hubert Lamy Saint-Aubin’s which I thought would just sit there for the savvy buyer to snatch. Not so much – this best kept secret doesn’t seem to be so secret anymore.

Now all of those wines that I wanted went for what I consider extremely reasonable prices. If I were buying for myself, or was watching cash and margins just a little less carefully, I would have snatched them up. But in the early days of a retail store, especially in this environment, knowing that I’ll sell it “someday” to “someone” isn’t good enough. Especially since I have to pay for the wines when I pick them up….no credit cards allowed!

But…if you’re interested in doing a little auction shopping, I’m very quick with a spreadsheet and would happy to engage in a little auction action on your behalf! (Seriously, very seriously. Contact me if you’re interested!)

Auction Fun? Boring, boring, boring….BORED-EAUX!

Originally published on April 18, 2009.

I’ve written before about the first Frankly Wines foray into the auction world. Well, I’m back for more and as of this very minute, sitting at the Sotheby’s Finest and Rarest Wine Auction. I could say I’m “live blogging” to use a trendy technical term, but really, I’m just a little bored.

Specifically, I’m a little Bored-eaux!
We’re slogging through pages and pages of multiple 12 bottle lots of 2005 big name Bordeaux. For example, we just got through 9 identical lots of Chateau Montrose 2005. The winning bidder of the first lot had the right to claim all of the remaining lots at that same price. But an absentee bidder happened to put in a higher bid for one of those remaining lots, so the bidding was reopened. That winner could have claimed the remaining lots, but only wanted the one. So bidding was reopened again and the new winner got to make his claim on the rest. Which mercifully for us, he took. You get the idea. Sort of. As much as I get it and I’m sitting here listening to it.

It will get more exciting. Some of the lots I’m interested in are coming soon. These include lesser known names from good years and great names from crappy years. I’m especially interested in some mixed lots with a variety of vintages and producers. Or random single bottles. Serious collectors tend to ignore these lots, but cheap little retailers like Frankly Wines love them.

Well, we’re getting close to my stuff, so must get back to my spreadsheet!

Tom Wark’s List of 20 Things Every Wine Lover Should Do

Originally published on April 15, 2009.

I try not to be one of those bloggers that just points to other blogger’s posts. But occasionally, I come across one I want to share. From Tom Wark’s Fermentation, this is a list of 20 things every wine lover should do. I like it because it’s not terribly wine geeky and because many of the suggestions involve being better prepared to actually DRINK your wine (rather than just stare at all your fancy trophy bottles). And the #1 item on the list involves getting friendly with a great wine merchant*. Something I couldn’t agree with more!

*If you happen to be in needof a great wine merchant, I may know one.

Another 3-Pack: A Year in Provence

Originally published on April 12, 2009.

3-PACK: A YEAR IN PROVENCE

What, can’t afford a year in Provence? Well, neither can I. But you can still transport yourself there recession-style – with a matched set of this region’s beautiful wines….for less than the cost of simply checking a matched set of luggage.

I’m on a huge Provence wine kick right now. Rose season is right around the corner, and Provencal roses are probably what springs to mind when most people think “dry pink wine”.

I’ve also recently had a few distributors taste me on some great reds from the Bandol subregion (probably the best known wine from Provence after the pink stuff) and some very nice ones from the broader Cotes de Provence region. The best Bandols are made from nearly 100% Mouvedre. The Cotes de Provence reds generally are a blend of Cab Sauv, Syrah, and Grenache, and Mourvedre. The best will have give off a whiff of “garrigue” which is just the fancy French term for the herbs you’ll find grown in Provence (sage, rosemary, thyme). You won’t feel like you’re eating an herb garden, but this subtle note makes these reds different from anything else in the world…and it makes them an ideal pairing for lamb that has been rubbed in….well, sage, rosemary, or thyme.

And I’m really on a Provencal white kick. These wines can be tough to find here in the US. They’re made from not-very-well-known grapes like Clariette, Rolle, and Ugni Blanc. Semillon is probably the best know grape from the region, and it’s not exactly on most people’s list of everyday favorites. But if you like wines that are more about texture and subtlety than outright fruit, the region’s whites are worth seeking out. They’re the perfect match for grilled fish, which shouldn’t be a surprise given the amount of great grilled fish kicking around the Provencal coast.

So, if you’re intrigued, we have a three pack put together a Frankly Wines featuring a white, red, and rose. You can buy one on the Frankly Wines web site for $47.99. The regular price for all 3 bottles would be $54.97.

(Full Disclosure: I own the Frankly Wines store…

(NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: Not anymore I don’t!)

…but if you don’t already know that, well, I need to work on being a little more obvious about it!)

Here are the wines:

Clos Bernarde Tete de Cuvee Rouge 1999: A “Provencal” blend (meaning everything but the kitchen sink), this red has mellowed out over the last 10 years: subtle red fruits, dried herbs, and very soft tannins. Like I said above, it’s perfect with lamb.

Clos Bernard Blanc de Blancs 2005: Provencal whites are difficult to describe – they’re more about texture and subtlety than in-your-face fruit. We don’t see many of them in the US…because they pair so well with the region’s grilled fish dishes, the French are reluctant to give them up to anyone else.

Chateau Routas Rouviere Rose 2007: The Provencal staple – dry, subtle, elegant berry flavors and a beautiful pink color. This is what most people think of when they think “Provence.”

The two Clos Bernarde wines are imported by Blue Coast, an importer which specializes in wines from Provence and the Côtes d’Azur (“Blue Coast” in always less romantic English). I like to mention this because the owner is a woman, and it’s fairly rare to find a woman running a wine importing company. Perhaps even more rare than a woman who owns and operating her own store.

Wood you, could you, spare a wooden wine box?

Originally published on April 10, 2009.

Wooden wine boxes. I have a theory about them. Look at the picture below.

Does it start your pulse racing with desire? Or does it evoke a sense of loathing? If it’s the former, you’re not alone. We’ll put a wooden box on the curb in front of the store and it will be gone within an hour. Some people ask if they can take it, but most just grab it and run. I fall on the loathing side of the box scale, but it took me a while to get there.

So my theory….I propose that the esteem you place on wooden boxes is disproportionately related to the amount of time you spend actually unpacking them and pulling the bottles out. So, the longer the amount of time you spend in the retail side of the wine business, generally, the more you grow to hate them.

The major thought process of each phase is noted below.

Phase 1 – Intense Adoration: Wooden boxes are so cool! Maybe my local retailer will give me some. I can use them to panel my basement. Or make a table out of them. Or turn them into planters. Or even make a computer out of them! I could live in a wooden wine box if it were big enough! Oh, look…there’s a wooden box in front of the store. Do you think they’ll mind if I just take it? Yea! My first wooden box! (For those actually working in a wine store: I can’t believe the owner/manager is actually letting me take home all the wooden boxes I want! This job is fantastic!!!)

Phase 2 – Moderated Respect: I’m a little more discriminating now (since I already have 23 snazzy wine box planters. And my entire basement paneled in them.). I’ll just keep my eye out for high end Bordeaux boxes. Or really cool ones with actual lids and clasps. One of those could make a nice tool box.

Phase 3 – Mild Annoyance: Great, more wooden boxes to open. Where’s the hammer again? And they certainly are heavier than the plain old cardboard ones. But still, they do look great on my basement wall.

Phase 4 – Utter Contempt: Can’t find the hammer…maybe I can just rip the top off……ouch splinter! And I still need that stupid hammer so I can pound down these stupid nails so the customers don’t hurt themselves when they run off with them. And do they really need to put the $10 bottles in a wooden box? Really????? The box has got to cost as much as the bottles! Don’t they care about their carbon footprint? Don’t they care that I just got yet another splinter. Don’t they care that I can never find the hammer when I need it?

To be completely honest, I can fall back to Phase 2 when I come across a really great box that doesn’t require a hammer to open. For example, the Rustenberg Five Soldiers Chardonnay comes in a fantastic box with a sliding panel as the lid. It’s big and impressive, as is the wine, and only requires one little screw to open it up. And I suppose it really would make a really nice tool box. Maybe I could keep my hammer in it.

The Battle for Wine in Grocery Stores (New York Chapter)

Originally published on April 5, 2o09

The biggest news in the New York wine industry this year (with the possible exception of Southern’s price hikes, but that’s another story) was Governor Paterson’s proposal to allow wine sales in grocery stores. I initially wrote about it here and my thoughts also popped up on Dr. Vino here. The proposal was removed from the budget, but as reported in Newsday (and many other outlets) it’s likely to resurface at some point.

In case you didn’t click through to the links above, here’s the summary: Governor Paterson put forth a proposal to raise state funds by allowing stores that currently sell beer to also sell wine. Big grocery stores loved the idea. Independent wine and liquor stores hated the idea. Lobbyists lobbied, press people spun, the entire political machine ground into gear.

I even got involved, entering the fray of New York City and State politics. I sat in on meetings with my State Senator’s (Daniel Squadron) chief of staff, with the Manhattan Borough President (Scott Stringer), and the Speaker of the New York City Council (Christine Quinn). I even wrote a Letter to the Editor of the Downtown Express in response to an op-ed piece by Whole Foods.

My biggest issue was that the proposal was incredibly one-sided. It benefited the big grocery stores without addressing any of the constraints on existing independent stores like Frankly Wines. Not a big surprise given where it came from: Whole Foods essentially proposed the proposal here. Also not a big surprise that none of the legislators we talked with were aware of the existing constraints: there’s no reason anyone would ever imaging these rules exist. I can barely imagine they exist and I live with them every day.

But just in case there are any senators or assembly people, council members, community board members, borough presidents or other New York State or City elected or appointed officials lurking around the Frankly Wines blog, here’s a rundown of all those wacky rules.

  1. You can get a license to sell wine.
  2. You can get a license to sell wine and liquor.
  3. If you have one of the above licenses, you can only sell wine or wine/liquor + a few other items listed in the ABC laws. Not allowed: wine gift bags (a store upstate was fined $10,000 for doing just this), reusable wine carriers, and wine gift boxes.
  4. Also not allowed: FOOD, including the sorts of mixer you would naturally want to pair with liquor.
  5. You can get a license to sell beer (but you can’t sell beer, wine, and liquor. No existing license exists for that.)
  6. To get a beer license, 50% of your “displayed inventory” needs to be comprised of the following: diary goods, canned goods, baked goods, fruit and veggies, meats, fish, and the mysterious “other groceries.” Only 25% of “displayed inventory” can consist of snack food and beer.
  7. Wine/liquor licenses may be denied if the location is within 200 feet of a school or church. This does not appear to be the case with a beer license, either in the application requirements or in the actual retail landscape.
  8. Applications for wine/liquor licenses can face opposition from the four closest stores currently holding wine/liquor licenses. This does not appear to be the case for those seeking a beer license.
  9. You can only have 1 wine/liquor license per person (“person” includes corporations and partnerships.) Not the case with a beer license, where one corporate entity can hold multiple licenses (and because they can buy across multiple outlets, they can buy more and get better pricing.)
  10. Wine/liquor stores must be closed on Christmas and during certain hours each day.
  11. Beer sales are also somewhat restricted, but less so. And the stores in which beer is sold (ie grocery stores) have no restrictions on their opening hours.

So to be somewhat equitable, a “fair” proposal would need to allow wine/liquor license holders to sell food (although that 50% requirement shouldn’t be forced on us) and any other wine-related items we want to sell. It would need to allow wine/liquor license holders to open multiple locations…or even form buying groups in order to get better pricing. It would allow wine/liquor license holders to sell beer. And to enjoy the ability to get a license without concern for opposition from existing licence holders. And to not have to worry about those pesky schools and churches. And to enjoy the less restrictive opening hours that beer sales enjoy. To be truly fair (and to offer true consumer convenience and choice) it would also allow grocery stores to sell liquor, but they don’t seem to be very interested in that. In short, it would require a major easing of the restrictions currently governing wine (and ideally) liquor sales.

What it shouldn’t require is to incorporate the proposed restriction to limit grocery stores to selling wine from wineries that produce fewer than 250,000 gallons of wine annually. This is an attempt to ensure that the grocery stores actually sell New York State wines (rather than simply taking them at their word that they will do so.) I think this is a bad idea for 2 reasons. 1) If you want the stores to sell New York State wines, than force them to sell NYS wines (although this probably violates all sorts of interstate commerce laws. 2) In states where grocery stores can sell wines, the groceries tend to focus on big, mass, brand names – wines that produce considerably more than 250,000 gallons of wine each year. The smaller independent stores differentiate themselves by seeking out smaller, more unique producers. Yes, this is a broad generalization. There are plenty of big grocery chains offering great, boutique selections and plenty of independent stores offering big, corporate brands. But by forcing the grocery stores to stock smaller brands ONLY, the proposal would be removing one of the ways smaller stores can effectively differentiate themselves and compete.

Ideally, any proposal would also have some type of phasing-in period. At the risk of sounding whiny and anti-free-market, I think it’s worth noting that retail spaces and leases were selected and signed based on an existing set of rules and regulations. Sure, things change. In other retail sectors, small stores need to content with big box stores moving into their neighborhoods. But a Whole Foods, Walmart or Home Depot doesn’t spring up fully formed overnight. There’s usually at least a year, probably longer, during which the little guys can make plans to adjust to the new addition, even if that adjustment means making plans to close up shop.

So there’s clearly a lot more to consider than just slapping a wine license into the hands of anyone with an existing beer license. I’d like to think one reason the initial proposal failed was that the legislators realized the one-sidedness of what they were presented with…and that there was a lot more they needed to understand before making any changes. Maybe. Or maybe it was the lobbyists.