Archive

Our Tramonte rep Devon came by last week to try us on some of the latest releases from our good friend Greg Graziano, as well as a couple of treats from Napa. My first exposure to the Graziano Family of Wines – some of Mendocino County’s best stuff – was at Café Boulevard over 10 [...]

Our dynamic duo from RNDC/Kentucky - Tom and David - came by with Tom Steele of Triple Crown Brokerage and the wines of Candoni, a line of solid Italian values probably more known for the Etruscan-themed painted bottles. These were fiarly nice wines, and the prices were good too. Just not sure about the packaging; [...]

Our RNDC/Cumberland rep and DEP’s alum Jen came in today with the guys from Prestige Wine Imports to lead us through a bunch of wines, which I must confess, had me shaking in my shoes a bit. Fortunately, we opted out of some of the selections – ones we carry and sell incredibly well. We [...]

We just got in the wines of Terra Blanca, a winery I “discovered” out in Washington when I went on that road trip I have bored virtually everyone on from then until now. It was day three of the trip, when we went to a tasting of wines from around Columbia Valley out at Precept [...]

SWS/Crown rep and former DEP’s alum Ray came by with some great stuff from Graffigna and Brancott. We were supposed to meet with the Louis Latour rep but I guess a case of illness got in the way so here we go: Brancott Pinot Grigio North Island 2007. Grade=Outstanding. Nice body, not the lemon water [...]

RNDC/Barkley rep Lou came by today – a bit late after his car broke down earlier – with some new stuff from Delicato Family Vineyards: Fog Head Sauvignon Blanc Monterey 2008. Grade=Average. This is a decent California Sauvignon Blanc, with lemon and lime notes but a bit of green bell pepper and other vegetal qualities [...]

The silly side of the wine business in a lot of respects is the constant sales pitches I get from visiting winemakers, wine brokers, importers and the like. Having been in this business for as long as I have, there are a growing number of folks I run into that were at one place and [...]

Last week I had the privilege of being part of a tasting conducted by Beringer Winemaker Emeritus, Ed Sbragia. In case you’re not familiar with Sbragia, here is a brief background: A third generation wine maker, his grandfather emigrated from Tuscany to Northern California in the early 1900’s. Ed’s father eventually started his own winery [...]

I am a wine guy, that is glaringly obvious. But after so many years in the food and beverage industry, I have come to appreciate the beer and spirits ends of it as well (not to mention all the years playing rock star wannabe and swimming in cheap draft beer and generic bourbon whiskey). Here [...]

It has been in the works for some time, and at long last, it is here. Essentially what I have been working on for the past two months is the revamping of the store’s Web site, along with its own subsequent wine blog (or really wine and spirits blog), separating the retail aspect of my [...]