BITS & BOBS

If you had told me when I was in my early twenties that being a wine steward, blogger, and wine YouTuber would be my career, I would have looked at you like you were crazy. I grew up in a family with six kids. My mom had no money to spare (although she was good with money); she bought what we needed to be comfortable, and wine was never on our dinner table. I have only one memory of my mom and Cold Duck (it’s not a good memory, by the way); other than that, I never saw my mother or stepfather, for that matter, drink wine. So, to be where I am today is quite amazing when I give it some thought. My passion for wine and the wine world runs deep. I love sharing that passion with others. For instance, my YouTube channel is there for that very purpose. Of course, I love to help people spend their wine dollars wisely, but I also love to educate them about the wine world. I’m not the kind of person to show my passion outwardly, but it’s there and I hope that you and others see and feel it. There’s so much to learn and I know that personally I will continue to educate myself on this fascinating subject. I hope stay with me on this incredible journey.

Speaking of journeys, Susie and I are starting to talk about a trip to Portugal and maybe a side trip to Rioja. Some of the most amazing values in wine come out of Portugal. I bring quite a few into Kings for displays and they do quite well. I intend to expand my Portugal wine section. It is quite small now, mostly because my customers don’t seek them out while shopping. Italian, Spanish and French wines are very popular, but not so much with wines from Portugal. It’s my job to guide wine buyers to the great values that are coming out of this small country. I’m glad to have my wife Susie at my side, the best trip planner I know. We will start to hammer out the details for the trip soon.

The two episodes I recently posted on my YouTube channel about aging budget-friendly wines garnered some amazing results. I think you will see it in my face as I tried some fairly inexpensive wines that were at least thirteen years old or older. 2011 was the youngest wine I tried in those episodes. It proves to me, that a wine does not have to be expensive to age. I hope you take some time to watch parts one and two; they are intriguing and may inspire you to seek out some wines to tuck away in your stash and see how they turn out in five to ten years. I would especially like to inspire younger wine buyers to come to me for advice on wines that will age and not break the bank.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man