Putting money where mouth is

[Thomas]

Yesterday a wine salesman comes to me and says, "your sign says 'is-wine: innovative wine merchants,' so I have something for you."

He went on to tell me that he had tried and tried to sell this product to retailers throughout Manhattan but not one wants it. I was his last hope. The product: a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc packaged with a screwcap.

My rhetoric was being tested; I rose to the occasion. I told him I would taste the wine, and if it passes muster, I would buy some for the store and do an in-store tasting to introduce it.

My real hesitation is not with the screwcap but with the price of the wine. Granted, it is a Marlborough SB, but at $17 or $18 a bottle, it is a high-priced version of SB that must compete in the store with a marvelous $12 Quincy and a stable $9 Hungarian SB.

After tasting it, I will post its name and its attributes, should it have any...