Rant: When Choosing Holiday Wines, Don't Be A Cheapskate

With Thanksgiving coming on Thursday, many people will be stop by their local wine shop to purchase wines for their upcoming feast. In addition, they will soon start thinking about buying wines for other holiday celebrations, from Christmas to Hanukkah, from Boxing Day to Festivus. I've previously given some suggestions on choosing Thanksgiving wines in Stop Stressing Over Thanksgiving Wines. I have one more piece of advice, which applies to all the wine you'll purchase this holiday season.

Stop being a cheapskate! 

In preparation for the holidays, people stock up on wine to serve their guests at the various parties and celebrations. Often, because they are buying bottles in bulk, their primary concern is price. They generally want to purchase wine that costs $10 per bottle or less and usually end up buying the large, commercial "value" wines, such as the Barefoot or Yellow Tail. It takes almost no thought to buy such wines. Though such wines might be drinkable, they aren't going to impress anyone. You've chosen to take the cheapest route possible, in both price and time.

If you're hosting a holiday party, don't you want to impress your guests? Or do you want to be known as the person who bought the cheapest wine available? Don't you want your guests to leave the party talking about the great time they had, telling others about the delicious wines they enjoyed? Or would you rather have them later complain that the wine was unappealing?

It only takes a little extra work, and maybe price, to elevate your wine selections. Or would you rather be known as a wine cheapskate by your guests, who know you bought cheap wine with no real thought?

I certainly understand the need to control your wine costs when you are providing for a number of guests. You don't have to buy $50 wines to impress your guests and you don't even have to spend $20 per bottle. I have purchased numerous $10 wines and brought them to parties where the other guests loved then, wanting to know where they could buy them. There are good and interesting wines at this price point, if you know where to seek them out. If you want your holiday celebration to be even more popular, then you need to serve those type of wines. The extra effort will elevate your party and please your family, friends, and other guests.

How do you find these inexpensive but interesting wines?

To start, the easiest path is to seek out one of the better discount wine stores. These places often carry a good selection of wines costing $10 or under, much more than you will find at a regular wine store. You'll find plenty of variety in these inexpensive wines, whites and reds, domestic and imported. You'll find wines comparable in price to those large commercial "value" wines but which offer much more character, taste and value.

My top three recommendations for discount wine stores include Bin Ends in Braintree and Needham, Wine Connextion in North Andover, and Rapid Liquors in Stoneham. Make the effort and drive to one of these discount spots and find better value wines. The investment of time will pay off, creating many happy guests at your next party.

For example, when I go to Bin Ends in Needham, I'll can purchase a couple cases of wine, averaging $10 per bottle, and get a nice diversity of wines, reds, whites & rose. These wines will satisfy most people. They are excellent every-day wines, and work well as inexpensive wines for larger parties too. Rapid Liquors has recently expanded their store, offering a large selection and you can always find excellent values there. The Wine Connextion also offers excellent prices, even better than many you would find in New Hampshire.

If you some reason you can't make it to one of these discount wine shops, you still have options. At whatever wine shop you visit, it might be best to ask the wine store staff for recommendations of value wines. They should be able to direct you toward those inexpensive wines which will be more interesting and delicious than those cheap commercial wines. You should also remember that most wine stores offer a discount for bulk purchases, sometimes as few as 6 wines, which is another way to save money on your purchases.

But if for some reason you can't ask a store employee for some recommendations, then my best advice for selecting a good wine that is $10 or under, is to buy a Portuguese wine. At this time, I think some of the greatest value wines are coming out of Portugal, especially at this price point. Chances are that if you purchase a Portuguese wine costing $10 or less, you will find a delicious wine, much better than similarly priced wines from most other regions. And there are plenty of Portuguese wines available in that price range. There is probably no other wine region where you can find as many good wines at that price point.

You also should know that paying a few dollars more for your wine can make a big difference. When you start considering wines priced from $10-$15, your options increase drastically. You can find some interesting wines from all over the world in that price range, though they still offer value. And if you are buying in bulk where the wine store offers a discount for larger purchases, you can save enough money so that the wines end up priced closer to $10 per bottle.

So this holiday season, don't buy the same old cheap wines. It won't take much effort to select some better choices, and still very inexpensively. In the end, you'll impress your guests, make your holiday party more memorable, and drink better wines.

(This is a slightly revised version of a prior post which remains as relevant now as it did when first posted.)

Olde Redding Butcher Shoppe: Eversave Coupon Deal

There has been an increase over the last few years in small, neighborhood butcher shops, a positive trend which I fully support. Locally, one of these new shops is the Olde Redding Butcher Shoppe, located at 169 Haven Street in Reading. The store is owned by Greg Chesnulovitch, a Reading resident and a former butcher at the defunct Atlantic Super Market. In fact, most, if not all, of their employees also used to work for Atlantic so they bring many years of experience to this business.

I previously reviewed this shop soon after its opening, and I have patronized the business numerous times since then. My experiences have been very positive and I continue to highly recommend this butcher shop. One of my favorite items is their combo pack of ground beef, veal and pork, great for making a Bolognese sauce or ragu. Their customer service is excellent, and if you need a particular cut of meat, or a certain size, they are able to do so to your satisfaction.

Tomorrow, Eversave, the daily deal site, will offer a Special Deal at the Olde Redding Butcher Shoppe, giving you the opportunity to check out this local business. You will have the choice of one of two deals:

l) Three pounds of handmade meatballs for $9 (approx. 32-36 meatballs & you save 50%)
or
2) Three pounds each of hormone-free, boneless chicken breast (approx. 4 pieces) and hot or sweet sausages (approx. 6 pieces) for $17.

So take advantage of this deal and support a good local business. For more details and to sign up for this deal, go to the Eversave site.

Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I am back again with a new edition of Thursday Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I briefly highlight some interesting wine and food items that I have encountered recently.
**********************************************************

1) This Black Friday, Legal Sea Foods is giving everyone the chance to “See fish fly!” From midnight through 11:59pm on November 26th, Legal Sea Foods will take 20% off of everything purchased at their online fish market with the code IEBLKFE2T (excludes gift card purchases).  Legal Sea Foods offers a vast selection of fresh fish and shellfish products (plus more!) where you can schedule a delivery online coast-to-coast and enjoy an outstanding gourmet dinner at home, or send to a friend, colleague or loved one. Legal Sea Foods offers an array of goods from the following categories: Lobster Packages; Butcher Shop; Shrimp Packages; Surf and Turf Packages; Mini Appetizers; Desserts. Legal Sea Foods also offers Corporate Gourmet Gifts with their award-winning dishes.

WHEN: Friday, November 26th from 12:00am – 11:59pm

HOW: Visit the online fish market at: http://www.shop.legalseafoods.com/.

2) Join Gordon’s Fine Wine & Liquors for their annual and complimentary luxury wine tasting with Horizon Beverages, the largest wine, beer and liquor distributor in New England, for a complimentary tasting of wines that you’ve always dreamed of drinking.

On Saturday, November 20, from 1pm-4pm, Gordon’s will uncork some of the most well-known, exclusive wines out there while guests sample complimentary hors d’oeuvres from Chef Paul Turano of Tryst Restaurant. Over 50 high-end bottles of wine will be opened for your personal tasting pleasure including Taittinger, Jadot, Darioush, Frescobaldi, Taylor Fladgate, Joseph Phelps, Masi, Banfi, Delectus, and more.

RSVP: No registration is required for this walk-around, complimentary tasting.
For more information visit www.gordonswine.com, or call 781-894-2771.

90+ Cellars: Good & Inexpensive Wines

While persuing the shelves of your local wine store, you may see a label marked 90+ Cellars. This label is currently sold in about 90 wine/liquor stores in Massachusetts, as well as being available in about twenty other states. But what is the story behind this label, and should you take a chance on this wine?

90+ Cellars, a Boston based company, is a virtual winery where they purchase excess wines from established wineries and sell it under their own label, and at a significant discount. The wineries sell this excess wine because either they produced too much or the demand for that specific wine has waned. These wines have already been produced and bottled so all that needs to be done is for 90+ Cellars to have their label placed onto the bottle.

They don't just buy any excess wine. There is criteria used to determine which wines they will sell. The criteria is that the wines "...must have a pedigree of 90 or higher ratings, best buy or gold medal accolades from major publications." They cannot though tell the consumer the name of the original winery. That fact must remain anonymous.

Each of their wines is assigned a “Lot” number upon release and Lot #15 will be their next wine available, in a couple months. All of the wines are available in limited quantity. Their Reserve selections may only be available in 100-200 cases, while the normal line will be available in the thousands. But once a Lot is gone, it will no longer ever be available.

Recently, I met a couple of the guys behind 90+ Cellars, including Kevin and Brett. They invited some local wine writers and wine store owners to taste some of their current wines, and potential future releases. Prior to the event, I had some questions and concerns about 90+ Cellars and intended to raise them at the event. I was unsure how they would handle these issues as they might not be the easiest.

I was extremely pleased that Kevin and Brett were honest and forthright in response to my questions. They did not try to evade or obfuscate the issues. Such integrity impressed me. They were also able to clarify several issues for me.

Why do they rely on 90+ ratings? First, they do not rely on only such ratings, and at least one of their wines has not received a 90+ rating. As mentioned above, the 90+ rating is only one such possible criteria. They will also consider other significant accolades. Though the label may imply to some that they only rely on 90+ ratings, their website does mention the other criteria.

Second, 90+ ratings are important to them because many consumers do consider such ratings when buying wines. They are a business, trying to make money, so it makes financial sense to use ratings if many consumers rely upon them. Especially if they are a new company trying to enter the market.

Personally, I would rather consumers relied less on such scores, and were more willing to try wines that maybe did not score as high, or which lack any score. There are plenty of excellent wines that fail to attain a 90+ rating. But I do understand why wineries and stores use scores to promote wines.

Another concern for me is that the 90+ Cellar wines generally lack a story, or at least one which can be disseminated to the public. Because of the anonymity of the wines they sell, the consumer cannot learn about the actual winery, cannot heard about the stories behind the wine. Kevin admits that is an issue, and not something that really can be changed.

But what 90+ Cellars does offer are very good wines, at a significant discount from the original wine. I tasted through many of their wines, and they were generally very good. None of the wines were bad, though some were not my preferred style. My favorites included:

Lot #6 ($13.99), an Unoaked Chardonnay from Australia was excellent, a crisp wine with delicious fruit.

Lot #8 ($11.99), a Garnacha from Spain, a delightful melange of bright fruits, including blueberry, some spice notes and a touch of herbal. Very easy drinking and fun wine.

Lot #15 (soon to be released), a Pinot Noir from the Carneros region of California. This Pinot has not received a 90+ rating, but I know the source and it is a top producer, as well as one of my favorites. This wine was excellent, and a great value.

So will you like the wines of 90+ Cellars? If you want a delicious wine, at a good price, then definitely give them a try. You will miss out on the story of the wine, but that may not matter to you. I certainly would buy some of these wines, based on their taste and low price. So keep an eye out for these wines.

Buy With Me

I recently told you about Groupon Boston, a deal-a-day website which recently launched in Boston. Groupon offers one special deal each day, offering discounts on goods, services and culture such as meals at fine restaurants, tickets to cultural events, spa packages and more.

They have some competition now with the newly launched BuyWithMe, which is also on Twitter as BuyWithMeInc. They operate very similar to Groupon. It is free to sign up and you will receive an email each day about their newest discount offer. You only receive the discount if a sufficient number of people sign up for it that day. Their offers do include some restaurant deals so it is worth checking out.

The main difference appears to be that BuyWithMe does keep some of their discount offers open longer than just a single day, and sometimes for about up to a week. For example, there still is a discount open for UFood Grill, pay $9 for a $20 gift card.

I would recommend signing up for both Groupon and BuyWithMe. It is free so you have nothing to lose. And you never know which discount offer might appeal to you.

Groupon Boston:

We all love a bargain, especially now in these tougher economic times. I have previously mentioned a number of restaurant deals and now I have another, as well as deals on other interesting items too.

Groupon, a deal-a-day website which began in Chicago, launched Groupon Boston last month. Groupon offers one special deal each day, offering discounts on Boston goods, services and culture such as meals at fine restaurants, tickets to cultural events, spa packages and more. It uses the power of group purchasing to create these bargains.

"Despite the current economic climate, Groupon is growing quickly by offering a win-win situation to consumers and businesses,” says Groupon founder Andrew Mason. “Bostonians will receive huge deals on the best the city has to offer, and participating businesses will experience an explosion of sales thanks to the promotional help, guaranteed business and exposure that Groupon provides.”

It is free to sign up for Groupon so there is little reason not to do so. Once you sign up, you receive an email each day about the new discount. The only catch is that you will only receive that discount if a sufficient number of people sign up for the discount that day. The discount lists the number of people who must participate, and it seems to have run from 25-35 people or so, which is not really many.

So far, there have been 11 different deals, three which have involved restaurants and food. First, $20 got you a $40 voucher to Zolalo Cocina Mexicana. Second, $5 got you a $10 voucher to Figaro's Delicatessen. Third, $50 off a lobster feast that is delivered to your door. Some of the other deals concerned massages, dry cleaning, car washes, and more. As many of the deals are around 50% off, you can find some good bargains.

I looking forward to each different daily special and think it is worth signing up for their free email notice to find out what discounts are available. I am sure at least a few of the discounts will appeal to you and you can save money. You have nothing to lose.