West Side Wine

 So, I have this blackboard in front of my store. I write on it every day.  It’s not about specials or sales or anything of that kind of stuff.  I basically write anything that comes into my head when the chalk is my hand.  It’s usually pretty off-the-wall, but I seem to have developed a following — lots of folks look forward to my daily ramblings.  Reactions range from laughter to anger to corrections of my grammar or spelling to who-knows- what. 

A who-knows-what reaction happened Wednesday. Here’s what I wrote:

I guess it must be Christmas.  They’re lighting the tree at Rockefeller Center tonight. Maybe I’ll go this year. On second thought, maybe I’ll just commit suicide instead.

Well, the neighborhood gang all got it, and laughed and gave me a big thumbs up as they passed by.  But then an earnest young women came through the door and asked to speak to the person who was contemplating suicide.  She really looked concerned.  ”Are you from New York?” I asked.  ”Do you know what it’s like at Rock Center during the tree lighting ceremony?  She had no idea, but I explained it to her and she left, relieved that she didn’t have to save me from dying at my own  hand. 

When my guardian angel was gone, a stunned customer asked if this kind of thing happened often when I write on my board.   “You have no idea who’s out there, but that’s what makes my daily board such a gas,” I told her. But come to think of it, do you think all those people who gave me a thumbs up were encouraging me to off myself? You never know.

No, as much as I’d love to have you over,  we can’t accommodate more than about a dozen guests at our house.  But if you don’t have any plans and will be in New York for Thanksgiving dinner, I would highly recommend the Beard House.  Every year they serve a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner with a guest winemaker serving his or her wines. 

For the second year in a row, Tony Coturri of Coturri Winery will be that guest winemaker. He’ll be pouring some fabulous stuff, including his North Coast 2008 Rosé. If you missed out this summer, here’s your chance to wrap your taste buds around one fantastic Rosé.

Totally coincidentally, I had already decided that the Coturri North Coast Rosé was going to be one of our choices for our own T-Bird fete, so I got my hands on a few of the last remaining cases.  So, check out the Beard House deal, and if you can’t make it I’ll sell you some of this precious juice along with other Coturri delights. If you didn’t know, The Beard House is the Greenwich Village brownstone that was the residence of the late James Beard, the legendary chef, cookbook author and all around famous foodie, before being a foodie was cool.  It’s a beautiful place with a garden and a fantastic dining room.  The food is always wonderful, and you get to meet a lot of interesting folks, because you’re dining at communal tables.  Check it out for T-Day or for their other offerings throughout the year.  I wish I was getting a free dinner out of this, but I’m only talking it up it because it’s a uniquely New York experience, and I love it that Tony’s wines will once again be featured with great food.  Live it up!

Usually with Summer’s end comes an end (or at least a dwindling) of the whackos who come through the door at West Side Wine. 

But this year is different. Consider the woman who came in last week and said, “I only drink white wine, but my host this evening wanted me to bring a red wine. Do you have any red wines that taste like white wine?”

Then there was the salesman who came in off the street the other day and offered me a free wall display and dispenser if I would buy some of his anti-bacterial hand soap for my customers.  I politely replied that I wasn’t interested, to which he responded, “Well, God bless you. And I hope that no one in your family gets the swine flu!”

Go figure.

Welcome back, gang. I hope that your summer was as good as ours. We did a week in Lake Tahoe with 17 of Ellen’s family members (including three kids and two teenagers) under one roof.  I know,  it sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it was great fun.  We all had a great time because they’re great folks.  Then we just got back from a Labor Day weekend wedding in Sea Island, Georgia.  If you’ve never been there, you owe it to yourself.  A truly beautiful part of these United States.

But getting back to while you were away.  While you were away, the recession did some good for you all in the world of wine prices.  Did you catch that “you all”?  I guess I was in Georgia too long. Anyway, there’s now a glut of  wine from all over the world, and a lot of winemakers and importers are dropping their prices in order to get the older vintages moving and making way for the newer ones.  And that especially goes for the higher-end stuff, like the bubbles from Champagne.  Yes, indeed, the Champagne guys are finally forced to take a big gulp and swallow their pride.  This bodes very well for your holiday celebrations. 

And the selection of excellent, very affordable everyday wines continues to expand, as distributors are finally waking up to to fact that wines well under $20 is the way to go for their survival. So the time has never been better for everyone to shop for bargains from places you never thought would have bargains, like Burgundy, Bordeaux, Tuscany, as well as those places that always were bargains.  Get thee to your favorite wine merchant and check out what’s new and exciting since you’ve been gone. 

It’s good to have you back.  We missed you.

Ah, summer.  As a retailer it’s always a mixed bag. Then throw in a “recession” and it really gets interesting.

On the positive side, it appears that more folks are sticking around and still enjoying a glass of wine or two at home. I’m not getting the deserted sidewalk/tumbleweed effect on Columbus Avenue as much as I have in the past. There have been some past summers where it looked like one of the those post apocalyptic NYC movies where there’s only one guy and his dog and a bunch of abandoned cars out there. Not so this year.

But on the other the hand, there appears to be a bit more of what Ellen and I call the “July and August people”.  These are folks who suddenly appear this time of year, and just as suddenly disappear after Labor Day. Like the guy who came in the other day with no shirt and gaffer’s tape wrapped around both ankles (serving as his socks.) Before he bought a bottle of wine he asked me what time it was.  I told him approximately what time it was, but he insisted upon knowing exactly what time it was because he had a noon meeting. I told him it was four minutes before noon, at which point he quickly purchased the wine and proceeded to the phone booth in front of West Side Wine to make a call, while putting on his shirt that had been stuffed in his back pocket. I guess that was the meeting. Hope it went well.

Then there was the guy who came in looking for an obscure gin, which I just so happen to sell. When I showed it to him he was delighted, but disappointed that I only had one bottle. He said he would come back when I had more than one, because he wanted “a fresh one right out of the box”.  I didn’t know I was in the produce business.

You get the idea about July/August people.  On the down side, along with all of those people out there there are a lot of familiar faces walking around during the day. People who normally wouldn’t be out there during a week day. Lots of friends/customers who are faced with the realities of these difficult times. I have a (literal) huge window on the world, and sometimes the view isn’t pretty.

Anyway, onward and upward. This will pass, as sure as tomorrow I’ll see my shirtless regular come in for his wine before taking a meeting.  Happy summer, gang.

What a blast we had this past weekend.  My dearest and oldest friend’s daughter got married up in the Berkshires, and along with all of her friends, a bunch of us geezers were invited as well. I got the wine assignment, naturally. BTW, two great wines that are crowd and wallet pleasers — the Barbi Aboccato Orvieto and the Monte Oton Garnacha.

Anyway, the plan was for an outdoor, open-air service, followed by dining al fresco on the front lawn of the bride’s grandfather’s house, with the sunset as our backdrop.  That was the plan.  Mother Nature had another plan (2-3″ of torrential rains in the forecast) so it was off to Plan B.  A tent was put up at the bottom of a hill, and a number of improvisations were made to accommodate the food and the bar. Okay, we could all live with that, and we all hoped that the weathermen were going to be wrong as usual. Not this time, unfortunately.  It didn’t stop downpouring from 5pm on.

So onward and upward, the ceremony begins, and it’s wonderful.  If you’ve never been to a wiccan wedding, take the opportunity if and when it comes.  It is the most natural, real, honest ceremony two people can have, and you can see where all the other religions got, or stole, their ceremonial traditions…straight from these guys.  The bride was incredibly upbeat as she and her husband-to-be shouted their vows over the rain pounding down on the tent roof.  The elements just didn’t matter to them, or to any of us.  Slowly the rain came running down the hill as the service progressed, until you could see large water masses forming on the tent floor, which was (or used to be) grass.  By the end of the night, we were all up to our ankles in mud, but it still didn’t matter.  The fun overrode the muck.  Fantastic Irish music played all night, there was dancing, singing, eating, drinking, laughing and lots of enjoying.  AND, the geezers were the there until the end, while even some of the youngsters found it too tough to hang out. Hah!  Oddly enought the worse it got meteorlogically, the more we threw ourselves into the joyousness of the event.  Some say that a deluge is the surest sign of good luck and prosperity for the newlyweds.  If that’s the case, these two will be married for a century and will hit the powerball lotto three times.  Mazel tov, guys! It was a blast.

For some reason, lately I’ve have been asked a lot about what’s going on out there in trend land. And it’s both customers and suppliers doing the asking. Now, I kind of expect it of suppliers, but customers? I wouldn’t think of choosing/buying a wine because it’s hot. But as we can all imagine, there is a current stampede toward “value” wines. Keeping that in mind as part of the equation, here’s what’s rocking from where I’m sitting. 

From Argentina, Malbecs are the new Pinot Noir. They’re inexpensive and, for the most part, satisfying. Chile is hot, because they make a lot of good reds that are bargains. New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs are the white version of Malbec. Hot hot hot, and it practically doesn’t matter which one you’re selling. Affordable regions in Italy (Puglia, Sardinia, Sicily), France (Southern Rhone, Languedoc, Loire), and just about any region in Spain and Portugal are sizzling.  I’m also liking the steady build of Rieslings from just about anywhere. Not a lot of money, or alcohol, and overall the wines are fantastic. That’s a great combination. One other oddity is the slow comeback of Merlot.  I guess “Sideways” didn’t quite finish this grape off. Conversely, Pinot Noir has definitely leveled off. No more scurrying around trying to lay my hands on any Pinot Noirs that I can find. It took a few years, but the “Sideways” memories seem to be fading.

So, what’s not hot? Australia, Champagne, California Syrahs, oaky Chardonnays, red Burgundies (my favorite, so there’s more for me), and just about anything high-end. 

So that’s the current state of affairs.  The earth will shift, no doubt, and this list will be outdated in not-too-distant future. But for now, this is the state of the grape. Oh, and one more hot one, especially this time of year. Rosés are flying higher than ever.  Don’t forget our little pink friends.

In case you missed it,  there was an excellent piece on SLATE the other day about importers who bring in wines that, according to the article, will guarantee you a good bottle every time.  I urge you to read it.  This is somewhat selfish, because I do a lot of business with most of these characters,  but I do it because they have great palates and a true sense and appreciation of natural wines and wine-making.  When I got into this business ten years ago, vin naturel was one of the best kept secrets in the business.  Fortunately, the guy that I bought the store from had a few wines left from a guy named Joe Dressner of Louis/Dressner. These bottles had been purchased by a former employee who really knew her wines.   At the time Joe, and probably Neil Rosenthal, were the only guys in the market that were going around with these “oddball” wines mostly from France.

Flash forward ten years, and the marketplace abounds with a number of savvy importers.  If you’re at all tenuous about selecting wines, the names mentioned in this article are great guideposts.  Just turn the bottle around and read the back label.  There, sometimes in small print you’ll find the importer’s name, which in the case of any of the guys mentioned, is a great seal of approval.

West Side Wine has come upon a unique marketing opportunity in the ever-expanding world of promotional possibilities – TomatoCam.net. 

Nestled at the base of Mt. Tamalpais lies the home of  Douglas and Cessna Kaye.  The Kayes have planted an exquisite tomato and pepper patch on their deck.  Doug, being an Internet pioneer and entrepreneur,  installed a camera overlooking the patch so that anyone could, at any time of the day, follow the progress of their suburban agrarian adventure. 

Think of it.  You’re hassled, getting yelled at by your boss, hounded by creditors,  frustrated by the daily annoyances of life.  Just stop.  Take a breath.  Visit TomatoCam.net.  Get rejuvenated, resucitated, re-energized, or just zen out.  That is the beauty of TomatoCam.net,  and that is why WSW seized the opportunity to secure an exclusive sponsorship.  I urge you to see for yourself.  It’s free, it’s fascinating, it’s fun.  Who knows?   You may actually catch a glimpse of Douglas or Cessna tending their crop or readjusting their irrigation system.  That’s the beauty of it.  You never know what you’re going to see on TomatoCam.net.  And that’s exactly why WSW is there. 

We are committed to improving your quality of life.  So when the day-to-day insanities are getting to you, chill.  Go to TomatoCam.net.  Everything will be okay.

The other day I had the opportunity  and privilege of meeting with, and tasting through the wines of, Sean Thackrey.  Our initial meeting was kind of funny, because here was this stranger pacing back and forth outside my store, who looked like he might have been out just a bit too late the night before.  Ever so slightly disheveled, he kept peering in and looking at me.  My first reaction was, “Oh, boy, what am I in for?”  When the guy finally walked in, I hesitantly asked if I could help him.  He said he was here to meet me.  I knew I had an appoinment with Sean Thackrey and his wine distributor, so I brilliantly put two and two together and said (embarassingly) “Ah, you must be Mr. Thackrey.”  What’s that thing about judging a book by it’s cover?  It turned out that I wasn’t entirely wrong, because he and the salesman did admit that they had indeed been up until all hours “tasting” the night before.

Anyway, he proceeded to place four bottles in front of me (Pleiades, Orion, Andromeda, and Acquila) and off I went.  Sean’s wines are legendary and they carry the price tags to prove it.  But if you ever get a chance to have a sip, do not pass it up.  As he pushed the Pleiades toward me (I did the pouring, myself — unheard of !), I took Sean through a Q&A to find out what he and his wine-making philosophy were all about.   He very modestly and clearly laid out the sheer simplicity of it all.  “I’m a chef, basically. I have these vineyards, one of which was  planted so long ago that no one knows what’s exactly what’s in it.  Then I harvest these grapes, bring them back to where I make the wine (he doesn’t use the term winery because it isn’t in the traditional sense) and proceed to put the dishes together.”   Sean is trained, but in Art History, not wine-making.  He doesn’t believe that that wine-making is something that can be taught. While he acknowledges that science has a place in the process, it’s a small one.   To quote from his website, “All the science in the world isn’t going to tell a chef what to do with a chicken.  It may suggest some experiments, and may explain some results, but the only result that counts is a better tasting chicken, and the only judge of ‘better’ is the pleasure the chicken gives the palate; and the essential job of the ‘chef’ (‘wine-maker’) is to make that judgement, right now, right here, while the pan’s still on the flame.” 

Boy,you just can’t put it any better than that, and he’s one hell of a “chef”.  The wines were all complex, layered, balanced, and stunning.  And the next time I sample a wine that’s been “manufactured” with all of the latest and greatest  technologies, I will think back on my meeting with Chef Sean Thackrey.  Bravo, Sean. Keep the dishes coming.