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
