PRESALE! IT'S COMING......
2002 PARINGA SHIRAZ - SOUTH AUSTRALIA INDIVIDUAL
VINEYARD
PERHAPS THE BEST VALUE TO BE FOUND! LAST
TWO VINTAGES HAVE SCORED 90 POINTS IN THE WINE SPECTATOR AND THE 2001 PARINGA SHIRAZ WAS THE #40 WINE IN THE TOP 100
WINES FOR 2002. PARINGA IS IMPORTED BY THE GRATEFUL PALATE - THE
SAME SOURCE FOR THE MARVELOUS MARQUIS PHILIPS' WINES!! THE 2002
VINTAGE IN AUSTRALIA IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE VERY BEST! THIS
WINE WILL SELL OUT IMMEDIATELY! MERCHANTS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND
THE BAY AREA ARE ATTEMPTING TO CORNER THE MARKET ON THIS WINE. ORDER
NOW!
Paringa Shiraz always oozes with
drinkability! Blackberry and wood spices! Melted dark chocolate
softness! The ultimate red wine for summer entertaining.....light up
the bbq! IT DOES NOT GET ANY BETTER AT THIS PRICE!!
PRICED
AT $10 A BOTTLE! ORDER NOW TO RESERVE AT $7.95 A BOTTLE!!
THIS SPECIAL
PROMOTION IS LIMITED TO DISTRIBUTOR AVAILABILITY!!
All orders will be confirmed with
invoice # by reply email. 2002 PARINGA SHIRAZ WILL
ARRIVE THE END OF MAY!!
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Question of the week: Restaurant corkage fees
seem to be rising! What are your corkage experiences? Has a
restaurant ever reacted in a negative manner when you brought
your bottle to dinner? What do you feel is a fair per bottle corkage
fee? What is the most you have ever paid for corkage? Your response
may be shared.
*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Frequently
Asked Questions about The Wine Consultant!
Q: I heard you were an exclusive club or needed a
membership to buy wines at The Wine Consultant?
A: Are you kidding! Nothing
could be further from the truth! TWC sells wines to everyone!
Q: After reading your email,
I went to your website, but did not find the wines you wrote about....?
A: Correct! If you want to
order from an email, please reply directly from the email. The website
is out of date and actually obsolete. At this time, it is not a good
reference point to check current inventory. In the next couple of
months the website will be updated and made more user friendly.
Q: How long have you been
open?
A: First time
customers coming into the newly remodeled store think I just opened! I
enjoy telling them I opened the store in 1990. Then, I like to ask
them if they are new to the area?
Q: What did you do before you
opened TWC?
A: I am a UC Berkeley grad
who got side tracked on my way to law school. Started working in
restaurants at Lake Tahoe and spent twenty years in fine dining
restaurants as a waiter, bartender, sommelier and maitre d'
Hotel. My first restaurant experience as a wine buyer was 1974. I
left Koya's in 1990 to open TWC.
Q: Please explain your
discount policy. What are those little orange stickers?
A: TWC's store discount
policy is 10% off of any six bottles AND 15% off of any 12 or more
bottles of wine purchased when paid by cash or check. So it is
possible to purchase 12 different bottles of wine and receive the best
price. If you transact with Visa or MC the discount is subtracted
by 3% to account for the merchant transaction fees incurred. (7% for
six bottles and 12% for twelve or more bottles). The "little orange
stickers" show you the very best price you can purchase a wine for
(i.e. the 15% price). "NET" wines do not discount. However, all wines (including
"NET" wines) build for discount unless specified as a special
promotion. Hopefully, this is not too confusing! Bottom line, if you
are a steady, loyal customer who purchases on a regular basis, TWC
always tries to give you one of the discounts regardless of how many
bottles you purchase per visit.
Q: What if I don't want to
use my Visa or MC and prefer to pay by cash?
A: That is not a problem.
Just pickup your order within five working days of its arrival and
pay anyway you wish. Your credit card acts as a deposit and is only
debited if you instruct or are tardy picking up your order. You can
always mail a check if you want the maximum discount. And remember,
The Wine Consultant has a daily courier service available to local
customers.
Q: What's in the locked
refrigerated wine room? Why is it always locked?
A: This is where I keep the
store's library selection. If you need a classic Bordeaux from a great
vintage or a Napa Valley cult wine or a large format bottle for a
special celebration, then be my guest! Some great Champagne, Rhone and
Italian too!
Q: How long do the bottles
hold up on your WineKeeper system?
A: Argon gas is very heavy
and completely odorless. Theoretically, the wines can stay fresh and
alive indefinitely, but I have not had anything open longer than a week
before it's emptied and is replaced. But, I can tell you the condition
of that wine was like a newly opened bottle!
Q: Can't you serve a smaller
sample at the tasting bar? Now that you have 12 selections, I want to
be able to try other wines and 2.5 ounces is just too much!
A: Yup! I heard this
question a number of times. I don't want people stumbling out of here,
and I do want you to be able to sample more wines. I need to teach
more of you how to spit. So, now it's official. ONE OUNCE POUR FOR
1/20 (#250-7850) THE BOTTLE'S RETAIL. 2.5 OUNCE POUR FOR 1/10 THE
BOTTLE'S RETAIL.
Q: I still don't understand
what I am supposed to do with my priority membership #?
A: First, keep it in a safe
place with your other passwords and user names so you have easy access
to it. The last four digits are not coincidentally the last
four digits of your telephone #. We thought this would help
you remember it! Second, as you read my email, simply look for the
priority membership id # that is hidden in the text. If you find YOUR
#, then notify me and identify yourself within 48 hours of the email's
time stamp. Winners can receive gift certificates, wine and other
prizes.
Q: Do you like this
wine? (Pointing to a wine on the racks)
A: I think what you really
mean to say is what do you like about this wine? Yes, I like
this wine or I would not stock it to offer to my customers. Yes, I
have tasted it! I taste 90% of all the wines I purchase before
I make the decision to buy. If I do not have the opportunity to taste
before I purchase (let's assume some buying decisions are based on a
wine's history, allocations, or consumer demand), then it is
understood I will be opening a bottle to sample shortly after it has
arrived. If this wine is not up to my standards, I call for a pickup
to return the wine. Customers should challenge a wine merchant to
describe a wine and make sure he or she has sampled it. Don't let a
merchant get away with the simple reply, "It's good! I like it! You
should try it.....it got 93 points from blah, blah" This does not
communicate a single attribute about the wine. The smart consumer
should demand more from this kind of response.....another merchant. A
good merchant wants to give you an accurate description of the wine so
he may measure your response. This enables the merchant to
assess your palate and make suitable recommendations. Ask for a
description of the wine that includes a window of drinkability and food
compatibility too.
Q:
How many wines do you taste?
A: Well, yesterday it was
about 20. I'd say on a weekly average about 80 to 100. I drink lots
of water and I spit a lot! I rarely swallow! It's a lot of tilt (for
color), sniff, swirl, sniff, slurp, and spit. I go pretty fast. I
usually take mental notes on the wines I like and then put them to
paper when I have a chance. You'd never be able to read it...kind of
coded and looks like a doctor's prescription.
**TWC
Gift Certificate
worth $50 to member identifying his or her # in text and then
responding by reply email within 48 hours of this email's time stamp.
Passionately
yours about wine,
Eric
Stumpf
Proprietor,
The Wine Consultant
8039
Greenback Lane
Citrus
Heights, CA 95610
(916)
721-WINE (9463)
**
Register NOW for your FREE email "PRIORITY
MEMBERSHIP" ID
number at THE WINE CONSULTANT!
Not
only will you receive advance notice
for many sales and promotions....BUT, you will also have an on going opportunity to WIN store credits,
gift certificates, tasting bar passes, greater discounts, and wine!
Once
you have received your membership number, just look for your id # in the text of any email you receive from
Eric Stumpf. Simply respond within 48 hours of the email's time
stamp to claim your prize!
TO
REGISTER:
Effective
immediately, please reply by email to provide and confirm your-
Name:
Email
address:
Telephone
number:
You
will receive your TWC's email "Priority Membership" id number by email
and will be ready to participate. All registered members must be 21
years of age.
View the Archives
