April 14, 2004
It’s spring sale time, with plenty of fun and informative tastings to go along with the vigorous market. New releases have arrived, the economy is trying its best to support our interest in better wines, and soon, it is promised, our landscape will finally turn from gray to green.
Surdyk’s led the way on the spring sale stage, offering a mostly low-end inventory. Now things bump up a few notches with Haskell’s, and up several more with Byerly’s/Lunds. And one of my very favorite stops, the Tonka Bottle Shop, is also going great guns with its spring fling through May 6t.
Let’s take a closer look at the big boys, with both Haskell’s and Byerly’s having multiple outlets and covering most of the metro area. How do these stores and their sales really compare? First I will start with inventory, where the two giants take a remarkably different approach. Every Haskell’s store carries the same inventory, and its sale can be advertised in a nineteen-page catalogue. Very colorful, I must say, and requiring my little printer a full forty-give minutes to download!
Byerly’s/Lunds, by contrast, vary greatly in inventory, as each store manager stories allowed to buy what he or she prefers to sell. The Minnetonka Byerly’s, for example, leans heavily toward imports, whereas the Plymouth Lunds is very pro-California. (I might add that as Tim Nordland, an eighteen-year Byerly’s veteran, has recently moved on to greener pastures—no he didn’t die…he took a sales position with Cat & Fiddle—the merchandise at the Plymouth Lund’s may slowly change).
How do the two compare on style? They’re somewhat similar. Haskell’s offers its infamous “Nickel” sale in which the shopper pays “regular” price for the first bottle and five cents for the second bottle of the same wine. It’s common knowledge that Haskell’s raises the “regular” price quite a bit more than retail, so that the end result is nothing like two-for-one. An example: a bottle of Covey Run Chardonnay typically runs between $6.99 & $8.49. I saw it recently at MGM for $6.99, its “regular” price. Haskell’s lists the “regular” price for as $12.99, with a second bottle for five cents, yielding a “sale” price of $6.52 per bottle. Not such a great deal is it? One more example: Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio. At Haskell’s “regular” price of $13.99, the nickel sale price comes to $7.02 per bottle. Sam’s Club carries Ecco Domani with a regular price of $6.83; MGM is $8.99. Haskell’s offers a decent deal on the higher priced imports, which is perhaps its specialty anyway, so it is worth checking out. Just be careful!
As for Byerly’s/Lund’s, they offer a “buy one at regular price, get the second bottle at half price sale” through May 1. This makes for an especially good deal on more expensive bottles. And, as far as I can tell, Byerly’s doesn’t jack up its prices before the sale. Another thing to keep in mind: this sale applies to any bottle, even those not in stock. Byerly’s will order anything you want and offer it at the special sale price. At Haskell’s, the sale only applies to store inventory. Enough said.
Free Public Tasting Opportunities
France 44 is featuring Bonny Dune this month, and will show some of its more esoteric offerings this Saturday from 2-5pm. I hope they will pour the Cigare Volant, as this is one special bottle. A domestic “Chateauneufdupape” if there ever was one. Any friend of Bonny Dune is a friend of mine. Check it out.
Haskell’s chain of stores will be featuring a variety of tasting opportunities too complicated to list here, so it is best to visit its website for an overview. Go to www.haskells.com for the full report.
There is hardly ever advance information about the Saturday tastings at the Byerly’s/Lund’s stores, except we do know that Connie will pour selections Thursday through Saturday at the Golden Valley location—as of this web posting they haven’t put together their list. Call them directly at 763-544-8978 to find out what Connie is up to.
Phil, the ever-helpful owner of Henn-Lake Liquors, pours a selection of wines every Friday night, but information about his choices is always “hush-hush.” Stop by and surprise yourself. (Phil also tells me that he will meet or beat any sale price Haskell’s offers (or, for that matter, specials at Byerly’s or anyplace else…).
Upcoming Wine Events
Naturally we must start with Louie’s own extravaganza, Friday night’s Napa Spring Wine Fling, with over 60 wines from Napa Valley, music and magic, and a great raffle on top of it all. Watch a tasting report in my next posting!
Coming in early May, but worth planning for, will be the fabulous Napa Valley Vintner’s Tasting (May 6, $75 per person). I will be at the event’s industry gathering in the afternoon, and highly recommend this event, as there are purportedly 200 Napa wines being shown (not that any of us could sample more than 50, but what the hell!).
Hot Buys!
Before closing up this tidy report, I must mention three fabulous bottles I picked up at Costco this week (for my Napa Spring Wine Fling party, of course):
Flora Springs ’02 Sangiovese—$13.49
Heitz ’02 Napa Chardonnay—$13.99
Cosentino ’00 Napa Cabernet—$18.99
Amazing wines… amazing deals… and you don’t have to be a member!
That’s all for this week’s brief report. I will be back next week with an expansive, perhaps even over-the-top, unendurably long, insider’s report. Stay tuned.
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