Shocking discovery in Atlanta . . .

[dananne]

Over the years, Anne and I have been to just about every wine shop in the metro Atlanta area, and I thought we knew all the gems. However, today we walked into one particular Kroger grocery store (for Atlanta folks, it's the store on Monroe in Midtown near Ansley Mall) to do some quick shopping, and we were stunned. Not only does the store have a quality and selection unheard of for a grocery store, the overall selection is one of the largest I've seen in this market, specialty wine stores included. They have unbelievable stuff that I thought was unavailable here. I mean, just as an example, their selection of Pinot Noir was so good that they had almost every small Oregon and Cali producer, including so many gems that are unique to the market that I almost passed out. In fact, they probably had a better selction than we found while actually touring Oregon wine country this summer. I was in wine-geek heaven, and in a grocery store, no less. I walked out with stuff from White Rose, Dusky Goose (the small Lynn Penner-Ash project), Soter, etc. In addition, they had outrageous deals -- single vineyard Terre Rouge Syrahs for $20, McCrae Syrah for $30, different Hensche Cab and Syrah wines under $30, etc. -- some stuff at half-off their usual retail price. The only thing I can think of is that they have bulk buying power, so can sell for slimmer margins. Needless to say, we'll be back. For price and selection, perhaps the best place for wine in Atlanta. I strongly recommend it if anyone is in the Atlanta area or just passing through.

[This message has been edited by dananne (edited 11-11-2006).]