Grocery Outlet to the rescue ( of my wine budget)

I realized today while I was in Eureka, CA which is the closest town to me, that I enjoyed going to Grocery Outlet (a west coast discount grocer and wine dealer) to ferret out (possible) good deals. Today's haul: 2009 Johann-Wilhelm Schild Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Kabinett for $6.99, 2008 Rudolf Muller Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Kabinett for $3.99, Glimmerglass N.V. white cuvee of 50% chardonnay and 50% semillon apparently produced by Markham in Napa for $2.99, and Georges Duboeuf 2006 Cotes du Rhone white for $2.99. I haven't tried them yet, except for the Muller which my wife enjoyed and encouraged me to purchase again. To me that wine was pleasant, probably overcropped, but with decent flavor, and recognizably riesling, and a bargain for the price. It is just a fun adventure to explore things which I might not otherwise buy. Any thoughts on these wines or others from the Grocery Outlet stable?

Good on you!

I would've said the weakest link in that lineup would have been the Muller, but it apparently turned out okay for you---considering the descriptor you wrote, you got at the very least your money's worth. The next weakest would be the Dubouef, I think...but I wouldn't really be worried. Not at those prices.

I agree, if you troll through the GO, it's possible to find some pleasant and inexpensive surprises.

Well, cross the Glimmerglass off the list. A bit ponderous and prematurely oxidized (sherry anyone?) it is a pass. The Duboeuf is in the fridge for tomorrow, Hoke, so I'll see on that one. The Muller was decent (and my wife liked it) so that has its plusses. It is fun to play with such inexpensive wines (afforded by being shut out of the Garagiste Faively 2006 Mazis Chambertin earlier in the week.)

not familair with Schild but the vineyard is terrific..An Urz-Wurz for $7.00 sounds like a pretty good buy..will be interested to see how it turns out..Glimmerglass is the name of a well known opera house in upstate NY..wonder how it became a Markham label?? hmm

I'm sorry there's not a GO here, I love trolling for bargains (not that groceries can sell wine here)
Hoke, never heard of Muller, but unless they are renowned as terrible I'd have thought '08 Piesporter Goldtropfchen Kabinett at that price would be a deal .
(Goldtropfchen is the top vineyard on Piesport, as opposed to Piesporter Michelsberg which is not actually a single vineyard, and which is usually crappy).
The Dubouef is the only one I would have passed on- strikes me as an unfortunate conbination of factors (indifferent producer, out of their area, warm vintage, grapes that tend toward low acid, etc)

Rudolf Muller is a big operation with a lot of negoce stuff they purchase. Got some great properties too, and sometimes they can be superb, but usually they go more for the volume than the greatness. Were connected to the Thanisch so had capability for Doktor; don't know where that stands now.

I did a lot of direct import of Rudolf Muller back when Warren Strauss was bringing it in, but when it went in other directions I didn't follow it much anymore. Their stuff was okay, but usually just okay, and I found other producers with more range and more expression. They did a Reiler (estate wine) that was really, really nice in certain vintages.

Edit: And what I meant by citing Muller as the possible weak one was not necessarily that it would be bad, but that it would be weak---dull, uninteresting, over-sugared, flat, just made to get by, lackluster performer...that kind of thing. Always glad to hear when a wine excels though.

I just found out there's one GO in my area. I'm gonna have to check it out since they sell wine at this one.

Keep in mind they are widely differing in terms of how much/what type of wines they have, Doug.

And as always the Enhance Version of Sturgeon's Law applies as to their inventory.

But hope you have fun and score some goodies too!

Keep in mind they are widely differing in terms of how much/what type of wines they have, Doug.

And as always the Enhance Version of Sturgeon's Law applies as to their inventory.

But hope you have fun and score some goodies too!

Well, the website for the store claims they sell "Fine Wines" so they must be good, right?

Keep in mind they are widely differing in terms of how much/what type of wines they have, Doug.

And as always the Enhance Version of Sturgeon's Law applies as to their inventory.

But hope you have fun and score some goodies too!

Well, the website for the store claims they sell "Fine Wines" so they must be good, right?

Oh, well then. That's different. Hell yeah. Go plunder their "Fine Wine" section!!!

Tonight's dinner selection was the Duboeuf 2006 Cote du Rhone blanc. It wasn't bad, and in fact, both my wife and I kinda liked it with an Amy's organic spinach pizza topped with our own fresh garden zucchini, sun dried tomatoes, and extra "pizza blend" cheese. It was flavorful, had decent acidity, and no obvious flaws. For $2.99 it was a deal and a decent intro to rhone whites. I served it cold and that seemed to liven it up. Next up, Urz Wurtz.

Quite enjoyed 2012 A to Z Wineworks Pinot Noir (Oregon) in 375 mL screwcaps for $4. Recognizably Oregon pinot, admittedly on the heavier end of things. I also liked NV Seaview Brut (SE Australia) for $6. If you're serving people who call everything "champagne", you'll do well with this off-dry, very slightly yeasty sparkling wine.

I also was happy to find Buellit Rye at Costco in 1.75L for $33, which is a steal. Also, the 2015 rosés are in. A Costieres de Nimes was refreshing in that classic leesy strawberry way for thirteenish. There was a Pratsch that I picked up as well, haven't tried it yet.

[Jenise]

Saw the A to Z up here awhile back. It stood out as one of the few real commercial labels among the American wines; a Roblar syrah from Paso and a five year old pinot from Napa were about the only others. Most of the wines seem to be made-for-purpose cheap plonk. I did find a surprisingly good Bordeaux, in fact two. I don't have room for things like that now but I tipped off friends who cleaned out the local supply of both. I also tried a $20 Barolo or barbaresco, can't recall which it was. Stood out because of the unusually high price for GO so I thought why not, have some fun. Totally not worth it. I love the treasure hunt aspect but find you have to kiss too many frogs there to make the hunt for values worth it.

But every now and then, I can't resist doing it.

Saw the A to Z up here awhile back. It stood out as one of the few real commercial labels among the American wines; a Roblar syrah from Paso and a five year old pinot from Napa were about the only others. Most of the wines seem to be made-for-purpose cheap plonk. I did find a surprisingly good Bordeaux, in fact two. I don't have room for things like that now but I tipped off friends who cleaned out the local supply of both. I also tried a $20 Barolo or barbaresco, can't recall which it was. Stood out because of the unusually high price for GO so I thought why not, have some fun. Totally not worth it. I love the treasure hunt aspect but find you have to kiss too many frogs there to make the hunt for values worth it.

But every now and then, I can't resist doing it.

I have a theory about Grocery Outlet. Cheaper wine producers are often operating at a scale such that they can have a few thousand extra cases of something decent that they just can't move. Therefore you see pretty good deals on lower-end stuff at GO. "Quality" producers (and importers) don't work on that scale, so why do they show up on the shelves at GO? My guess is that they made or bought the wine and the whole production just "wasn't right". Rather than disappoint their regular customers or sell in bulk, they send it to GO, on the theory that no one who would otherwise be a full-price buyer will find it. However, that means that the higher-end product at GO is likely a bit off. Not always, though. I bought some 30s-50s Madeira there for $50 was roughly 85% off retail and quite good.

[Jenise]

I want to first amend what I said above when I said I don't have room "for things like that". Came off wrong--I don't have room period, my cellar's full. We need to drink down more of what we have before it rots and not buy things that need to be drunk sooner than later, otherwise, I'd have bought every bottle of one of those two Bordeauxs I mentioned. I think I posted a heads-up here about the first one I found, I was so impressed. It was $10, I think.

A few years back I found a South African chardonnay made in a high quality white burgundy style, a partnership venture between a South African winery and a Burgundy winery of note, though now I don't remember who it was. It was released in the U.S. at $30ish; at GO? $4. I bought every bottle they had. And about the same time I bought close to two cases of a terrific '95 Port for around $20 ea. It's just a tad lighter (but only a tad) than a big name would be, but otherwise perfectly en pointe for vintage port. I freely open bottles from what feels like a bottomless supply for nights out by the firepit with friends while my Dows etc continue to sleep. Between these two wines alone I have every reason to check Grocery Outlet often for the next amazing deal. I know they happen. I just don't get in there that frequently.