Joe Riley

Why, thank you Monique! It was a pleasure to serve you. Here are the wines that you bought: The Outrider 2004 (Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonnay) (Australia) Louisvale Chardonnay (South Africa) Domaine de Mirail, Côtes de Gascogne (Colombard) 2004 (France) *2005 is in now Ca' Del Solo "Big House" Red (California) Domaine Coston VdP Saint Guilhem le Desert 2004 (France) (60% Carignane, 40% Grenache) Toscolo Chianti 2004 (Italy) I hope that you enjoyed them all

(Moderators, please feel free to merge this with the Ace Beverage thread once folks have had a chance to read it) For all of you who attended the L'Academie de Cuisine event last month, and are in search of the wines you experienced that evening, I have most of them in stock now. Hartenberg Shiraz 2001 R. Dumont & Fils Brut Nature N.V. Monterosso Sauvignon Blanc 2005 I haven't received any interest yet on the Clos de la Roilette Fleurie 2004 or the Avondale Muscat Rouge 2003, but they are available for ordering if anyone wants them. I've heard from some folks already and you have picked up your wines, but for those of you who are still waiting for them, they are here! Please feel free to call me at (202) 966-4444 or drop me an email at joe@acebevdc.com for further information or to place your orders. We now return to our regularly scheduled forum.

I understand that this place is right around the corner from The Tasting Room in Carlton and well-worth a visit: http://www.winemakersstudio.com/

Hooray for them. We'll agreee to disagree. Tradeoffs are everything in life. One major difference here is, my distributors have the opportunity to reject wines that are damaged at the wholesale level. Importers, too. I've worked for two importers who have had to do precisely these things. This is where insurance comes into play. From California, I'd say that most of what we get arrives to our wholesalers by train (3 days from the west coast) with the rest by 18-wheeler. Just in case you are curious. From overseas, fewer and fewer importers are using non-climate-controlled shipping containers, which is to all of our benefits, the retail stores and the Internet stores (who, in the United States, must also rely upon overseas containers to get those wines here, remember). Save your receipts and just return on your next purchase trip. You'll find that most retailers can be very accomodating that way. We're hardly "fighting for our lives". For the record, we had our best year EVER in 2005. There will always be customers for retail stores like ours. Do you realize how many purchases are spur-of-the-moment or Friday afternoon or Saturday purchases? If you suddenly decide that you need something for tonight or tomorrow, we're here to serve you. e-commerce is a huge undertaking. You can't just "dabble" in it, it requires a great deal of computer infrastructure. If you look at the websites of stores such as K&L in California (just to use an example, since you mentioned Redwood City, Calif) those websites cost an unGodly amount of money up front, and then you have to have an entire shipping department just to handle that. We only have but so much suare footage here and we cannot just "move" (by D.C. law, you cannot move a liquor license). There is also the distinct possibility that the federal government or the states will find a way to reign in Internet alcohol commerce and then the people whose livelihoods depend upon that aspect will be the ones in trouble. For brick-and-mortar businesses like ours, there will still be enough business to go around.

I've never been to Oregon wine country (been to Bend, though - it was beautiful). I do know some professionals who've been to Pinot Noir camp who I'll ask for you. Some places that I would, personally, like to visit are (in no particular order): Archery Summit Witness Tree Coleman Vineyards Westry Scott Paul I'm sure there are others that I'm forgetting. I'll try to add to this. By the way, try and take advantage of the many Oregon brews that are unavailable here such as Full Sail and Deschutes, or even others such as Hale's Ales from Washington.

I was through there 13 years ago. I'd recommend Sierra Vista. I'm sure I'll think of some others, but many that I can think of are available in our market. Drop me an email or give me a call and I'll see what I can come up with.

May 1st, 2006 Casting Call A producer at Dateline NBC contacted me researching a segment about obnoxious customers mistreating waiters. If you’re a waiter or restaurant owner, and willing to share your stories on camera and be filmed at work, please send an email to the producer at dlinewaiter@hotmail.com. So misanthropic waiters of the world – now’s your chance! Serious inquires only. Don’t be a nut. Well, at least be on medication. I might be involved peripherally with this project but, no - I won’t be going on camera.

And yet, Internet wine ordering is still a trade-off. What if your wine arrives with a broken bottle? What if your wine is corked? (we take back corked bottles, no questions asked, by the way). What if the shipper leaves your wine on a nice, sunny front porch where it sits in the sun for hours, or it just sits in a nice, hot UPS/FedEx truck for hours upon end? Come to think of it, alcohol shipping usually always requires an adult signature for delivery - what if you're not home? Ship to the office you say? Many companies have strict prohibitions against possession of alcohol on the premises by employees, no ifs ands or buts. The federal government workers here certainly know what I'm talking about in that regard. What if you decide that, after trying one of the 6 bottles of a wine you just had shipped to you, that you don't really like it as much as you thought that you would, or had remembered that you did? All I'm saying is, that there is a trade-off between "Crazy Eddie"-style LOW, LOW, LOW PRICES and service and assurance. I recently went to the Nationals team store at RFK and was looking at a jacket which was something like $139. A guy mentioned to me that I could get it for a whole lot less on the MLB.com website. I thanked him for looking out for me, but I'd prefer to actually try a jacket on and make certain that it fits rather than risk buying it online and then discovering that it was too tight or too loose, or that there was something wrong with it. The peace of mind would be worth the extra $20 or so to me. It all comes down to personal preference and comfort level, but with wine I believe the risks are much greater for ordering online.

Carolina Wine Company owner Crish Peel (yes, it's Crish, not Cris) is a prince of a fellow and they are absolutely the best wine shop in the south. First-rate selections, outstanding breadth and depth of selection.

Good heavens - I haven't had so many people looking for me since I crawled under the house on Easter Sunday when I was 5 (Come to think of it, I'm not certain that anyone was looking for me then...) Okay! I'm happy to oblige all and sundry here with a special DR.com discount on all of these wines that Jake is offering. It's late and I'm home, so I don't have the costs in front of me, but I'm more than willing to accomodate everyone here that I can. Please feel free to drop me an email at Joe@AceBevDC.com with the wines you are interested in and your screen name (so I can recognize who you are) and I'll respond as quickly as I can. We're slammed this time of year with weddings and other events, and one of my co-workers is out for three weeks so I'm a tad more harried than usual, but I enjoy being able to help folks find what they are looking for and provide a reasonable price that will be gentle on your collective wallets.

This is my secret ingredient that makes for absolutely killer Margaritas: http://www.crillonimporters.com/index2.htm http://www.agavero.com/ I also use Sauza "Hornitos" Reposado Tequila. Anything more expensive is just gaudy

The growing Pinot Noir crisis in California. Pepperwood Grove (a Sebastiani label) now has their Pinot Noir sourced from Australia. Mark West Pinot Noir is currently from Corsica. Estrella is forced to stop producing Pinot Noir for a while because they have no fruit or juice to source. I'd be surprised if all of this can be attributed soley to the "Sideways" effect, but there's no doubt that increased awareness and interest in Pinot Noir from the movie (fueled by the media coverage of this phenomenon) is still with us. I predict it will be another 5 years before supply catches up with demand.

WHOSE wine? I don't mean to brag, but I spent HOURS as a teenager shooting 3-point shots. I'd love the opportunity to clean them out

Many of us in the trade have long suspected this, but it's interesting to see it in print: For the record, I would say that MOST "animal-cutesy" wines that I've encountered are very, very mediocre. Penguins, Loons, Koala Bears, Black Swans, etc.. be they from the U.S.A. or Australia or South Africa, wherever, almost always signal very boring wine. Just taste before committing, okay?

Yeah, there was a nice Decanter article about this a few months ago: http://www.decanter.com/news/71310.html And I ran into this on March 6th: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,18357893-2,00.html Here is the wine label, if anyone is curious (warning: not safe for work): http://tinyurl.com/fbhl4 Andrea Costanti wants to make her President of the Consorzio di Brunello. Can you imagine?

I received an email from Alan regarding the Google group that he has started that also includes information about how to receive his emails: If you have any questions on how to receive his emailed missives just by themselves, please feel free to contact Alan at Casaleone@aol.com

I've been to a Hooter's twice in my life, I believe. I had to struggle to find something I was willing to eat. I've never understood the appeal of chicken wings. To me, they are too much effort for too little food. I wouldn't go back to one today.

Yes I do - but some professional restaurant reviews I've read over the years (in various newspapers in various cities) show some geniune agenda or bias, at least to my eyes. I'm merely recommending Alan's reviews and mentioning that one need not worry that he's out to "get" someone or looking to find fault where it isn't already evident.

A well-traveled friend of mine once mentioned that in France, of all places, it seemed to him that Irish pubs were becoming ubiquitous. I would never have guessed.

My friend Alan Savada is a travel agent by profession, but a restaurant devotée by nature (also an opera enthusiast, but that's off-topic, isn't it?). Everywhere he dines, he writes up reviews of his experiences. In hommage to the former Washington Post restaurant critic, he calls this endevor "Phyllis' List". The great thing about Alan is that he has no axe to grind, no agenda other than being an honest reporter of his dining experiences. He is a gourmand, and writes soley from the viewpoint of the dining enthusiast. Because of his vast number of friendships in the local community of restaurant professionals, Alan is also sympathetic to the point of view of the restauranteur and thier staff, so he provides balanced commentary. Again, he doesn't go looking for fault, but if it is self-evident he won't hesitate to mention it. Alan has given me permission to post a sample here in its entirety - please feel free to contact me for his email address if you're interested in getting on his distribution list.

These are favorites of mine. I hope everyone had a nice Saint Patrick's Day. The Dubliners - "Drink it up, Men" The Dubliners - "The Pub with no beer" "Water is alright in tay" (tea) Beer, beer, beer

This looks extremely well-done to me: http://thepour.blogs.nytimes.com/ I'm hoping to do something similar when we get our website launched (sometime this month. I hope.)

News to me. My salesman never mentioned that. Thanks for the update.

Tallula. Any restaurant that can sport 73 (the last time I looked) wines by the glass, and an incredible array of other wines by the bottle gets a nice nod from me. Plus, the prices are incredibly reasonable for a restaurant, anywhere, not just Virginia.

I got to taste through the lineup of Man Vintners wines (www.manvintners.co.za - site seems to be down now, though) and they were perfectly decent for the money. They all have Stel-Vin closures, too, always a nice touch. The lineup was: Sauvignon Blanc - Very decent, clean and correct with proper varietal characteristics. Chenin Blanc - oddly enough, it SMELLED like Sauvignon Blanc! Dry and tasty, an above average white wine for the money. No, it won't make you forget Vouvray, Savennieres or Montlouis, but it is much better than just plonk. Chardonnay - a little too woody for me. Not overly so, but just for my taste. Very ordinary, nothing really wrong with it, but just very average. For the same money, I MUCH prefer the Louisvale "Unwooded" Chardonnay from our fellow poster, Mr. Parrot. Pinotage - Not bad. It definitely tastes like Pinotage in its rustic form, and it smells fine. I think it's a good example of the varietal for the money. Shiraz - Not a world-beater, but decent enough. Clean, fairly decent fruit. Cabernet Sauvignon - Okay. I have to think that there are few Caberent Sauvignons at this price that are significantly better. These should all retail around $8-9/bottle. I was prepared to find them all flavorless and mediocre, since many wines in that price range are extremely generic and dull, but I was pleasantly surprised. You could do a WHOLE lot worse, I assure you.