Retail Shenanigans in Dallas

[jdl]

You'll have to read it to believe it.

"As we assembled our case, mostly from the wine class tasting list, he stopped to retrieve a special wine: A 2000 Godwin Alexander Valley Merlot. He billed the Godwin as a baby Opus One ... '[Opus One is] a kind of California version of a Merlot, and this I've been told is very, very similar to it,' the salesman said. Yet Opus One, which retails for $165 per bottle for the 2002 vintage, is primarily Cabernet Sauvignon--from 80 to 97 percent, depending on the vintage--with just a splash of Merlot. ... He cut us a deal: He slashed the price on the Godwin from $89 to $59 (it has a suggested retail price of $24.99, though some Internet sources list it as high as $28)."

[Sthitch]

I have heard other stories like this about this retailer. The Squires board had a long thread about them last summer. It is sad that someone is being so dishonest while they should be teaching their new clientele. But I guess he views their customers as P.T. Barnum did.

[Barbara]

You'll have to read it to believe it.

"As we assembled our case, mostly from the wine class tasting list, he stopped to retrieve a special wine: A 2000 Godwin Alexander Valley Merlot. He billed the Godwin as a baby Opus One ... '[Opus One is] a kind of California version of a Merlot, and this I've been told is very, very similar to it,' the salesman said. Yet Opus One, which retails for $165 per bottle for the 2002 vintage, is primarily Cabernet Sauvignon--from 80 to 97 percent, depending on the vintage--with just a splash of Merlot. ... He cut us a deal: He slashed the price on the Godwin from $89 to $59 (it has a suggested retail price of $24.99, though some Internet sources list it as high as $28)."

I didn't even bother to read the whole article. I found enough misinformation in the first few paragraphs to fill a book.

I dunno: do the ignorati deserve to be ripped off? But then, this question can be asked in many areas other than wine.

[Sthitch]

I dunno: do the ignorati deserve to be ripped off?  But then, this question can be asked in many areas other than wine.

I wholeheartedly reject your premise in this situation. This guy sells these "classes" mostly to people who are trying to learn about wine. He knows that they are ignorant about the subject. From what I have heard he is a charlatan. I often conduct tastings at a DC store. When I have someone come in who has no knowledge about wine, the last thing I am going to do is try and steer them towards a cult cab, or a first growth, I am not even going to blow smoke up there ass and try to convince them that the $17 Bourgeois Bordeaux is in even slightly comparable to an ’82 Lafite. People who act like this store and its owner are a disservice to those who are passionate about wines, and seek to spread their passion to others. I hope this article is the beginning of the end for this merchant.

[Barbara]

I wholeheartedly reject your premise in this situation.  This guy sells these "classes" mostly to people who are trying to learn about wine.  He knows that they are ignorant about the subject.  From what I have heard he is a charlatan.  I often conduct tastings at a DC store.  When I have someone come in who has no knowledge about wine, the last thing I am going to do is try and steer them towards a cult cab, or a first growth, I am not even going to blow smoke up there ass and try to convince them that the $17 Bourgeois Bordeaux is in even slightly comparable to an ’82 Lafite.  People who act like this store and its owner are a disservice to those who are passionate about wines, and seek to spread their passion to others.  I hope this article is the beginning of the end for this merchant.

Yes, you just proved my point. Your use of the word "charlatan" is the key. As distressing as it may seem for naifs to spend their time and money learning the wrong things about wine, it is worse for those who go to financial "experts" to learn how to handle their money and wind up losing their life savings.

P.T. Barnum had it right. And, I'm not convinced that shedding light on these people makes a dime's worth of difference. That's why we are lucky to have websites like this one, No?

[Joe Riley]

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.

[starfish]

You'll have to read it to believe it.

"As we assembled our case, mostly from the wine class tasting list, he stopped to retrieve a special wine: A 2000 Godwin Alexander Valley Merlot. He billed the Godwin as a baby Opus One ... '[Opus One is] a kind of California version of a Merlot, and this I've been told is very, very similar to it,' the salesman said. Yet Opus One, which retails for $165 per bottle for the 2002 vintage, is primarily Cabernet Sauvignon--from 80 to 97 percent, depending on the vintage--with just a splash of Merlot. ... He cut us a deal: He slashed the price on the Godwin from $89 to $59 (it has a suggested retail price of $24.99, though some Internet sources list it as high as $28)."

i need a shower after reading that. i am sure that there is a special place in hell reserved for people like this.

[DonRocks]

This is a great article, but they could have used a better edit-job on this sentence!

Mention Tony's Wine Warehouse or its owner, Michel Monzain, to anyone in the Dallas wine trade, and you're likely to illicit[?] laughs before hackles are stirred[?].

[Al Dente]

This is a great article, but they could have used a better edit-job on this sentence!

Thems there Texas fer ya.

[jdl]

i need a shower after reading that.  i am sure that there is a special place in hell reserved for people like this.

Isn't Texas its own version of hell? (I keed, I keed!)