I’ve mentioned this store before but I just want to give a little shout out to these guys. One of the things we looked forward to on this trip, was stopping by this store and getting wine? Why? Not because it’s a cool looking store (it’s literally in someone’s basement, crammed floor to ceiling with racks and crates of wine), not because of the great prices (though I think these guys are really good and snooping out close outs and deals on unknowns if you’re open to trying new things) but because they’re just some really cool guys to talk to that know their wine and with a little information as to what you’re looking for can make some great suggestions, at least we think.
Last year they turned us on to a Merlot we actually liked (the Kiona from 1998) and we’re not typically Merlot drinkers. They also gave us some O’Reilly’s Pinot Noir that we enjoyed and now we have three Burgundies in our cellar waiting for us to open that they recommended.
This year, we went in on Monday, looking for something from the Rhone region, a white to go with a spicy lobster dish, and something fun to sip whilst sitting outside in the summer sun.
We came home with a Patrick Lesec 2005 Gigondas (we’ll give this a go tonight), a Charles Koehly Riesling (for the Lobster), Weingut Michlits a mildly fizzante rose from pinot noir grapes out of Austria (I’m sipping it now as I type and it’s very refreshing for a summer drink – not too fizzy, not too sweet), and lastly a Kiona Cabernet that we’ll try (and perhaps compare to the Merlot when we’re home).
Oh and the last reason, they deserve a shout out, they told us the Gigondas isn’t really ready to drink yet, but they wanted us to try it. So they sent us home with a Riedel decanter, told us to let it sit for an hour and then drink it and to just bring the decanter back later in the week. I love that type of service!
Here’s their contact info if you’re interested: Fine Wine Cellars
