Sheba's Wine Blog: Skimpy Pours, uumm NOT OKay!

There is an ongoing debate going on between me and my friends. At Faire Gallery Cafe we give a real nice pour of wine. We actually give a better pour than most restaurants. While customers love it, most don't expect it. So how much wine is too little? I went out to dinner with my brother yesterday to fusion Mexican restaurant in University Village. I ordered the $7.50 glass of Tempranillo. This was by the way the most affordable glass of red and I am rarely disappointed with Tempranillos. Well, my glass arrives and low and behold I was searching for the wine! It was the worst pour of my life! The problem is more difficult than a chintzy pour. The wine was $7.50 a glass and in these recession times buying glass after glass really adds up. They gave me so little wine I felt like I needed another glass, but didn't think it was worth the price. So, which is better? A more affordable glass pour where your customers feel comfortable buying more wine, or a higher price per glass but a decent/respectable glass pour? Let me know.

Which do you prefer? A cheaper price per glass, or a bigger pour?

• Cheap Glass of Wine
• Big, Huge Pour

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Sheba's Wine Blog: What a pair!

One of the things that intimidates people about wine is the aspect of pairing. What do I pair with my dinner tonight? This also boggles young people because they do more survival cooking that chef category meals at home. Basic pastas, chicken, or stir frys. When I was in a wine course, one of our assignmants was to figure out what paired well with a Dick's hamburger and fries. Crazy right? No, not so much. The answer was champagne or sparkling wine. The bubbles and acidity cut the grease and taste yummy together. So, this got me thinking, what pairs with the foods we love? Fried chicken, takeout chinese, sandwiches etc. The basic rule of thumb is if the food is spicy, pick a sweet wine like Riesling or Gewurtraminer. If the food is sweet pick a spicy red like Grenache. If the food is light pick something light bodied, so the wine doesnt over power the food. And vice versa for heavy foods. But this is by no means a rule of thumb. I learned from a Sommelier to pair wine you like with foods you like. If you hate spicy wines, don't feel obligated to pair it with your dinner. Pick a wine based on other attributes. Maybe its a citrus dish, so you pair a wine with citrus flavors. Okay, I'll slow down. If wine pairing scares you I don't know if I'm helping right now. Every month I will making a basic wine and food pairing suggestion so we can get our feet wet together.

Sheba's Wine Blog: Step away from the "Two Buck Chuck!!"

Marketing in wine, just like in any industry can make anyone believe anything. Now don't get me wrong, I love an inexpensive bottle of wine. Especially one worth more than the price tag. There are tons of good wines for under ten bucks. Anything by Hoodsport, or Columbia winery, Chateau Ste Michelle, and Fat Bastard to name a few. They are decent wines that won't give you a headache and won't hurt your pocketbook.
But "Two Buck Chuck" drives me crazy. A couple years ago everybody got wind that this wine was a good two bottle dollar of wine. No, its not. I'm not judging, but Charles Shaw wine sold exclusively at Trader Joe's is made from the same Gallo grapes we all hate. Here is a quote from CBS News' site about the cult of "Two Buck Chuck."

It's a wine label owned by Fred Franzia, a distant relative on the Gallo family vine. He's a reclusive businessman considered a pain in the neck to California's wine establishment.
Franzia controls scores of brands and labels including Charles Shaw that under-sell the prestige vineyards. And "Two Buck Chuck" is just his latest broadside: "We have others up our sleeve we think are even better coming out."



Here is more information about Charles Shaw wines from ABC News;

But Napa winemakers claim it's not the price of the wine that has them teed off. Rather, for one ex-winery owner, it's the name "Charles Shaw." For others, it's the claim "Two Buck Chuck" makes to a Napa Valley origin.
"I like the guy; I just despise his business practices," said Tom Shelton, the CEO of a Napa Valley-based premium label, Joseph Phelps, and part of a group of Napa winemakers suing Franzia to protect the "Napa Valley" name.
"I don't have a real argument with … the existence of Two Buck Chuck," Shelton said. "My argument really is when producers like two buck chuck try to pass themselves off as Napa Valley wines."
The label reads "cellared and bottled in Napa" which is true, but Shelton says Franzia doesn't make Two Buck Chuck with Napa-grown grapes, and that's misleading to consumers.

Remember Franzia and Gallo? Those disgusting box wines we make jokes about, same stuff but in a bottle. Marketing my friends. You see, there is amazing wine out there with no PR budget and can't afford to get rated by Wine Spectator. You just have to taste and decide for yourself.
Look if you want to buy "Two Buck Chuck" for a party because its cheap, I could care less, just don't pass it off as "Good Wine."