NYTimes: Asimov on How To Pick a Wine Store

A really quite nicely done article in today's NYTimes by Asimov:
HowToPickAWineStore
on how to pick a wine store.

I thought it was going to be the usual blah/blah/blah stuff filled w/ the tired old cliches on the subject.

He's dead right in you can tell a lot about a wine store simply by walking in the front door. It's quite like finding a good book store...you can tell a good one as soon as you walk in the door simply from the smell. Well...maybe not for a wine shop.

He, quite correctly, points out that it's not important if they store they btls standing upright or laying down. I know a few anal types who won't patronize a wine shop unless all the btls are stored on their sides.

He also emphasizes the importance of shelf talkers that are actually written by the staff...rather than some pre-printed shelf talkers written by some attourney in Monktown.

I was amused by his consternation in a SantaRosa Safeway with names like CherryTart/LayerCake/Zin-Phomaniac/FreakShow/etc. He labels them, rightly, as junk-food aisles.

Anyway....nothing really profound but an insightfully done article by Eric.

Tom

With few exceptions, goofy critter wines are best ignored.

[Robin Garr]

With few exceptions, goofy critter wines are best ignored.

Cheval Blanc? Anything from La Spinetta with a rhino on the label?

The Cheval Blanc is an ARISTOCRATIC horse, Robin. NOT a goofy critter!

Not to mention there's no horses on CB label.

Nice article, I could pick nits, but good guidelines overall.

Not to mention there's no horses on CB label.

But there is one on Clos de la Roilette. And those are obviously good wines. Although perhaps the horse is not goofy.

More seriously, I can't remember this topic coming up in a NYT column recently, and it certainly is relevant for 'the masses' of wine-drinking non-geeks. So it was nice to see.

With few exceptions, goofy critter wines are best ignored.

Cheval Blanc? Anything from La Spinetta with a rhino on the label? [/quote

Even then you can't make blanket statements. Don't forget La Spinetta rosé!