Interesting article in today's SFChron on DarrellCorti:
SFChron:Corti
She did a very good job on capturing the essence of the DarrellCorti I know & love. I first met Darrell back around 1974. When CortiBros was off to the side in a little bldg on the parking lot of a large mall out on FreeportBlvd across from the Executive Airport. I had heard of this store in Sac that was supposed to be a good place to buy wine. When I walked into the place, my first thought was "This is just a grocery store". I asked if they sold wine and the clerk directed me down this stairway. My eyes popped out...stacks & stacks of wine I'd only read about in Lichine. Why you could even find JosephSwan Zin on the shelf. Darrell came out of the office, introduced himself, and then started guiding me around the stacks, picking up a btl here & there, and giving me a 5 min lecture on the wine. He still does that. Except now, when he finishes each mini-lecture, he closes with "You must try this" and places it into my shopping cart.
Although he advertises himself as just a "grocer", he is, first & foremost, an educator. On any subject you happen to choose, he can launch into a lecture. He once did a presentation at a SlowFoods event in Espanola. He lectured for well over an hour on...aspargras....including why it has an oderiferous effect on your pee. The audience was...mesmerized.
He's one of the most brilliant people in the wine biz. I've always said that if Darrell had gone into physics....the Higg'sBoson would have been discovered yrs ago.
Anyway, quite a nice read.
Tom