Of Sales, Value and Wine to Drink!

I love shopping at various places, including the warehouse clubs (BJ's, Costco and Sam's), local shops like Sherlocks, Bullocks, or Tower, but if you've ever read my blog you know I'm also big fan of Total Wine & More. They have a great selection and some pretty solid pricing--my only consistent gripe is that they won't give a case discount on 'mixed' cases. If you buy an entire case of 1 wine, you receive a 10% discount (as with most retailers). Until the end of this month you can receive the same discount on only a 6 bottle purchase! Go stock up!
It's funny-is expensive wine 'worth it'? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. 2 thoughts on that: There is a very well-known brand that gets tossed around often--I won't 'go there' but back in my wine bar days, when someone asked if we had that brand I immediately knew that 1) they didn't know a lot about wine 2) they had some money and 3) typically they have friends who thought highly of that wine as well. It can be a bit of the "Emperor's new clothes" as the reputation is still there, but the quality (in my opinion) is not... For that same $80 I could easily blow that brand away.
As for the second case in point, I took a huge risk and bought a $60+ bottle of wine totally on faith. Yes, the same guy that tells you never to buy a wine for the label alone took a chance on buying an expensive Napa Cabernet solely because it shared the same name as our good friend's newborn (Congrats again J and Carol!) Their new son's name is Cade and when planning for a 'celebration' dinner for all of us, I was excited to see a bottle with the same name and knew we had to toast to the new baby with it! What an amazing wine, probably one of the best I've had in a while. So every once in a while I guess it's best to 'take a chance' and see what happens! So was it worth it? Even if it had been 'good', yes, it was worth it to share a special moment with friends--the fact that the wine was amazing was a bonus! Step outside the box a little and try something different than what your wine snob friends recommend--try something new and fun or go wild (like I did) and take a chance on something fun.
By the way--if you find yourself off Dresden (Brookhaven) you need to stop in "Pour" and have some wine. What a cool place (and fun, moderately-priced selections). Pour Wine Market is a pretty neat wine shop/wine bar that is not a chain (and it shows!). After a glass or two, Kaleidoscope is a fun restaurant (try the duck fat fries--trust me) and it's just a few doors down. Pour also offers craft beers if you aren't into wine (shame on you ; )