Loving the Life of Wine

One of my favorite jobs, if you want to call it a job, is recommending wine. I like it because I love to drink it, but I also like it because in the course of making recommendations, I get to hear about what other people like to drink, which is very exciting to me.

Sometimes, people come into our store and I can tell they don’t want to talk about wine, they just want to buy a bottle to take home with no conversation. I completely respect their wishes, in fact, there are sometimes I feel the exact same way. Let a man or woman buy their wine in peace, for heaven’s sake.

Not to be discouraged, we have maximized our ability to recommendby using “shelftalkers.” Shelftalkers are a way to describe the wine as well as give the name of the grape and the place where it’s made and possibly an interesting story or fact. I am proud of our shelftalkers because they are original and sometimes, extremely clever.

To give you an example of this, I will cite my favorite shelftalker highlighting the Luchador Shiraz, a showstopper from Southeast Australia: “When you think about this wine, think about the guy in the kitchen who grills your meat: el gato de gato—the cat of cats. This wine is massive with lots of beef like flavors, interesting and exotic, with a finish that is tattooed with wild berry flavors. Think about the grill and think about how great this wine will be with any food that comes off of it.”

Sounds yummy, right? It is, and you didn’t hear it from me. You read it!