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2006/2/1 WBW #18: Wine Shop EditionI've been out of the loop for the last couple months and am trying to get myself back into some of the online events that occur here in blog world. Wine Blogging Wednesday (WBW) has always been one of my favorite events - I mean how can you not like an event that forces you to spend time selecting a wine, drinking it and then talking about it??
This month the host, Dr Vino, took just a little different tact. Our job was to report on a local wine shop that we connect with - for whatever reason on whatever level. At first glance this seems like an easy task... but is it?
I had a bit of a hard time with this theme for a couple of reasons. First, I think there are several great shops with really great people here in Seattle. Secondly, I rely on different shops and different people depending on what wine quest I'm following. There are some really great specialty shops in town, as well as numerous shops with a broader selection.
However, if I have to pick one place that seems to provide what I need and the knowledgeable staff to help me find it then I need to pick - well, two places. One place has just a slight advantage over the other because their breadth of offerings is more complete - but just barely.
Esquin Wine Merchants in South Seattle is a huge treasure trove of wine secrets. I can get lost in the place for an hour or two, just looking, reading the store information tags and gazing at the bottles and bottles of wine. They have become the place I go most often when I'm looking for a specific wine for dinner club or for a WBW event. Not only is their selection huge but the people who work there are friendly and knowledgeable and, maybe more importantly, not afraid to tell you when they don't know something. The stock is amazingly diverse and each person has specific areas of expertise so there are times when I've been looking for some obscure wine that I've been asked if it would be okay if someone called me since the area expert wasn't available at the time. As an example, wines from Lombardy come to mind. Although Lombardy produces quite a lot of wine, not that much gets imported to the US. I spent a couple of weeks trying to track down representative wines. I ended up buying most of what I needed from an Italian wine shop, but the people here at Esquin provided tons of information, called a couple suppliers provided a couple of good alternatives for me.
Similar to Esquin, Pete's has an amazing range of wines. It's even more amazing the first time you visit the Lake Union shop and realize that on what amounts to one and a half rows of a little express type grocery store you can find more wines from more countries and regions that just about anywhere else in town. And, I actually think the people here are more knowledgeable across the board then the Esquin folks - there are a lot of long-term folks here. They just miss out being my number one pick because even with the amazing number of wines they have they can't compete with the expansive space that Esquin has. And this sentiment applies only to the Lake Union, the original, location. The Bellevue store has a ton of space with wines neatly organized but I think it's hit or miss on the staff at this store. I rarely visit if I need advice, only if I pretty much know what I'm looking for.
As I mentioned there are other specialty stores that have both great selection and great staff. DeLaurenti's has a wonderful selection of Italian wines - others, too but especially the Italians - and great people who really know the stock. If I'm looking for a Spanish wine or port then I make a beeline to The Spanish Table, with the largest selection of Spanish wines in the US and the staff to back them up.
I feel really lucky as there are so many options here in town - this post has barely scratched the surface. Many shops offer weekly wine tastings, periodic wine dinners and other events, often at minimal charge, so the opportunity to taste for yourself and learn along the way is pretty much unlimited. We have a great wine community here in Seattle and I feel lucky to have so many options.
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