Whenever the Wine Advocate or Wine Spectator comes out, either on-line or in print, there is often a rush on certain wines. Quite often, the wines are gone, out of vintage when the press comes out and sometimes it isn’t released yet, (causing problems with our distributors, but that’s another story).
For the last week, we have received numerous calls, almost daily, and had drop-in’s looking for 2007 Orin Swift Prisoner. We loved the wine so we loaded up on it. A number of people we recommended it to who bought a fair amount, while others thought it was too big. While the 2008 is the current vintage, we hadn’t ordered it yet. The last 6 bottles of 2007 were purchased Saturday and now we have to wait a few days until the 2008 arrives.
There wasn’t any sudden media hype on the 2007 to generate the calls and there were several people who came in and said they went to Orin Swift’s tasting room and tasted the 2008, but wanted the 2007.
This has happened to us twice before. 2005 Cakebread Cabernet and 2006 Las Rocas Vinas Viegas Garnacha. Neither had press, just all of a sudden “the must have wine.”
What wines have all of a sudden been “have to have” wines at your store? Roberto, $3.00 bottles of Peruvian Llama irrigated Tempranillo does’t count.
Prisoner is incredibly popular and has been for a couple of years. The only other wine to compare recently (in terms of people coming in and asking for it) is when WS came out with their Top 100, naming the Columbia Crest Reserve.
Also, whenever WSJ came out with their wine recs, this generated a flurry.
In the case of Prisoner, it was an enjoyable, (young) wine that went well with Italian, Mexican and American food. The others you mention, I have to use the same picture I did in the political forum:
I believe that the '07 Prisoner made the WS Top 100 list this year. That could explain the sudden interest in the wine, and insistence on a particular vintage. I think it made the WS list 2 years ago as well, but not last year.
Dorothy and John have retired. Yes, they are wonderful people, very down-to-earth, unpretentious. They’ve done a great job of creating interest in wine among people (readers of The Wall Street Journal, specifically) who probably never gave a second thought to wine before. Nonetheless, I am glad to see them gone. They were amateurs, in both the best and worst senses of the word.
As for Wine Spectator picks, he who lives by the gun dies by the gun. Where I work, we try to sell wine to people who like wine, not people who like numbers. I can’t make a living off people who walk in, ask for The Prisoner '07, and then turn around and walk out because we don’t have it.
Had a glass of Prisoner a few weeks ago and thought it tasted like grape-flavored Vodka. I’ve never tasted a wine so alcoholic in my life. Awful stuff IMO…and I like big wines sometimes.
Dave - hey! Just had some Prisoner last night at the Flying Frog. Didn’t see the bottle so I’m not sure what year it was (part of a tasting). I promise I won’t ask for it the next time I come in.
People get info from different sources - someone emails a link to a favorable review and it circulates quickly.
It really depends for me. Saxum James Berry 2007 is probably the hottest wine in my inbox lately. Also, the requiste “do you have that Columbia Crest wine that was in the WS???”
(I shit you not, some guy was in a few weeks ago, PISSED OFF, that we didn’t have the Reserve CHARDONNAY that was #1 Wine of the Year. You can only imagine where that conversation went)
Also, the recently rated Carlisle Papera Ranch 2007. Had like 10 to 12 direct requests last week alone.
The two single most requested wines of all time in our store are the Prisoner and Clio. Can’t even tell you what #3 is, it’s that far down on the list.
I never get that - customers who get pissed off that a given wine isn’t in stock. It’s as if you broke the law by not having what they wanted. I think some people really don’t realize just how many wines are out there, and that it just isn’t possible to stock everything. Of course, the indignant ones are usually either about 6 months too late looking for a highly allocated wine, or asking for something absurdly obscure.
People who walk in looking for Spectator-ranked wines are basically asking to be disappointed. The list is retrospective–I’ll bet half the wines on it are out of stock by the time it appears. Not that we won’t play up a Spec number when it suits us–Eb latched on to a whole lot of the Dr. L Riesling 2008 (#62, folks!) and we’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of having a Top 100 wine for $11.99.
And you know, Jim, it never hurts to ask. If you want it, and we can get it, we’ll do it.
I haven’t been in to visit with Vijay and his merry band in a long time, thanks for reminding me they’re still on the planet. When we first moved to Asheville, we spent a fair amount of time at the downstairs bar at the Frog.
