If it wasn’t for Italian Pinot Grigio, I would lose about 5% of sales in my wine department, but that doesn’t mean I have to drink it. I think I’ve made it clear on Stan The Wine Man TV and this blog, that it is not one of my favorites. Recently one of my sales reps who was shooting for Pick Of The Month, brought for me to taste, six different Pinot Grigio. I must have done something terrible in my past life to have to experience such torture. However, I tasted them and they did not let me down. It reaffirmed my feelings for this white. I have nothing against folks who like Pinot Grigio, this is just personal. My lovely girlfriend drinks it, and I buy her a bottle every once in a while. However, I will never buy her a bottle of Santa Margherita, and I still find it hard to believe folks spend over twenty-two bucks for it. There are a couple that I actually like and one that stands out to me is Alois Lageder. Still, I will rarely buy a bottle to enjoy on a warm summer evening.
Speaking of Pick Of The Month, my choice is not based on popularity of varietal, but on qpr or quality to price ratio. Simply put, it has to “rock” for the money. You’ll have to check out my pick for August which is a white “kitchen sink” blend from the Willamette Valley. It’s probably not a wine that most would seek out, but I believe once you taste it you will be back for more. So, to all my sales reps out there… Bring me something interesting, delicious, complex and under fifteen bucks retail. If you do that, you may find your wine occupying the spot for Pick Of The Month.
A friend of mine was recently asked to resign as head wine maker for a large winery. I have to admit I was stunned, and when I spoke with him he was just as baffled by the decision. A respected wine blogger (someone who I read regularly) stated that this wine maker left to pursue his own wine project that he is working on. Either he didn’t do his research, or he was trying to be politically correct, or, he talked with said wine maker to see how he should write it and my friend took the high-road and told him to phrase it that way. I could see my friend doing this because he is genuinely a very nice guy and probably wants to make sure he doesn’t burn bridges. Either way, truth be told, he was not given a valid reason as to the decision and now there is a great wine maker out there for some winery to get their hands on. I guess my point is, if you are going to write an article about something don’t veil the truth. You don’t have to expose the facts, just don’t write something that isn’t true. My friend did not decide to go his own direction, the winery he worked for and did well at decided to go a different direction…Simply put. You may be asking yourself why I haven’t written an article about it. I’m stuck because I am also friends with one of the owners of said winery. I’ll stay silent on the issue out of respect for him, although it is a very tempting tale to tell.
Cheers!
Stan The Wine Man
to deal with.
