Originally published on November 10, 2008 .
Little wine stores like to sell wine that you can’t find anywhere else. It makes us feel special. And we hope it makes you feel special. And to be honest, small shops can’t really sell the big brands you see everywhere because they tend to offer really big case discounts which we can’t participate in. Small stores can’t really afford to buy 25 cases of anything, even the cheap stuff. (And money aside, 25 cases would pretty much take over my entire basement.) As a result, big stores can sell big wine brands for less money that I can even buy them.
Luckily, there’s a lot of wine in the world and plenty of small wineries and wines to discover.
But somehow, I still seem to wind up with the same wines as the neighboring wine shops.
We don’t overlap very much, but I always find it amusing seeing where we do. Like this wonderful, yet relativley obscure Oloroso Dry Sherry by Emilio Hidalgo which I tried at a tasting and immediatly ordered because it was so delicious. Or the red Txakolina (yes, red) that I wanted but they managed to snag the new vinage first (and any neighborhood really only needs one red Txakolina.) Or Slingshot, an atypially restrained Cabernet from Napa Valley. And perhaps most amusingly, the Yellow + Blue Malbec in the eco-chic (cringing at that phrase even as I type it) tetrapak.
I could get all crazy about this overlap, but I actaully find it as a validation of my good taste. I know I understand how to buy wine, but as a new business owner, it’s easy to second guess your choices. So when a well-respected, well-established shop decides to stock some of the same wines I do, it makes me feel like I know what I’m doing. Especially if I have it first, like with the Yellow + Blue malbec and the Slingshot cabernet.
So a little overlap is kind of nice…but just a little…