BITS & BOBS

Posted on May 20, 2024 by Stan The Wine Man

One thing about being known as a wine expert (and I use that term loosely), is that when a wine related gig comes up, so does my name, especially in my hometown. A couple of my friends bid on a special wine event that was offered up at a fundraiser. It was for six people to be held at someone’s home who collects special wines and wanted to share them with a small group. A spot opened up for someone to join this group and lo and behold, they asked me if I would be interested in joining them. Of course, you know that I jumped at the opportunity. What a great experience! The host and hostess are the nicest people and the wines they brought out were phenomenal. They set up a couple of caquelons with dishes of raw chicken and beef to fondue in the pots. Absolutely delicious as it went perfectly with the wines presented. A 2000 Bordeaux (a classic vintage), 1997, 2001 and 2002 Joseph Phelps Insignia, 2013 Woodward Canyon Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2013 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Fay HIllside Cabernet Sauvignon. All of them aged very nicely. We ended the night with a 2003 Fonseca Vintage Port served with a chocolate mousse that was to die for. Needless to say, it was a perfect match. It’s moments like this that make me glad I chose a path in the wine world.

My wife Susie and I are feverishly working on our plans for our trip to Crete. Of course, Susie is the driving force behind the planning. We have a room booked in Chania and she has narrowed down the timing of the flights. I know I’ve mentioned this many times; Susie is very good at planning trips! If anyone needs advice, I recommend seeking hers.

We will also be staying in Irakleio for a few nights and it will be from there that we visit wineries. I have a couple in mind and will soon set dates to visit them. All very exciting! We also plan on staying in one of the coastal resorts to relax before we head back home. We are really looking forward to this trip and I hope to get some nice material for Stan The Wine Man TV.

Memorial Day weekend is just a few days away, which is the kick-off to the busy summer season here in the Juans. To prepare for this, I, with a lot of help from Scott, Kent and Daniel reset the beer case this past Friday. We started at 5:30 a.m. and finished about five hours later. We cleared out the slow-moving products and replaced them with some exciting new choices. If one of the products that got cut was one of your favorites, I’m sorry about that. However, we did research on the performance of sales for each product over a years’ time. The cut-off was this. If we only sold one unit a week, it had to go. Some that we cut did less than that. I think you understand that if we only sell on six-pack or less of a beer, hard seltzer or hard cider a week, that is valuable space being taken up. Hopefully you will find a new favorite in the choices I made to fill those spots. I’m happy to get that project completed. Bring on the weekend.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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BITS & BOBS

Posted on May 13, 2024 by Stan The Wine Man

I want to thank all of you who rallied to my side to get me over one thousand subscribers on my YouTube channel. You guys are awesome! Now, I have to figure out how to get my viewers to watch my episodes longer than 4 minutes. That’s the average time most take to watch. I get it because most of us, including myself, have short attention spans. I need a hook of some sort to get you to watch to the end. The reason you ask? I must garner three thousand viewer hours in a year before YouTube pays me for advertising on my channel. This past year was a little rough for me since I moved and then went on vacation. There was a three-month span when I put no content out on my channel. That’s a lot of viewer hours lost. I don’t expect you to care that much if I get paid for what I do on YouTube, but for those of you who like to support what I do, please watch my episodes longer than three minutes. I’ll try harder to engage your attention!

This week, we are doing a beer case reset. It’s always a big chore to weed out the slower-moving items and find the right packages to replace them with. We must expand the RTD section (ready-to-drink cocktails). This is a huge category and I believe it will continue to grow. Believe it or not, hard seltzers are starting to slow down in sales. White Claw is still the big ticket in this category, but even that brand has slowed down. I think we can weed out quite a few items there. Hard ciders are slowly picking up, but I don’t believe they will ever dominate the market, at least in our area of the world. This is partly because we have a fairly large group of people in our community who make their own hard ciders. And, they do a damn good job! There are some very good new craft beers coming out to the market, so I am looking forward to giving our beer case a facelift.

I would like any input you would like to give me on future YouTube content for my channel. I have an interesting segment coming soon. Aside from a blind “Carmenere vs. Cab Franc episode, I would like to review the top-selling three wines in each of my sections at Kings that are under twenty dollars. As an example, I will try three of my top-selling Chards under twenty bucks. Then on to Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, red blends, Zinfandel….You get the picture. It will be fun to educate myself as to why they are so popular. It will be mostly about understanding what these wines deliver that attracts the customer, aside from the price point. I work very hard at finding wines that deliver at a fair price. The more I understand my customer’s palates the better I get at finding the wines that they will enjoy.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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STAN’S PICK FOR MAY 2024

Posted on May 6, 2024 by Stan The Wine Man

I’m actually getting this up before the middle of the month… Are you impressed? Anyway, once again I go to Spain to find a great value! This time, it’s a lighter style Garnacha that could actually be chilled if you so wish. I personally am not a huge fan of chilling reds, but I get it. Like Rose’ on steroids I guess. This little gem is from Madrid and I believe perfect for Spring drinking. Pair it with roasted chicken, salads, prawns, salmon, lamb, mussels, you name it.

2021 Zestos Garnacha Tinta (Vinos De Madrid, Spain)… $13.

Aromas of strawberries, black raspberries, pomegranate and licorice. Raspberry and strawberry notes on soft, structured tannins, with hits of pomegranate and licorice underneath. A little “grip” on the finish with a solid kiss of white pepper and spice. Pomegranate notes linger. Good balance and integration. (B-)

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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BITS & BOBS

Posted on May 6, 2024 by Stan The Wine Man

My wife Susie is now deeply involved in the planning of our trip to the island of Crete this fall. The pieces are starting to fall into place and now I have to set up some winery visits. I will definitely bring along my equipment to shoot some YouTube content. Susie has a great voice for narrating, so it would be fun to shoot some scenes of the vineyards and countryside while she narrates in the background. Of course, I will also try to set up an interview with one or two of the winemakers. I understand the Greeks speak English quite well, which is good since most of my audience speaks English. Of course, I am personally challenged when it comes to learning foreign languages, so I know I will not be honing in my Greek any time soon.

I’ve finally hit one thousand followers on my YouTube channel! I am super excited about that. It’s been a goal of mine for quite a while. Although I feel good about the content on my channel, I know there is a lot of room for improvement. My recent content has been focusing on unusual grape varieties. In my last episode, I reviewed red wines made from Susumaniello, Liatiko and one from the country of Georgia made from a grape called Dzelshavi, one of the oldest varieties in Georgia, which is saying a lot since they are loaded with ancient grape varietals. I shot that episode this past Saturday and finished off the Georgian wine last night (Sunday) and I was very impressed with how it held up. Check out the episode, I think you will find it quite intriguing.

I am starting to put together some ideas for instructional classes this year. I’ve been talking about it for a while and I think it’s time to get going on the idea. I would love to conduct a Riesling class. I have a bunch of older Rieslings and it is such an intriguing subject. I have also been talking with Keith Johnsen from Elevens Imports. We would love to put on an instructional class on wines of the world made from rare or obscure grape varietals. Sort of a “Geek Fest.” I just have to work out the logistics and the cost of putting them together. I feel I would have no problem getting people to sign-up for these.

I think for an upcoming YouTube episode, I’ll call on my buddy Mike to join me in a blind tasting called… “Carmenere vs. Cabernet Franc.” The reason for this is that these two varieties are quite similar in flavor profile. It would be interesting to see if either Mike or I can tell the difference in a blind format. I am certainly willing to take the chance. Blind tastings are one of the most difficult challenges in the wine world. Master Sommeliers put a ton of time into honing their skills in this area and they are very good at it. I have not put a ton of time into this, but it is so interesting to me that I continue to practice and read to try and understand what to look for in each varietal to narrow down the possibilities. I am also willing to embarrass myself if necessary. The wine world is a fascinating place and there is so much to learn.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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