Joe Riley

And THAT is the hardest task of my job, finding inexpensive wines that I think are worthwhile, not merely above average or acceptable, but truly gratifying. It isn't easy. I think that most of the inexpensive South American wines that we get here are becoming increasingly forgettable, and though I understand that there is currently a Spanish wine boom here in the U.S., I continue to be uninspired by them. Sure, I can appreciate some of the classic estates, but I cannot remember the last time that I tasted a Spanish red that caused me to say, "Wow, I have GOT to stock this!" or even buy a case for myself. I can't explain it, I just think that I'm too into French/Italian/German/Austrian wines to allow for much else. I like a lot of New Zealand wines, and there are some South African wines that I like (some nice values, too) and there are a couple of Argentine wines that I think are awesome. California? Give me Zins, give me Syrahs, Pinots and some wonderfully unhearalded wines such as Carignane and Mourvedre, and treat them properly. I'm finicky, but I've earned it with the ocean of boredom that I've had to deal with over the years. Oh, and I can't drink Budweiser either unless I'm REALLY thirsty and hot and there are no other alternatives and it is served very cold. Don't even get me started on light beer. I like the comedian who said that, "People who drink light beer don't really enjoy the taste, they just like to pee a lot."

I can't believe that the Post is just now covering this, since it's been on the market since last year... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...5121001426.html Let me tell you that this stuff is a triumph of marketing and packaging over substance. I'd say that 90% of the people who I know have tried it agree with me that this stuff is dreck. I've never tried it out of the 750ml bottles, and our store does carry both but, good Lord, this canned stuff is a gimmick, pure and simple. I would imagine that a lot of people who try it won't buy it a second time. Still, I have to give them credit for trying something different. And why did the article insist upon placing Pearson's in Georgetown? Last I looked, it was square in the middle of Glover Park.

Don, Thanks for the mention in the Washingtonian, I really appreciate that, and I've had a lot of fun turning folks onto the Aubry Rosé. Just a correction here though from your quote - We didn't "just" start stocking them, but the marketplace has played havoc with these wines over the years. Let me explain. If I had my druthers, I'd carry EVERY SINGLE OFFERING from Terry's portfolio of Champagnes. They take me through the entire spectrum of wine enjoyment, from thrilling, shoulder-shaking bottlings to sublime, thoughtful crus and everywhere in between. I could spend all of my time selling them, for they are entirely worth it. When Terry first started with Champagnes, I was on board from day #1, but back then, he was local, and I could call up the Kronheim company and order what I required and have it the following day. Now that he is with Skurnik, I have to seriously consider D.I. (pre-arrival) for some offerings and what I can reasonably sell, and I have to rely upon his distributor (who is doing heroic work in selling thse, by the way) for the rest. The other problem that developed (pre-millenium Champagne hysteria) is that I had to offer many of these Champagnes at prices that consumers inevitably compared with the "big" houses, which control 95-98% of the Champagne sold in the U.S.A., and by and large I find that wine consumers have a very low threshold of confort when it comes to purchasing bubbly. They'd rather go with a label that they've either seen advertised, or heard about, and they are highly suspicious and doubtful of Champagne labels that are completely unfamiliar to them. Forget the fact that there are over, what, 2,000 growers in Champagne who have nothing to do with any of the big houses, it is a great hurdle to get most of these folks to buy Champagne that they don't know about. I also have to believe that, if the Champagne in question is being purchased as a gift, then the prestige factor comes into play, i.e., "See how much money I was willing to spend on you?" versus "What the hell is this stuff?" Regrettably sad, yet all too often true. Thankfully, from a grower-Champagne enthusiasts point of view, there have been huge price hikes in Champagne since 1999 and coupled with the conversion from francs to euros and the January 2003-present day tanking of the dollar vs. the euro, the big Champagne houses prices have gone way up and the prices of the grower Champagnes, which don't have huge ad campaigns or other such marketing structure to fund, have increased at an almost glacial pace compared with their behemoth bretheren, and these growers bottlings are much more attractive price-wise than before. Oh sure, there were always some basic sans-année bottlings which were MUCH less expensive than, say, Clicquot Yellow Label or Moët Brut Imperial, but the more specialized bottlings, rosés and têtes-de-cuvées were properly priced at a premium (quick aside here - wouldn't Spiro Agnew have been proud of that last turn of phrase? Okay, back to my rant) but the price-gap has changed for the better. I thank the Internet for providing increased accesability to good Champagne information (and other wine information for that matter) because a new generation of wine drinkers has never read an issue of Wine Spectator and doesn't subscribe to The Wine Advocate of International Wine Review, or Decanter or The Vine, et. al. They get wine information in snipets in U.S.A. Today, or the Friday Wall Street Journal, or the Wednesday Washington Post or New York Times (or their online versions) or any number of other online media, for their computers at home and at work are indispensible. They haven't been bludgeoned into believing that if you aren't "serious" abut wine then you aren't allowed to pursue it as an interest. Many of them will never buy a Bordeaux future, or build a cellar, and I admire their fearlessness and the unbridled joy that they get from simply enjoying the wine drinking experience. Kudos to them, for THEY are the ones who are driving the grower Champagne market and coloring outside the lines of Moët/Mumm/Clicquot/Perrier-Jouët/Piper-Heidsieck/Louis Roederer, etc.. I should also say that Terry Theise is one of my personal heroes and I'm proud to call him a friend, so I am completely partisan where Terry and his portfolios are concerned. He is one of the most important wine personalities in the United States, and his catalogs are more than just promotional sales vessels, they are practically manuals for intelligent living. To the children of the Internet era, I say that Terry was a life-hacker long before such a term ever entered the global lexicon. To read his catalogs in .pdf format, pleae go here: http://www.skurnikwines.com/msw/theise_catalogs.html I hope to carry many more grower Champagnes in 2006. There are some favorite labels that I'd like to get back into our store. Having said all of this, here's my single greatest complaint about the big Champagne bottlings, by which I'm largely referring to the non-vintage or sans-année bottlings which drive their sales: They are dull and boring because they are PURPOSELY designed to be inoffensive. Budweiser is the biggest selling beer in the United States. Is it because it is the best-tasting? No, it's because it offends the fewest number of people. Same with Champagne. If, and I'm taking an educated guess here, the Veuve-Clicquot "Yellow Label" Brut N.V. is the biggest selling Champagne in the U.S.A. is it because IT is the best tasting? Of course not, and for the same reason as I stated about Budweiser. And you wonder why so many people say that they don't even LIKE Champagne? They may drink it when offered, they may even give it as gifts, but I have long heard from so many how they don't even enjoy the stuff. For what you generally have to pay for it, that's not only a shame, it's unacceptable. Every Champagne grower will tell you that before you make good Champagne, you must first make good WINE. It should have some distinctive taste, preferably reflecting the soil, the terroire from whence it sprung, and the primary fruit of the grapes it is comprised of. These Champagnes are out there, and in D.C. you don't have to look very hard. Whether it is a Bollinger R.D., a vintage Krug, or an Aubry rosé, its primary reason for being is to deliver drinking PLEASURE, first and foremost. Anything else is secondary, or window dressing. You are paying for a particular experience, and it should deliver the goods. If anyone would like help tracking down a particular Champagne, I'm only too happy to help. Please feel free to drop me a p.m.

We sell the Santo Tomas wines from Baja. Hit me up with a phone number or email address on PM and I'll fill you in. By the way, there's a nice song called "Mexican Wine" by Fountains of Wayne. Just thought I'd mention it.

One of my very favorite restaurants in the city. I'm sure I've posted about it before. They are very inventive and creative. They don't rest on their laurels. Chef Gray has been nominated for James Beard awards several times, they've had some well-deserved RAMW accolades. The service is first-rate, the menus well thought out and intelligent, the wine list strives to be better than the predictable. I could go on about them for pages, having been a devoted diner there since they opened. Perhaps I will when I have more time!

Gewürtztraminer is a great choice but, to paraphrase George Orwell, some Gewürtz's are more equal than others. For a U.S. Gewürtz that is VERY fresh and won't bust your budget, I recommend the 2005 Alexander Valley Vineyards. You read that correctly: 2005, it was literally bottled a couple of weeks ago. It isn't petrol-y and had nice fruit and good acidity. This one won't send the relatives screaming into the street with horror, which is important because some outstanding Alsace Gewürtz's can totally alienate the day-in, day-out Chardonnay drinker. It requires a complete paradigm-shift for their palates as to what great wine can be, so I generally don't recommend it unless the client knows their guests sensibilities enough to know that they'll appreciate it.

Oh, and because this forum isn't a vehicle for me to blatantly advertise, if anyone is interested in what specific wines I would suggest, feel free to PM me an email address and I'll send it to you.

More Americans buy wine for their Thanksgiving holiday dinner than at any other time of the year. Some people only DRINK wine at occasions such as this. So at the risk of appearing incredibly self-serving, here are my thoughts on pairing wine with the all-American Thanksgiving dinner. The traditional Thanksgiving dinner is a cornucopia of big flavored food, sometimes warring with each other, but all jockeying for prominence on the palate. The wine you serve should have enough fruit and flavor to not get lost in this gastronomical mêlée, and should harmonize with the food and make it taste more interesting. While many wines will work with turkey and mashed potatoes, for a terrific pairing, follow the clues in the stuffing: Try soft, supple pinot noir with smoky, dried-cherry flavors to highlight stuffings containing dried fruit. Spicy sausage calls for zinfandel (the REAL stuff, not “white”). Pacific northwest Pinot Gris (Oregon, Washington) is a nice pairing with oyster dressing. Our first choice is a west coast Pinot Noir, for several reasons, but we always recommend red wine first because: 1) Since Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday, we feel it should be celebrated with American wine. 2) Because most white wines don’t have enough acidity for white meat, and because of the abundance of strong flavors, red wine is the preferred choice for a “traditional” Thanksgiving dinner, though certainly not the only one. 3) Pinot Noir is, quite possibly, the most silky and supple of all red varieties, as it has good acidity (acidity being the lynchpin when it comes to balancing the flavors of all components from stuffing to cranberry sauce) 4) Syrah is as versatile as it is pretty. With lots of assertive flavors, including blue and black fruits, spice and, sometimes, profoundly earthy, it can more than hold it’s own with all the flavorful bounty of a Thanksgiving table. 5) Zinfandel is uniquely American, like the holiday itself, and though it ranges widely in styles, most of them are excellent and fun choices, with enough big flavors for a turkey dinner. 6) If your preference is for white wines, then Pinot Gris and Viognier are your best choices, as they tend to have enough acidity for white meat, and enough flavor to not get buried by the strong flavors of the dishes. 7) Want a fun, uncomplicated wine, but you’re not a red wine drinker and white doesn’t float your boat? Go with a GOOD dry rosé, one with gobs of flavor and interest. The coolness and acidity of the wine should handle any heat, and the forward fruit should refresh and delight the palate. We’ve listed some below. 8) Want to splurge on something fun? Serve a really good sparkling wine. The acidity and effervescence cleans and brightens the palate, preparing it for each new bite of food. In the end, the focus should not be on the wine, or even on the food, but on the conviviality of family and friends, and pausing for a day to count our many blessings, especially peace and freedom from fear and want.

I found just the opposite. Pearmund's white wines far outshone their reds at this stage to me. I'd carry the whites in my store.

The only way that you can "know" what wines are for setting aside for future drinking is to ask, or build up enough of a palate that you'll be able to tell for yourself. Basically, if a wine tastes good to you when young, then drink it young. If a particularly hard, tannic Cabernet Sauvignon (for example) promises fruit that will last, then it can be put aside. The great majority of wine produced in the world is intended to be drunk within the first two years after being released. You will have to do some reading to gain understanding, but there's no substitute for tasting, or finding older wines in the marketplace to try so that you understand what older wines taste like. Importer Terry Theise once compared the enjoyability of wine at a particular age to the enjoyment of dog ownership. Some people prefer bouncy, fuzzy, energetic puppies with boundless energy and playfullness. Others prefer the maturity of older dogs, who can still fetch a ball, but are more content to lie by your feet and snooze and take gentle walks with you. The French prefer younger Champagne. The British prefer the older tones of aged vintage Champagne. The French accuse the British of geriatricide, the British accuse the French of infanticide. As for food and wine pairing (or "pood and fine wareing" as Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon vineyards so playfully put it) there are some basic guidelines and generalizations which will serve you well. To wit: Younger wines are served before older ones. Simple wines with complex dishes and vice-versa. Fruit-forward wines pair well with full-flavored dishes. For white meat, it's best to use a white wine with higher acidity. Bordeaux and Cabernet Sauvignon are the classic match with lamb (Zinfandel works well, too). Red Burgundy and Pinot Noir are the classic match with beef. Chardonnay pairs best with heavily-sauced dishes, or ones which feature saffron or mustard. Otherwise, they tend to overwhelm (mainly the 'New World" ones). Obviously, there are countless others which we can add to here, but I hope this gets you curious and interested.

Five years ago, while traveling in Tonnere, France I discovered a wonderful cocktail de maison at the Abbey de St. Michelle. Take one milliliter of Crème de Cerise (Cherry liqueur) and pour it into the bottom of a Champagne flute. Add 4 oz. of Crèmant de Bourgogne (sparkling white Burgundy wine) Add the slightest dash of Marc de Bourgogne (grape pommace brandy) on top. Note: if you are familiar with the way that Angostura bitters dispenses, then THAT is the aproximate measure of the Marc to add. It is very pungent, and too much would be an olefactory assault. It acts as a catalyst to bring out the cherry in the Crème de Cerise. The effect in the flute is like that of a shin, red Christmas ornament, like translucent red mylar. It is very pretty, and quite tasty. Since Crème de Cerise is virtually impossible to find in the United States (I understand that it doesn't ship well) I use Massenez Crème de Griotte (Sour Cherry) which to my palate tastes exactly the same. It's important to use Crèmant de Bourgogne for authenticity, but also for texture and flavor. I think Brut Champagne would be far too austere for this concoction. I suppose you could also substitute Crèmant d'Alsace or Crèmant de Jura (I haven't tried). If anyone would like to try it, please let me know, I'd be happy to hook you up.

Retailers like this need to be exposed. They give the rest of us a bad name. This guy is proof that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. He's learned just enough buzzwords and terms to sound convincing to some. My God, this is annoying. If someone asks me about a wine I don't know about, I'll freely admit it. I just can't snow an innocent customer, once you've lost them, they're gone, and they'll tell other potential customers to avoid you. I have met a great salesman who had a lousy palate and really didn't know much, but he was simply a natural-born salesman who could sell anything. His customers loved him. I don't think he was dishonest, though, at least nothing like the scale of this scoundrel.

Scrumptious Pinot Noirs. I had the pleasure of trying some incredibly delicious Pinots from Oregon (and one from California) yesterday that were new to me, and I can't wait to tell you about them. But I don't have all the pricing information yet Stay tuned. These are some rockin' wines, and would be great with Thanksgiving dinner, too. I'll try to update this today.

It doesn't bother me because it is private property and they have a right to do this. In a way, it makes me feel more secure. It might keep less professional service people in line, and if I had a date who had their purse stolen there, I'd press to get video copy from the restaurant to try and identify the thief.

(blushes) Correction: DON Rocks. I rule

Thanks, Liam. Yeah, in the $20-$40 department you can do VERY well, that's for sure!

I remember that Perry's restaurant used to do Hardy's Sparkling Shiraz by the glass. It seems that, with a decent chill, you could enjoy the stuff in hot weather, but I've never had any kind of bent for it, though we get the occasional customer who asks for it. Seems too expensive for what it is.

Hi Liam, Unfortunately, because the dollar has lost over 50% of it's value against the Euro since January of '03, the values have been disappearing. Fortunately, there are still good wines to be found that won't break you. One of my standby wines is the Rudi Wiest Rhine Riesling, which is actually custom made for the U.S. importer (Mr. Wiest) by the grower who is argueably the best in the Rheinhessen: Fritz Hasselbach of Weingut Gunderloch in Nackenheim. It is sealed with a screw-top closure and always delivers the goods. It's $10.99, too. Terry Theise has a lovely Mosel regional wine that he and Johannes Selbach (Selbach-Oster) bottle every year now and it is simply called "TJ Riesling", the T being for Terry and the J being for Johannes. It is unmistakeably Mosel wine (wet slate, apple) and it is in a clear Bordeaux-style bottle so as not to frighten those who see tall green or brown bottles and run out of the room. Around $10-11. Please note, there are scores of what I call "cheap" German wines, but many of these are of questionable origin (the German wine laws are not without their loopholes) and "cheap" should never be a mutually inclusive term with "value". I'm not saying that every German wine need be an ESTATE-BOTTLED one, though those are of the most interest to me, but they should be honest. Many wine drinkers who know "Piesporter Michelsberg" are used to the idea that this represents inexpensive German wine, but that vineyard is absolutely enormous, and represents a lot of what is wrong with German wine (overcropped, etc..). Want to know what GREAT wine from Piesport is? Try Reinhold Haart's Piesporter Goldtropfchen wines. Not "cheap" but I guarantee that if you try a bottle of his, you will say to yourself, "AH, so THAT'S what all the fuss about Piesporter wines is supposed to be about!" In the interest of full-disclosure, I do not currently have any Rheinhold Haart for sale, but it is easily available to me. I'm not "pushing" anything here and if I were, I'd freely admit it. I prefer the honest approach I'm actually going to work this weekend on improving and cleaning out our German and Austrian section a bit. I'd like to offer some new wines. As for the 2003 and 2004 vintages, I'd rather refer you to Mr Wiest (http://www.germanwine.net/) and Mr. Theise (http://www.skurnikwines.com/msw/2004vtgupdate.html) and their expert opinions (granted, they DO have sales agendas, but they want your reeturn business too, as do I!) I hope that Mr. Parker will allow David Schildknecht to write about German wines extensively, even if it's only online. I take David's word as gospel in this area. For an even more informed assessment on German vintages, check out Bill Mayer's newsletters in .pdf format here: http://www.theageofriesling.com/newsletter.html Bill is the formost retailer of German wine in the United States, very passionate and informed and experienced.

I don't have it, but I should be able to special-order it. I have a salesman checking into that for me right now. I'll let you know!

The party is pending Someday...someday....

I can try to, but for the most part, these are single case lots, and they can go quickly sometimes. I'll see what I can do though. We don't have a mailing list (yet) nor a website (yet) but we're working on it. My boss is something of a Luddite and has to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. I once kidded him about being the greatest 19th century wine merchant in the country

I'm not really sure. He had to close Bottom Line Wine, but I guess he still has the B license. You can't move it, though. He still runs the Wine Rack wine storage facility there, but I took my wine out of there a couple of years ago, I simply couldn't afford the rent anymore (I had almost 95 cases stored there). He was/is a lawyer, I guess that's what he does these days.

One thing that we do that a lot of customers have fun with is out close-outs, which are dne in different ways. We have a $5 "blue bin special", where every wine in there is $5. Some might have ruined labels, some might be getting long in the tooth, but we believe that every wine there is still drinkable. If you buy one, and it's bad, PLEASE bring it back and we'll swap it out for another $5 bottle. We also have open cases on the floor which are all priced as marked. Additionally, there is a display with whites on one side and reds on the other, and all those wines are priced as marked as well. There are also liquor close-outs, those products which simply don't sell, at least in our store, which are just taking up room. We also have beer close-outs, where all standard-sized beers are $0.75, or a 6-pack for $4. Larger-sized beers are $3.99. Why do we have this? Simple: 95% of our business is with caterers, and we are constantly having to buy wines that we don't usually carry for specific events and when they are over, we often have wine that we don't have room or display space for, and our storage space is limited. We're also not running a wine museum, this stuff has to go!

Only about 4 minutes, 2 if you drive the way that I do. We have a lot of great saké, too, in various sizes and containers. I recently got Rocks hooked on what is being called "box saké", which comes in containers that we are used to seeing milk or juice in. Both 900ml and 2.0L size, which fits perfectly on a refridgerator shelf, and it's REALLY good saké! I also have the most amazing plum wine - Choya Ume Plum. You can find it at Sushi-Ko, and if you have a Saké-tini at Kaz sushi bistro, it is made with 2/3 Choya and 1/3 saké with bits of chopped plum in the martini glass. Tasty stuff! If you read that information about it on their website, you wonder why we aren't all drinking it, it sounds so healthy for you.

Randall Grahm, owner and president-for-life of Bonny Doon Vineyards put it best (though I'm paraphrasing a bit): "We spend thousands of dollars in our vineyards using 21st century technology in our vinification, thousands in our winery, using the most modern equpiment, we use 21st century everything, and then we seal it all up with 14th century technology?" Bonny Doon Vineyards is in the U.S. vanguard of Stel-Vin closures, and their site has great discussions of this. The Australians and New Zealand wineries are also pioneers in this area. The simple fact of the matter is, the cork is an imperfect closure and far too much wine is ruined because of it. Wineries wind up eating the cost of this from wholesaler refunds and in a larger sense they can lose out because many people don't understand the concept of "cork taint", they simply taste the ruined wine and decide that it's just lousy wine, so they'r enever buying that brand again, and the winery has lost countless future customers due to that decision. The great majority of wine sold in the world is consumed within the first two years, if not the FIRST year after purchase, so the Stel-Vin closure makes all the sense in the world. As a consumer, I'm interested about what's IN the bottle, first and foremost. I hope that consumers can acclimate to this more quickly.