Alison Wilson

In regards to does Costco sell good wine. They have several high quality Bordeaux's well below normal retail prices. I would have to classify them as the "Walmart" of wine. They are Texas' biggest Wine Retailer. They have the power to buy up thousands of cases at once which reduces their price and they can in turn sell their products for less than what a smaller shop pays for it. I am certain that Costco has probably closed the doors to several smaller Wine Merchants. The only concerns may be - are any of the wines they are purchasing distressed ? - due to storage etc.

Thank you for your comments Richard. First off, I am NOT questioning Mark Stuertz' abilities. I read the arcticle he published in November - it was a well researched article. My points are simple - I did not take a class at Tony's conducted by James Winkler; therefore I cannot say he said those things in his class. I did however take a class conducted by a short rude frenchman who did say the things Mr. Stuertz mentioned in his article. I did take a class by James at Premier which none of those things mentioned in the Obersver were mentioned at all. So again, my point is the intructors at the "old" Tony's obviously were saying what the previous owner Mr. Monzain told them to say. The subject of this post is have Tony's old tactics moved to Plano - obviously they have not. My other point is the salesmen at the old Tony's did not set the pricing nor did they order the product for the store - the owner did. I do not think a personal attack on a salesman is appropriate when they are not responsible for either the product or the prices. Obviously James quit Tony's because he didn't want to be part of that anymore. Please do not twist my words to suit your own agenda. Perhaps you should take a class at the new Tony's and one at Premier.

Personally Richard - I have sat in Jame's class at Premier and he never said any of those things quoted by Mark Stuertz. I find it hard to take seriously everything the Observer reports ( after all they have what can be considered risque advertising - massages etc.). The fact of the matter is that Tony's did engage in some of the practices Mr. Stuertz stated in his article - this I know because I have been there but the person I heard saying the quotes you mentioned above was the short rude french man our group had teaching the class. Besides that the Observer article also mentions a Jean Bernard and he is still working at Tony's. So whether it is the same James Winkler or not is irrelevant as he was not the one setting pricing or business pratices at Tony's it was the owner Mr. Monzain. I am certain Mr. Monzain probably instructed his teachers on what to say. Regardless - I sincerely hope that Tony's has really turned over a new leaf and I wish Premier all the luck as well. The group that I was with had a great time at Premier and we will be going back for another event for the Holidays. Their staff was friendly and courteous to us, the facility was nice.

Hello Richard - I hope you are doing well. I read your reply earlier. I stopped in Premier last night on the way home to get a bottle of Chardonnay so I looked at their Piper Heidseck Brut - I saw it was $ 29.00 not $ 59.00 but I am sure they probably do not beat Costco on some items. As you mentioned earlier - I did re-read the original Observer article. It seems to me that the previous owner of Tony's - Michel Monzain was the one who set the prices not the salesman. Have you ever heard of a salesman setting a price in a store? I never have. If you really think Premier's prices are 25% more how much more do you think Tony's prices are ? After all, Tony's has a Restaurant which involves a considerable amount of overhead. The price I paid for the Peach Champagne at Premier was less than I paid for it at Majestic and way less than Tony's. I am certain that different retailers offer different prices on the same item - no doubt about that. But as far as entertaining clients I would still take them to Premier rather than Tony's. I also pulled out my class sheet from Premier and the one I saved when I was at Tony's - No Contest. Premier's prices were so much better. I certainly hope the new owner of Tony's revamps everything - I just don't understand why he hasn't changed the name - it seems that would be the first thing to do.

I have been both to Tony's Wine Warehouse & Premier. I went to a Wine Tasting Class at Tony's a little over a year ago (prior to the November Observor article). I do remember them saying all the nonsense in that article but I had a short rude French man in our class that kept telling us to be quiet and "act like we were in church". My hostess was so embarrassed. I bought a bottle of peach champagne there at Tony's and it was $ 37.00. I know you probably think I am stupid for paying that but they assured me it was a private label. After I read that observer article I emailed the winery - of course it was a different label but not a different product from what sells all over town for about $ 15.00. I was invited to a Wine Tasting at Premier back in June. Asthetically as Richard mentioned in his post - Premier is very attractive inside. A really pretty place with a huge fountain and neat furniture. I was in the first classroom - Richard they have a storage area in the back where the bulk of wine is stored. In the class they talked about differences between the grape varietals, how to order wine in a restaurant. They never mentioned anything about deep roots. And imagine my suprise when I saw Peach Champagne $ 24.00 LESS than what I paid for it at Tony's. I did buy some wine from them and when I was standing in line I heard one of the other guests ask the gentlemen behind the counter - "Are you affiliated with Tony's?". He said "No - we are not affiliated with them. They are 25 miles south of us and from what I understand they have a new owner. I wish them all the luck." So - I have been hearing all these radio adds on WRR about Tony's so even though it was out of my way I went down there. They had been advertising Silver Oak Napa at $ 78.00. Of course when I tried to purchase one they didn't have any. The store is definately alot cleaner than before but it looks too empty now. I looked around at their prices and they are alot lower than before but the peach champagne was still about $ 9.00 more per bottle than what Premier sells it for. I haven't been invited back there for a class since their new ownership - I hope someone on this forum will post that has been to a recent class at Tony's. I just know that if I was going to host an event for my business clients - I would have to say I would rather do it at Premier because the ambience and facility is so much nicer - there is alot more room to mingle. It just seems a shame that the Dallas Observer has tried to link the two businesses together. It seems to me that the former employees of Tony's that went to open Premier probably did so because they did not like what Tony's was doing and they knew that they could do a better job which it appears they have. But again, I have not been to a class at Tony's since the new ownership. Thanks for letting me participate in this discussion.