Garagiste

Thursday, January 24th, 2008

Definition courtesy of redwinebuzz.com: Originally, a group of independent and entrepreneurial winemakers in Bordeaux, France. They came to prominence through the attention of wine critic Robert M Parker Jr. Going against the current of Bordeaux wine making traditions, they made (and make) fruit-forward, big, bold, highly extracted and oaky wines which are far more approachable in youth than traditional Bordeaux wines (which are generally very tannic and require long bottle aging).

Junmai

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008

It’s Saké month at Richard’s site, A Passionate Foodie. So we thought we’d give you a peek at some of the info he’s providing, with this definition of Junmai, then suggest you head on over to his site to learn more. Junmai is a Saké “made with only rice, water, koji and yeast. Junmai means “pure rice” as no alcohol has been added to it. A Junmai must have a seimai buai of no higher than 70%. That means 30% of the rice grain has been polished away. A Junmai is typically full-bodied and slightly acidic.” -A Passionate Foodie

Stelvin

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008

A screwcap closure for wine, developed in the late 1950s by French company Saint-Gobain. Originally called the “Stelcap”, a combo of hte words “stellar” and “cap”, it was later called “Stelcap-vin” and eventually shortened to “Stelvin”. Interestingly, though the French developed the closure in the 1960s, it wasn’t actually until the Australians adopted the Stelvin closure in the late 1970s that the caps were widely used. Even now, however, the closures face an uphill battle with consumers who equate cork with quality, and screwcaps with mass-market plonk. And, yes, this jargon post is inspired by the book we’re currently reading, To Cork or Not To Cork by George Taber!

Jeroboam

Saturday, December 8th, 2007

An oversized bottle holding the equivalent of six 750ml bottles of wine (except for with Champagne, of which a jeroboam holds four bottles).

get your wine on

2008 “Bebame” Red, El Dorado County, California

Cabernet Franc (65%) and Gamay (35%) from - gasp - California! And only 13% ABV, pretty modest by California standards. If I tasted this blind I would probably have said it’s from the Loire Valley. It has pretty much nothing in common with the full bodied iterations of Cab Franc coming out of Napa. Juicy, light, delicious quaffing wine.$18 a bottle

2006 Telegramme Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge

Really balanced and smooth, this is a bargain of a Chateauneuf. Yeah, the 07s are lauded but what would I prefer to drink? This! It’s the second label of Vieux Telegraphe, from the same property but from younger vines. And it’s a deal at $33 a bottle.2006 or bust!

NV Barcino Cava: LA Times Wine of the Week!

Delicious and just in time for New Year’s Eve…this is the LA Times Wine of the Week, and we have plenty in stock. Order online, pick-up in-store!$14 a bottle!

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The Business of Saying No:

No, I am not a natural wine merchant.

And no, I am also not not a natural wine merchant.

So what exactly is my store, Domaine LA? This is a tricky question that I try to answer here.
________

A couple of months back, I participated in the first annual Los Angeles Natural Wine Week, spearheaded by Lou Amdur of Lou Wine Bar. At that time, I took some heat from a few folks around the Internet who felt I might have been merely capitalizing on a trend and didn’t see me as a true natural wine merchant.

The thing is, I’ve never claimed to be a natural wine merchant. When I started my business online a few years ago, I stated plainly that I wanted to sell wines I loved. I was an enthusiast with a fairly receptive, wide-ranging palate, and I considered learning about wine a journey I would be going on alongside my customers. While I’ve since expanded my business to include a brick and mortar space, my self-conception and mission statement haven’t really changed. But my palate has.

To be absolutely blunt about it, I used to love wines that I simply can’t stomach anymore. There are blog posts archived on my website that in retrospect make me cringe, paragraphs singing the praises of some of the most blatantly manipulated wines in the world. I once criticized a wine bar for not having any Southern Hemisphere selections; it’s now my favorite spot in Los Angeles. And today I carry barely a dozen Southern Hemisphere SKUs myself.

By and large, my palate-shift is reflected in what I bring into the store. Chris Ringland and Mollydooker have been replaced by Eric Texier and Thierry Puzelat; the California fruit- and alcohol-bombs, for the most part, have given way to wines from La Clarine Farm, Donkey and Goat and LIOCO.

As a result of my largely obscure inventory, almost every day I’m faced with customers asking for items that I don’t stock. On a regular basis, I hear:

“Do you have Rombauer Chardonnay?”

No, I answer.

“Do you have Caymus?”

Afraid not, I reply.

“What about Blackstone Merlot?”

So sorry, but no.

“Where’s the Veuve Clicquot? This is a gift. I need the recipient to know it’s nice!”

Sigh.

Saying no to people sets up a potentially risky relationship that may start and end with that one exchange—many customers want what they want and aren’t open to alternative suggestions. In other cases, however, that simple “no” can be the beginning of something beautiful, a dialogue that winds up with a customer who came in looking for the Prisoner instead going home with something like Morgan Twain-Peterson’s Bedrock Heirloom Red, a wine which, while perhaps not 100% natural, is a more honest “made in the vineyard” (yes, I know this is also a cliché) version of what the Prisoner purports to be.

Of course, sometimes that customer really just wants the Prisoner. Which leads me to my major confession here: despite more than a bit of ambivalence, I continue to sell the Prisoner, along with other wines that are by no means natural, wines that are quite frankly manufactured. The Prisoner sits on the shelf right next to the Bedrock Heirloom Red, and for the time being, it will stay there. At least twice a week people come in asking specifically for this wine, and, for several reasons, it’s a request I’m not—yet—willing to deny.

Even though I no longer drink the Prisoner, there was a time–not too long ago–when I did so happily. When I first started getting interested in wine, it was a bottle that captured my imagination and helped launch me on the journey I remain committed to today. So maybe I keep the Prisoner around out of a sense of nostalgia. Or maybe I keep it around to remind me how far I’ve come. Maybe I keep it around hoping that for those who ask for it, it will simply be their starting place just as it was mine.

Or, more cynically, maybe I keep it around because people buy it. Maybe it’s a crutch to lean on when I’m too tired to hand-sell the less familiar items on my shelves. Seeing something recognizable is comforting to consumers, and that comfort somehow lends me credibility; credibility is a precedent to trust. Trust is what enables me to recommend something different to a customer who normally drinks the Prisoner.

In this sense, the Prisoner is of great value to me, not just as an easy sell, but even more so as a gateway to all the other wines I have available. I don’t know that I’d be able to move as much of the Bedrock, an unknown wine with a tiny case production, without the Prisoner right next to it.
______

Saying no is extremely hard. Right now, I’m willing to do so 90% of the time, maybe even 95%. Call me a coward or a fake if you want. But I know where I started out, and it’s been a logical evolution. And while I’m headed in a particular direction, guided by my palate, it’s safe to assume I won’t ever be a 100% “natural wine merchant.”

I like to think there’s room for somebody like me—somebody with confidence in her tastes, who also takes into account modes of production in buying decisions; someone who has a particular point of view, yet retains an inclusive attitude. I am strong in my opinions, and enthusiastic in my passions. I never judge my customers, and hope that they’ll be as open-minded and respectful of my offerings as I am of their preferences.

So far, it seems to be working out. In recent months, I’ve brought in only one case of the Prisoner (less than a thousandth of a percent of its total production) for every three cases of the Bedrock (1.3% of its total production).

So, what am I?

I’m not a natural wine merchant. And I’m not not a natural wine merchant.

I’m a work in progress. And I’m okay with that.

grapewise

DomaineLA Store Contact Info
If you’re looking for our brick and mortar shop, here’s where it can be found:

6801 Melrose Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90038

(323) 932-0280

Hours are 11AM to 8PM, Monday through Saturday and noon to 5PM on Sundays.

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Fabulous & Frugal!
Our friends launched a new site and domaine547 is a featured wine columnist in their premiere edition! Go check out Fabulous & Frugal for some fantastic lifestyle tips for living the good life during what, for most of us, is an economically challenging time. There’s much more than wine there, and we’re thrilled to be a small part of the start of what will surely be a successful venture. Congrats to Brandi & Steph for their achievement!

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