Im now not a wine gourmet. I dont even very own a decanter. (Some of my married friends very own numerous.)
But I like wine, specially trying specific types. There are lots of resources available that will help you study wine. But I do not have time to read them. Instead, I choose to analyze via doing, or . . . Via drinking. My only trouble is understanding which bottle to choose.
If you placed me in a wine keep with over a thousand bottles, I either need a sommelier or a psychiatrist.
I generally begin by studying the notes that hold via the bottles. The ones with names connected to them like Wine Spectator or Robert Parker or Bill, the stocker. I contemplate the pics and hues of the label. I analyze the pricing shape and weigh costs and benefits. Then after an hour or so, when Im completely pissed off, I make a totally arbitrary choice.
So Ive come to this conclusion. I want help. And, because my decrease has his limits, I need to find a wine shop with those who can assist me through the procedure of purchasing a great bottle.
All wine shops are not created identical. Here are some of the factors to think about when selecting a wine store:
1) Selection
Dont be fooled. Having thousands of bottles is not the same as having a great choice. Many big liquor shops stockpile wine with labels which can be closely advertised and bought with the biggest bargain. You may also stroll into a store and think you have hundreds of picks, but all you without a doubt have is same bottles repeated time and again.
What makes a great selection? Look for a store: (1) with a knowledgeable wine purchaser and (2) with a diffusion of tastes, areas, and charges. A properly choice will offer each wines which might be acquainted and particular. Why is choice critical? Think of it as playing the odds. Youre lots better off deciding on from a few hundred wines tasted by way of a informed customer than from numerous thousand that were trucked en masse.
2) Storage
If you walk into a shop and begin to sweat, turn round. Wine need to now not be stored at temperatures over eighty tiers, or its going to lose its taste. Thats why wine is generally made and saved underground. Avoid massive warehouses wherein the temperature can be tough to control. Seek out a wine save in which the people are satisfied sporting sweaters in the summer season. Its probably that the wine may be well-cooled and glad too.
Three) Information
A precise wine save is a superb source of data. Dont be afraid to invite a variety of questions and are looking for out staff recommendations. Many shops in Kansas City offer wine tastings, which can be a fantastic possibility to attempt earlier than you purchase.
Four) Price
Of route, wine fees range extensively, and Ive never found one store this is continuously inexpensive. Even the large bargain stores arent always cash savers. After youve located a shop which you like based totally on the other 3 elements, you can shop cash by way of subscribing to that saves newsletters or becoming a member of its tasting club. Often, shops ship out special deals and offerings to these clients first.
A unique 5th category is convenience. This matters especially whilst youre shopping for in bulk, or if you are looking for a quick pick out-up at the manner home from work. Its good to recognize where numerous top stores are in town, so that youll recognise which one to hit on every occasion the feeling strikes.
Here are my selections (in no unique order) for first rate wine stores in Kansas City:
1. Cellar and Loft. Located in Brookside, this little save is a great deal greater than meets the attention. The upstairs is the Loft, a showplace of latest and antique home furniture and décor. Downstairs, you could wind your manner around Cellar, a labyrinth of types with a good type of wines, beers, gourmet ingredients, kitchen items, and greater. 112 W 63rd St, Kansas City, MO, (816) 444-2444.
2. Cellar Rat. This particular boutique within the Crossroads is the anti-superstore of wine. Cellar Rat prides itself on presenting a hand-picked selection with personalised provider. Cellar Rats restored constructing is impressive itself. The five,000-rectangular-foot save also contains artisan beers, gourmet meats, cheeses, spirits, cigars and chocolates. 1701 Baltimore Ave., Kansas City, MO (816) 221 9463.
3. Vino one hundred. If youre in South KC, you have to test out Vino a hundred. Vino 100s concept is to provide over a hundred bottles of wine for $25 or much less. The shop is properly-organized and the also gives a unique selection of cigars, unmarried-malt scotch, cognacs, port, smoking accessories and wine presents. 13135 State Line Road, Kansas City, MO, 64145 (816) 941-VINO (8466).
Four. Lukas Liquor / The Wine Bar. If length topics to you, Lukas Liquor bills itself because the midwests biggest merchant of first-rate wines, spirits, and malt drinks. It has currently elevated by way of including the Wine Bar, which offers cooking lessons, event space for company teambuilding or meetings, and ordinary wine and liquor tastings. 13657 Washington Street, Kansas City, MO 64145, (816) 942-8707.
5. Rimann Liquors. No count where youre in Kansas City, there may be likely a Rimann Liquor nearby. Stores are placed in Lenexa, Prairie Village, and most recently, in Briarcliff. For 3 years in a row, Food & Wine Magazine named Rimann in its listing of Top Wine Shops in America based on choice, service and advice. Briarcliff: 4155 North Mulberry, Kansas City, MO 64116, (816) 587-3399; Prairie Village: 3917 Prairie Lane, Prairie Village, KS 66208 (913) 236-5311; Lenexa: 15117 W. 87th St. Parkway Lenexa, KS 66219 (913) 492-1604.
6. Ensimnger Liquors. Ensimnger gives a diffusion of wine for my part selected through its proprietress, Judy Ensminger. Its Judys notion that there arent any bad wines, just exceptional wines for exclusive activities. 11052 Quivira Road, Overland Park, KS 66210 (913) 469-9006.