No offense, but really? You’re quibbling about $13? Especially on a bottle that is not only already inexpensive (relatively) and that’s likely cooked to high Hell and is worse than cheap vinegar? Look, all I can say is if you really want it that bad, just ASK. You never know. What’s the worst they can say: no. That’s it. They won’t call the cops, they won’t burn you at the stake, they won’t run you out of town (well, not sure about that one if it’s in a small town upstate, I’ve been that way and some of those places…).
![[rofl.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/a/a7452fcd8e675af869f8da01174474a545b03944.gif "rofl"){kind=small}
I’m going to respond to this post politely, even though I’m fairly sure its not deserving of a polite response.
I’m a student, and a $50 bottle is somewhere between 30 and 60% of my monthly budget for wine, which itself is my largest use of discretionary money. $13 may be insignificant to you- it’s 2 days of meals to me.
For what it’s worth, the wine is a Bernard Amiot 1er 1997. My parents drink a lot of Rosenthal wine, and Bernard Amiot wines helped turn me on to Burgundy when I was in my teens and first exposed to wine. It has sentimental value. They are exceptionally hard to find nowadays.
And lastly, I think that many posters on this board are irrationally and pathologically afraid of wine stored at room temp. IMO, wine stored at room temp (between 68-73 degrees) is not undrinabkly cooked"- it may not age for 50 years and it may not have any collectable value, but it’s generally perfectly fine for immediate consumption. I’ve never seen a whit of scientific evidence to support the idea that wine undergoes a fundamental change at 70 degrees.
That’s ridicurous…
Now Rob, that isn’t very nice…
And lacist plofiring!
David…never mind The Freak.
As for the bottle in question, I somewhat agree that 70 deg F is not a terrible temp for the short haul. But, a Burg standing up for several years in those conditions might not be the best place to spend your hard earned and thinly allocated dollars. Even for sentimental reasons, I cannot see purchasing said bottle.
David,
A) Kudos to you for keeping your composure. Don’t know exactly your age (but guessing low to mid 20s) but you demonstrated restraint beyond most of your peers.
B) Going by what you wrote in your original post, something in your math is a little “fuzzy”. If $50 is indeed “30 to 60 %” of your monthly wine budget and you spend “maybe $50-100 per month” at the shop in question, then you are INDEED giving them the bulk of your business. With that in mind, you can confidently ask for a “deal”. If they don’t give you the deal, then either take your business someplace else or chalk it up, pay the full price and call it quits until February at that particular shop.
C) What’s the wine again? 97 Amiot 1er what? Not the greatest deal IMO.
D) Finally, many people here enjoy some friendly ball-breaking. Don’t take it personal. Give back what you get if you feel like doing so and don’t get discouraged.
Good luck.
P.S. Oh yeah…dude, you live in New York City; “$13 - it’s 2 days of meals to me”??? WTF are you living on, dirty water dogs? ![[wink.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/04707e6a7bbb03e0153e349d8a9270d30e1e9525.gif "wink"){kind=small}
You know how many items at Taco Bell you can get for $35?!?
There’s your answer right there. Spend that college money wisely.
Bottle of Seagram’s 7, 2 Liter 7-UP, college life is good baby!!!
Three things really - knowing your situation would have led to different replies, $13 might be significant’ but you’ve had THREE YEARS to save that money up (come on, how important can this be to you if you’ve not saved $48 in 3 years) and the answer to your question is obvious to us (though perhaps not to you being younger) - it never hurts to ask politely. So the answer to your question is pretty obvious to us - ask. All they can say is no.
Slightly older. 28-- in my last year of law school.
I guess I don’t think of it as giving them the bulk of my business because I split my cost of wine with others when I’m in the city- I’m sort of the designated wine buyer for my wine club. So I’m making way more “purchases” than I’m actually spending on my own account- and I doubt I’d be able to convince anyone else to split this bottle with me.
Also, I’m born, raised, live, and go to school in NYC, but my girlfriend lives in the Boston area and I commute there on most weekends. And yes, that $13 assumes I’m doing the cooking myself 
I’m a student, and a $50 bottle is somewhere between 30 and 60% of my monthly budget for wine, which itself is my largest use of discretionary money. $13 may be insignificant to you- it’s 2 days of meals to me.
Christ. If I’d known you were BROKE I may have tempered my response.
So, I had a bad day yesterday and took it out on you. Mea culpa.
But, the intent of my objection still stands. And, if you’re smart enough to get into law school then you’re smart enough to posit your questions differently. Additionally, the way you ask for a discount is to, well, ask.
What you were really asking for in this situation, as you posted it in the ITB forum, was really 'Hey, I need to know if there is a protocol on getting wines below the list price. I’m sure I can ask for a discount, but are there better ways of doing it than just asking?"
If you frequent this “hot” spot of wine luxury then you should have already developed a rapport with the ownership. At the end of the day loyalty to a vendor will always produce results that favor the exchange. Vendors need a profit and consumers need a fair deal. Fair is subjective in every case and can be access to allocated wines or waiving of door fees during tastings.
So, you have my apology for jumping on you like a python on a mouse.
But, you’re still broke and cheap.
Good luck in law school.
That is so much nicer, Chris! That is the way you were raised.
Keep us informed about the quest for the sentimental Burg, DZ!
Yes Mother Dolce. I am sorry and you are correct. Had my mom read my first response she’d beat my ass. She’d have laughed - but still hit me with a spoon.
No, this isn’t quite right.
Let me put it this way. You go to a pickup bar, you meet a woman there, there’s a good chance she’s looking for a guy. But if I go up to a woman and say, “Hey, would you like to see my schlong?” you’ll get slapped, and you certainly wont go home with anyone.
I’m sure the wine store would love to sell the wine to me for that price: what I was worried about was being offensive. This is a fairly classy joint, as wine stores go. If asking for a discount/bargaining is rude (and I’ve never done it in a wine store), then even if they might want to make the deal on an imaginary objective level, they’d say no just because their blood would be up.
So I guess a better way to phrase my question would have been, “Would it be rude to ask for a discount?” And clearly, based upon the responses here, the answer would be no.
And I may be broke, but only for 8 more months. I look forward to the day when you’re drinking from my stash of burg.
I look forward to the day when you’re drinking from my stash of burg.
me too
And, yes, that pickup line has never worked for me…for less than $300 an hour.
David,
I do not see asking as rude whether you have unlimited funds or not, we have many customers that are very well off and they have no problem asking, some that I’ve never seen before. The answer is always very simple, Yes or No .
This pickup line Chris? “Can I get a discount?”
For round two that usually works.
Au contraire. Look for the quote from him about his glistening pink-and-white sous vide bacon explosion in an upcoming issue of Food & Wine.
David,
I’m a regular customer at a wine shop with a similar stock of random, older bottles hiding in the shelves. The proprietor knows me and my tastes and I trust that I get his honest opinions. When I’ve found a lone bottle in the dark recesses, I’ve often hauled it out of the shelf and have asked if he thought it was worth taking a risk on. If you show your interest and start a conversation about the producer, vintage, storage, etc., it may be an easier way to broach a possible deal than a straight up request for a discount, which might catch your store a little off guard.