It’s time to get out of the supermarket and into the wine shop.
There are good wine shops near wherever you live Better stuff isn’t far away. You have to get away from grocery store wine – that wine has ruined many potential wine drinkers.
Most of the grocery store stuff is from the bottom of the barrel – pun intended! It’s swill! It’s unpalatable swill! The biggest thing I’ve learned about wine the past five years is that for only a few dollars more, you can be drinking much better wine.
I’ve been paying a lot of attention to wine prices at the local market and notice they’re creeping up. They are increasing because more people are buying value wine and often end up less than satisfied but don’t know any better. They’re not getting any help. But you can go to a wine shop and buy substantially better wine at an equal or minimally higher price because the market is so competitive once you get out of the grocery.
Smaller wineries cannot afford the marketing and often don’t have the product to supply major grocery chains so they work with smaller distributors and stock the shelves of wine shops. And back to our first column, which one do you want to drink – the bottle that came from 80,000 cases or 2,000 cases?
So let’s get ready to go to the wine shop.
Start thinking more about wine when you drink it. What were the characteristics you enjoyed? Do you want something smooth and mild on the palate or do you want a big mouthful of flavor. Do like a little acid on the finish or do you like the tannins (that slight bitterness) which helps balance the strong flavors of big-tasting food?
The most important thing in finding a shop isn’t its inventory or how pretty the shop appears. You need to meet the wine shop proprietor or the shops sales people and have a nice long chat. The biggest wine novice mistake is the fear of asking a stupid question or worrying about their wine knowledge.
Just like mother told us, there are no stupid questions. Talk to the person about what wines you’re familiar with and what you liked and didn’t like. Listen to their questions. If the shop offers wine tasting events try to get to one.
Then after you have the conversation, invest your faith and a few dollars in the wine person’s recommendations. If you like the wine you take home with you, you have found a good wine shop. Give that shop and that salesperson another try. Eventually, like any friendship, you’ll establish a rapport that helps you find wine you’ll like at a price you’re willing to pay.
This is the way I buy wine. I have about four or five stores I buy wine from regularly. I trust my knowledge but almost always take home a bottle or two recommended by the shop owner.
And now a few words about labels and those nifty little tasting notes some shops put up beneath some or all bottles. For the most part, those can be helpful. But remember, the description on the bottle is part of the winery’s marketing.
The notes in the wine shops might come from one of the big wine review publications like Wine Spectator or Wine Advocate. Some shops do their own notes, those are the places I might be more inclined to trust. Sure, the wine shops want to sell you wine as well but the proprietors can talk to you about those notes and see if it’s a wine that fits your taste.
Howard’s Picks:
Indianapolis
Cork and Cracker, 2125 E. 62nd St., Indianapolis – near Glendale Mall. This is one of my favorite places. Proprietor is a former wine distributor and really knows wine. If Ashley is in, take her recommendations. 200 wines at $15 or less!
Mass Avenue Wine Shop, 878 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis. This small shop downtown also offers wine by the glass and a limited menu. All of their wines are in the value range with a good staff able to answer your questions.
Deano’s Vino, 1112 Shelby St., Indianapolis. I give Deano much of the credit for my wine knowledge. He runs a fabulous Wednesday night tasting which is more seminar than anything. He keeps a nice selection of wine on hand and has a restaurant with fabulous food. If Deano is in the house, he’s as knowledgeable as anyone you’ll find.
Two others of note: Vine and Table, 313 East Carmel Drive. A great gourmet food market and wonderful wine, liquor and beer selection. Great staff! Kahn’s Fine Wines, 5341 N. Keystone Ave., Indianapolis. Kahn’s is probably the oldest and most respected names in wine in the Indy area. They have the biggest selection of wine from value to very high-end. The store is regularly staffed with very good wine people.
Ft. Wayne
There are several great wine shops in Ft. Wayne that I haven’t visited. Wine Styles on Coldwater Road and Wine Time on Jefferson Blvd. Many of these newer shops focus on a particular segment of the market. Of course, there are the multiple locations of Cap-N-Cork around the city as well.
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