Category: Wine (Buying) History

This Week’s 3-Pack: Que Syrah Shiraz

Originally published on March 21, 2018.

Another week, another 3-Pack. Actually, I’m featuring two 3-Packs this week – one white, one red. Below is the red version. The white one will follow tomorrow because I’m tired and need to unwind with some crappy TV. Ah, the glamorous life of a wine store owner…

Que Syrah Shiraz
OK, the name is more than a little cheesy, but it was tough to resist because this pack features three very different examples of the Syrah grape (aka the Shiraz grape.) Two names = twice the fun, or in this pack, three times the fun.

Green Point Shiraz 2005 (Victoria, Australia): From one of the coolest regions in Australia, this wine is worlds away from typical Aussie fruit bombs. A good example of “cool climate” Shiraz, it offers bright, fresh, vibrant red fruits with a touch of sweet spice and crisp acidity.

Burch Hall Syrah 2004 (Sierra Foothills, California): A little less fruit-forward than the Green Point, this Cali syrah is clean and elegant with notes of red cherries and a bit of peppery spice.

Charles Cimicky Trumps Shiraz 2006 (Barossa Valley, Australia): Classic Barossa Shiraz – big, brooding, loads of spice, some toasty oak, a rich earthiness and a smooth, velvety finish. The world “elegant” may not leap to mind, but this is yummy stuff.

This Week’s 3-Pack: Don’t Fear the Blend!

Originally published on February 27, 2008.

Feeling lazy – and had to deal with a broken kitchen pipe this morning, so I’m entitled to a little laziness – so this entry is pretty much ripped directly from my weekly newsletter….

I’ve noticed that a lot of people seem to shy away from blends – those pesky wines that list a number of grapes on their label. Maybe they seem extra confusing, or maybe there’s a concern that all those grapes are tying to hide something. It doesn’t help that wines from Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley, some of the world’s best wines, don’t list the grape varieties on their labels. If they did – we would all know they’re blends!!!

So to try to ease the fear of the dreaded blend, I put together a weekly three pack featuring the Cabernet Sauvignon grape in 3 different incarnations – on its own, blended with Shiraz, and all mixed up in a Southern France ménage a quad (or whatever the proper term would be for wine-made-from-4-different-grapes.)

And the wines are….

Morro Bay Cabernet 2005 (California)
Classic Cabernet character at a really good price – dark cherries, blackberries, with a minty/herbal touch. Some toasty oak which is typical of Cabernet – even through it comes from the barrels the wine is aged in, not the grape itself. Very food-friendly, which isn’t always true of this grape. And liquid proof that Cabernet can stand on its own (and doesn’t have to cost a fortune.)

Pecan Stream Cabernet/Shiraz 2004 (Stellenbosch, South Africa)
In this little gem, Shiraz plays nice with Cabernet, mellowing it out and adding a bit of red berry and spicy flavours. The wine has a touch of the gamey/meaty character that seems to be typical of South African wines and adds some character.

Domaine du Poujol Proteus 2005 (Vin de Pays de l’Herault, France)
A blend of Merlot, Carignan, Cinsault, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Don’t let those strange grapes from the South of France scare you – this is a fresh, attractive red with juicy red berry fruits, a touch of spice, and a nice, soft finish. You probably won’t be able to spot the Cabernet, but it adds a bit of structure which makes this wine more than just a berry stew. Imported by Kermit Lynch.

mmmmmmm – Port/Fig Sauce & Punt Road Pinot Noir

Originally published on February 23, 2008.

Someone in the store today mentioned off-hand they were making a port / fig sauce for an upcoming dinner. The sauce sounded amazing, so I couldn’t help but throw out a recommendation for a wine I had only just priced earlier today – Punt Road Pinot Noir.

I’d never heard of the producer until Romain, one of my sales guys, brought it in for me to try, but it had a high yumminess factor and was different from the other Pinot Noirs I have in the shop. It’s from Yarra Valley, a region in the Australian’s state of Victoria. The Yarra Valley is about an hour or so from Melbourne and is one of the cooler regions in Australia – so not surprisingly, it’s one of the few regions that does well with Pinot Noir. I’ve had a number of Pinots from there and frankly, haven’t been terribly impressed with the mid-priced stuff. A lot of them tend to be just too similar to the California candied red-fruit style, and if that’s what you want, no reason to pay the additional shipping, handling and taxes for the Aussie version.

But the Punt Road was something different – nice red berry fruits, a bit of sweet spice, like Christmas cookie spices, and a touch of this figgy richness that I found really appealing. The wine no doubt spent some time in oak, but it didn’t come off as this big oaky monster – it was still definitely Pinot, but with this little extra kick. Not California, not Burgundy, definitely it’s own personality. And it will go wonderfully with that port / fig sauce. I’ll have to get the recipe for that one (so I can have my husband make it for me.)

Frankly Wines Gets Some…..Press!

A NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: I really wish more women in this industry (or any industry, really) would talk about their child care situations whether it simply involves juggling duties with your partner (or not), a nanny situation, blessedly nearby family, a great day care center, a network of friends or whatever. Many of us are lucky enough not to have to “do it all” by ourselves – and it’s not fair to let people think we do.

Originally published on March 5, 2008.

Check out the first press piece featuring the the shop – and me – in the NY Sun. It’s an abridged version of my life history in print – even makes mention of corn fields and wine coolers. Can’t beat that!

When I last stopped in, Ms. Frank had just delivered a case of wine to a Murray Street condo, even though she’s due to give birth to her third child in June. “I’ve still got a good month before I give up the hand truck,” she said. Blessed with a great nanny, she plans to be back at work within weeks. “Maternity leave has a whole different meaning when it’s your own business,” she says.

Peter Hellman, The New York Sun

Walking in a Winter Blaufrankisch Land

Originally published on February 22, 2008.

It’s finally snowing!

Many retailers don’t like snow because it means we have to shovel (or pay someone to shovel.) I don’t mind snow so much because by some freak coincidence of downtown architecture and wind patterns, it never snows in front of Frankly Wines. It actually never snows on my side of the street. I was expecting today to finally prove me wrong – was all ready to go buy a snow shovel, but turned the corner to the shop and once again – no snow!!! This is one of the small things that make me happy!

Blaufrankish would be another small thing that makes me happy. This is a grape variety that’s starting to make a name for itself in Austria, although it’s also grown in Germany, Hungary (I think) and occasionally in Long Island and Washington where it’s known as Lemberger. Its days of relative obscurity are probably numbered as both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have done pieces on it during the last year.

Anyhow, Blaufrankisch tends to make wines that are medium-bodied, fruit-forward with just enough acidity to make them more than just an average fruit bomb. Some winemakers will put the grape through a bit of oak aging, but the ones I like the most tend to be left to their own fruit devices – and tend to be very very easy to drink.

Yesterday I tried one from Weninger, a producer that’s recently been moving to biodynamic production. This Blaufrankisch was just the kind I like – very little oak was used, so the wine was filled with juicy red cherries and berries and a little bit of spiciness. Nice acidity, medium-bodied. Plush, happy fruit is the overall impression. Price-wise, will probably hit about $15.99.

This wine will be hitting my shelves soon – because every good wine shop should have a Blaufrankisch or two, even if their focus is Southern Hemisphere.

Fancy Pants Wine: Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir 2006

Originally published on March 3, 2008.

So I think I’m going to start featuring a “fancy pants” wine in each of my newsletters. In the last one, I had a little blurb about the general presence of fancy pants wines in the center of the shop (mainly because there’s no room for them on the shelves). The blurb got some good feedback (mainly because I think people like the term “fancy pants”) so it will now be a regular feature spotlighting one of my more expensive wines.

Anyhow, this week’s feature will be Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir 2006 from Walker Bay, South Africa. I actually brought this one in for my old boss at Moet Hennessy. She wanted a case of it and spoke so highly of it that I figured I would get a couple boxes for the shop. As soon as it hit the shelf, I was glad I did – it’s one of those wines that people would ooh and ahh over when they spotted it on the shelf. The winery and vineyards are located in Walker Bay, which is one of the Southernmost wine-growing subregions in South Africa. It’s quite cool there, so Pinot Noir does very well and Hamilton Russell makes a great one, if not the country’s best.

On to the wine itself – it has a really nice nose of red fruits – dark red cherries, some raspberries and a smokiness that adds and extra bit of complexity. That smokiness comes through on the palate, along with the dark red fruits and a nice earthiness. The tannins are fine-grained – just present enough to give the wine some structure and elegance but not so much that it veers into that big-brawny-wanna-be-another-type-of-grape territory. It’s very yummy stuff and at $33.99/bottle, while it’s not an everyday wine for most people, it’s a relative bargain for a chance to taste one of the very best Pinot Noirs coming out of South Africa today.

Ice Wine – Innskillin, to be Specific

Originally published on February 13, 2008.

Finally brought in some ice wine! This is a major accomplish, mainly because now my husband can no longer ask me when I’m planning to get in some ice wine. The first day we were open, someone came in and asked if we had any ice wine.

“Open” is a bit of an overstatement given that we probably had about 10 bottles of wine on the shelf at the time, the cork floor had only been partially glued down, and I was using an old-school credit card swiper to run transactions. (Those swipers are called “knuckle busters”. It’s practically an official term – you ask your credit card guy to send you a manual card swiper and he looks at you with complete cluelessness. You ask for a knuckle buster, he knows just what you want.)

But we were “open” and someone comes in and asks about ice wine, which I say we’ll be getting, but not yet. My husband, who was helping out that day, looks at me as if he’s lost all faith in my ability to run a wine shop – because someone asked for ice wine and I don’t have it on the shelf within hours of opening the doors. Of course he doesn’t actually know what ice wine is, so I had to explain that first. Then I have to explain that it’s a fairly obscure item for people to be asking about and that’s why it wasn’t a top priority for my opening orders. I think he felt better when I told him Chamber Street Wines only had 1 in stock – and they have a lot more inventory than I do.

Then several weeks later, someone comes in and asks for ice wine. My husband just happens to be in the shop again. Several weeks later, same thing. Ice wine! Of all the things, ice wine!!

Finally, this week, I placed my first order with the distributor that sells Inniskillin, the ice wine I’ve been promising to buy all along. It’s bloody expensive stuff, but if you’re positive you want an ice wine, it’s a good bet. I’m sure it gets crazy ratings points, but regardless, it’s still good stuff. It’s from Canada – which is not the warmest part of the continent. They leave the grapes to hang on the vine long into the winter time. They freeze and then thaw, so the grapes wind up very dehydrated – and the remaining sugars, juices, and resulting flavors are highly concentrated. The wine is very very sweet, but because of the cold temperatures, the acidity is very high – which counteracts the sweetness and keeps the wine from being cloying. You wind up with a very sweet, luscious wine with flavors of lychee, peach nectar, honey, and mango. $84.99 for a 375ml (a half bottle) – which is enough for even a fair size dinner party as it’s so very rich that just a little dab will do.

Anyhow, my husband’s faith in my ability to run this business has been fully restored – all it took was a little ice wine.

Too Busy To Blog

Originally published on February 13, 2008.

Long time, no blog. It’s been busy, which is goods. Lots of orders to place, lots of wine to get on the shelves. This is all good, but doesn’t make for a very exciting blog. But it does mean business is good!

My sister-in-law decorated the windows for Valentine’s Day, and it looks great. At least all the women that walk into the shop think it looks great. Don’t know if it even registers with the men – hopefully it at least serves as a subliminal reminder that tomorrow they should be doing something nice for their sweeties – even if it doesn’t involve wine.

So what was accomplished this week aside from the lovely pink and red window decorations?

The second newsletter went out, featuring the latest 3-pack, snappily called “Hello Merlot”. Since poor Merlot hasn’t gotten much love since Sideways blew it to bits, I decided to give it a little bit of attention. The pack features Bedell Cellars (Long Island), Domaine la Soumade (VdP classication, but fruit is actually from the Rhone Valley), and Casa Lapostalle Cuvee Alexandre Merlot (Chile). All quite different from each other, which is the main point of featuring them side by side by side – to show that Merlot can do more than make whimpy, fruity red juice.

And I finally got around to pricing and displaying some of my higher end Southern Hemispere goodies – things like the Grosset Rieslings from Clare Valley, Vina Alicia Malbecs and Petit Verdot from Argentina, Purple Angel from Chile, Sadie Family wines from South Africa, and on and on. But details on those wines will warrent several other posts. For now, I’m just happy they have price tags and are out of their boxes.

Back to work.

Buying Off the (Wine) Grid

Originally published on January 27, 2008.

So, I have this grid that keeps me on the straight and narrow when I’m buying wine for the store. I’ve roughly laid out which regions, which grape varieties, and which price points I want to have on the shelves. With room for only 150 – 175 wines in the shop, I have to be pretty rigorous about which wines to carry. Not that I don’t break the grid all the time – what’s the fun of owning a wine shop if you can’t be prone to flights of fancy and decide, against all logic, to buy deep on Moroccan Syrah, Hungarian Gewurztraminer, or a funky white blend from Uruguay.

I’ve been pretty good at controlling these fits of buying off the grid, except when it comes to my apparent weakness for red blends from the South of France. I have just a few more than I probably should. And since no one ever comes asking for a Merlot-Cinsault-Carignan-Cab blend from the VdP d’Herault appellation, I need to remind myself these little gems are there and find a way to help them shine. Maybe it’s time for a wacky blend 3-pack? Next week – right after the Superbowl 3-pack has its time at center court. Stay tuned.

Syrocco – Syrah du Morocco

Originally published on January 22, 2008.

I brought 5 cases of Moroccan Syrah into the store last week. That’s 60 bottles – my biggest buy to date. Could be considered madness that I’m going big on Moroccan Syrah, but it’s good.

It was a big hit at the tasting last week – one of those freak wines that you hear people murmuring about throughout the room. Nice red fruits, Rhone-like herbs, and a nice meaty, savoury finish. Sort of Old World in that it’s earthy, a little rustic, not over-polished, but with good fruit and something different for $14.99. And it’s one of those items that when it’s gone, it’s gone. So I figured I might as well throw caution to the wind and buy a 5 case deal, write a little tasting note, and display it front and center. Winemaking is overseen by Alain Graillot, big producer in the Northern Rhone in France) so he knows his Syrah. The story goes that he spotted some vineyards while bicycling in the Zenata region of Morocco, began a friendship with the owners, and the next thing you know, I have 60 bottles of Syrah du Morocco sitting in my shop.