Oenophiles, spill!

[Mark Sommelier]

Maureen and Joe, C/W is the top grossing store in Washington. They sell a crazy amount of wine. I think it is over 15 million a year.

[maureen]

Mark, I am not surprised by that information - I spend a decent amount of time in each store and the traffic at CW is significantly higher than at Macarthurs (although I suspect Mac's has more phone orders). My point was simply that the breadth of German wine offerings is greater at Mac's and indeed the total number of different $20+ (or whatever figure you want to use to suggest an age-worthy wine) wines is signficantly greater at Macarthur's (in response to Joe's question). But both are excellent stores with slightly different strengths.

Edited March 6, 2004 by maureen (log)

[clifford]

When I first started learning about wine, a friend of mine told me to go a "nice" wine store and follow these rules:

1) Never spend more than $10

2) Never buy anything from the US, stick with French, Italian, or Spain, except...

3) Never buy anything from France, Italy, or Spain that looks like an American wine (ie: flatly states CHARDONNAY in bold print on the label)

I found his recommendations (guidelines actually) to be really helpful in developing my palate and appreciation for wine at an early stage, without costing a bloody fortune.

There are certainly great wines made throughout the world, at multiple price points, but if you are just beginning, this approach worked great for me, and didn't cost a whole lot.

And since I live in Alexandria, I wholeheartedly second the nomination of Rick's. Great selection, educated staff, nightly complimentary tastings, and about twelve selections of wine that meet the above criteria displayed five feet inside the front door.

[maureen]

By the way, for those who are interested, I just noticed that Macarthur's has increased the amount of web page space it is giving German wine, including a link to Terry Thiese's catolog. The web site is www.bassins.com - check it out for Rick DeLauder's excellent explanation of the basics of German wine.

[tjaehnigen]

I find Calvert Woodley minorly annoying as a store. It's often too crowded and difficult to find stuff. I prefer MacArthur's if I am in the District.

Lately, I have been buying stuff from a place in Jersey and shipping it to my bro in Virginia (since it is legal now! Woo-hoo!). Even with shipping, it is still quite a bit cheaper than locally. Really.