It's good to be different...

[Botafogo]

So, it is a VERY busy Saturday afternoon, their is no place to park, the ailes are full, there is a line at both registers, some guy comes in asking for Kendall Jackson Chardonnay and when we tell him we don't have any but are sure we can find him something nice and for less money besides he exclaims, "you must be the stupidest wine retailer in the country 'cause you are the ONLY one who does not carry that wine and you will not last long like that!"

To which a CUSTOMER replies, "Yeah, that's probably why we drove here from Santa Barbara to take advantage of their TENTH ANNIVERSARY SALE...."

The best part is, the guy will rant and rave now to people who actually have a brain and they will go "Damn, I should check that place out!"


From the front lines, Robertinho

[Georgie]

Ah, there's one in every crowd, Roberto. Next time somebody causes a scene, smile and say to him, "I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public."

[Botafogo]

Aw....I was waiting for him to figure out we don't have ANY Merlot from any winery and that we have 250 Champagnes but no Moet, Mumms, Veuve Clicquot, Taittinger, Roederer or Perrier Jouet and that, while we specialize in Italian wines, we have ONE Pinot Grigio and NO Chianti and hoping maybe his head would explode....

Robertinho



[This message has been edited by Botafogo (edited 08-09-2003).]

[Georgie]

Why DO you have such a unique selection of wines in your store? I mean, you say you specialize in Italian wines, but don't carry any chianti...I don't quite understand what kind of shop yours is, I guess.

[Botafogo]

Well, Georgie, it's easy:

There are HUNDREDS of DOCs in Italy of which SCORES make great wines based on Sangiovese but only TWO of these have big marketing hype and hence prices in the US, Chianti and Brunello. By instead selecting wines made in the same style at the same latitude (and often by the same consultant enologists) from Emilia Romagna and the Marches we can offer our customers comparable wines at as much as 60% lower pricing. The same applies to Nebbiolo, some of the very best come not from Piemonte but the Valtellina and at 50% on the dollar...

MOST of the interesting (and famous in Europe) wines in Italy are NOT made in Piemonte and Toscana, it's a big country and we are about lots of different THINGS not lots of different brands of the same thing.

Cheers, Roberto

[Bucko]

"I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public."

I see you've been honing those nails again.

No K-J? No Merlot? No Veuve Clicquot? Horrors!!! I'm going to Safeway, harrumph!

[Georgie]

Interesting, Roberto. I see what you mean, now. Wish I could shop in your store. Thanks for the explanation.

Bucko, that line about humilation is not original. It came from a list somebody sent me entitled, "Things You Wish You Could Say at Work." My other favorite is "so many freaks, not enough circuses." Just so appropriate at times when dealing with the public!

[winoweenie]

Heavens to Betsy! With ALL that incognito- unbranded wine you still keep the doors open. L.I.B!WW

[Thomas]

Roberto, you should have sent the guy to the East Coast, to is-wine; we would have proved to him that you are not the only stupid retailer in the world--our Kendall Jackson supply is as large as yours, and so is our Veuve, Moet, et al, but I admit: we carry one Chianti Classico Superiore (Cignozza) and one Pinot Grigio (Terlan), among the many unknown names in our small shop.



[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 08-10-2003).]

[quijote]

Roberto, one of the things that pushed me into exploring wine more deeply was, in fact, a visit to a local wine shop much like yours. I asked if they had any Marques de Caceres red Rioja, and the owner told me that he doesn't sell wines that one can easily get everywhere else all over the city. Well, I was intrigued, I took his recommendation for an equivalently priced and much more delicious Spanish red (a Borsao), and I was hooked....

[JohnG]

Quijote,

Was this a place in Milwaukee? I'm always on the lookout for somewhere that carries wines from off the beaten path, as it were. I visit a couple of the Sendik's regularly, but their selection tends to be pretty small (though generally quite good).

[quijote]

John,

The place was the Sendik's on Downer. Their selection is small and mostly limited to Old World wines, but they do a good job of bringing in interesting wines that don't always get a lot of press in the popular trade mags.

I'm still looking around for other good shops, though.

[JohnG]

Ahh...I haven't been to the one on Downer lately. They were the only place that I've been able to find Bonny Doon's Malvasia Bianco this summer, so I really should make a trip soon.

[wondersofwine]

Glad Georgie asked the question. I too was going to ask why no Chianti.

[Georgie]

As I tell my kids in school, "If you don't ask, you won't find out!"

[hotwine]

My preferred version is, "Don't ask the question if you can't stand the answer."

[Bucko]

No Chianti!! Off with his head.........

[Thomas]

Y'all have to forgive Roberto from not responding; he's still counting the number of people running for governor in Crazyfornia;

Huey Long would have loved it--hey Roberto!

[Botafogo]

No response needed, as George Bernard Shaw once opined, "The only thing wrong with being right all the time is everyone thinks you're an asshole". So, it's me and Denis Leary against the world. I like the odds....


I am solidly behind Larry Flynt and you will be flabbergasted when you see his first campaign spot....


Roberto

[Thomas]

I will not touch the unintended pun of your last sentence...