Know when to walk away, Free Rangers,
I finally knew I was decent poker player the first time I folded a great hand, and watched it play out to see two greater hands than mine (statistically improbable), one of which couldn’t have possibly been bluffed off. In many interactions these days, the best I can do is recuse myself at the right time. Amongst those aforementioned people who only shop for booze during the holidays, a lot of them don’t seem to listen even to themselves, causing them to very often ask the same questions repeatedly. The first time this happens, they’ll usually hear, “As I just mentioned,” and then the same words as 30 seconds before. The third time I get the exact same question in succession is generally greeted with a deadpan, full eye contact, “Seriously?”
Very occasionally they’re conscious enough to realize they’re doing it and will start with a, “please tell me again…” which isn’t thrilling, but is much easier to oblige than the naked repeat query. Generally when talking wine, I’ll point to the bottle on topic, and then to the tag displaying its price. The same folks mentioned above often also seem to go out of their way to look directly at every bottle on the wall besides the one closest to my fingertip. This is a pretty rough combination, and unless I am the only one on the sales floor, at this point I’ll excuse myself to the cellar (where no one can hear me scream), and let someone gentler and more patient than I (aka anybody else who works here) tend to the decision making disorder. If I would rather wash glasses or haul cases (or clean the bathroom) than talk to somebody doing any of the above, I’ll just go and do that. I’ve gotten an amazing amount of cellar work done in the last month and change.
So, as a thank you to everybody who are not those people, we’ve left live (and added a couple of new items to) both the recent Rare Whiskey Sale and our Super Sale Page, the latter of which is primarily made up of products at, or very near, wholesale cost. Definitely worth clicking those links if you have not yet seen what’s there.
And to those of you who are more into wine than spirits, we’ve got some great deals coming up including another stab at Brittan’s lovely Oregon Pinot(s) and a Ridge offer the likes of which we haven’t seen since early pandemic fire-sale days. But first, our friends at Chateau Maris, who employ the greenest possible processes, have just taken another giant leap in that direction. Enter Chateau Maris Naïve 2020.
Chateau Maris has been on the forefront of sustainability and eco-friendly practices since inception. More importantly, their predominately Rhone style wines are delicious. A full assessment would turn this note into a novella, but many fine articles exist on the interwbs. Chateau Maris’ latest release, Naïve 2020, creates the lowest impact of any French wine ever sold on this side of the Atlantic, as it arrived in Brooklyn via the Grain de Sail, an insulated Brittany based cargo (sail) ship. The wine itself was fermented naturally in concrete eggs in Maris’ hemp cellar. Each bottle is numbered (this cuvee will always exclusively ship to the US from France by sail) and will only be sold in the Northeast. It is drinking beautifully today, but also displays the structure to age gracefully for at least half a decade (properly stored). Sadly, there is not a lot to go around.
While we’ve carried a selection of Maris wines almost since the day we first opened the doors here, some of you may not yet have tasted through them. So we thought we’d use the excuse to give you the excuse to do just that. The Full Maris 6-pack gets you 1 bottle each Naïve 2020, Maris Rosé, and each of the four staple Syrah and Grenache based red blends we always carry, and all at 20% off the usual shelf price, in a FREE wine tote.
(!) Click here for hidden sale page (!)
