Where in Phoenix/Scottsdale are you buying your New Year Bubbly?
I have been looking everywhere to find a special Bubbly, Sparkling wine or Champagne for New Year's Eve. My Hostess this evening is a Wine connoisseur. I found 3 different 'Sparkling Siraz' @ A.J'S...Which I have just learned about from one of my ipod,podcast downloads on wine. A.J.'s seems to be the only purveyor in town that carries the Sparkling Shiraz.
I am pairing it with a Prosciutto,with Marscapone and Fig appetizer.
Can anyone else suggest a great place to buy Unique bubbly for this evening in the Phoenix/ Scottsdale Area?
By ciaogal
on Dec 31, 2006 12:29 PM
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I like the selection of splits at AJ's. Mr. isn't a huge champagne fan, he's good for one glass and then it's off to the harder stuff, so I like buying several different splits to mix and match. It's also a nice way to try different champagnes without committing to a full bottle at full price - so you can come back and buy a bottle of what you end up liking.
I hate that everything is overpriced at AJ's, but for some things you pay for a good selection.
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Mamamia,
I feel the same way, but I have an AJ's, just over the hill from me. While their wine list is not as long as some of the newer stores, they do have an ecclectic collection, and when I need "that special bottle," whether because I only have 2, but need 3, or because I want to try some off-the-wall pairing, they usually come through - plus they are very convenient. So, I try to make sure that I support them, when I can, just so that they stay in business. My rough guess is that they are +$5/btl. more, but if they are close, and have the oddities, then it's worth the cost of gasoline. Besides, I usually find a case's worth of wine to buy, and get the case-discount, so it's not all that bad.
Hunt
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Don't know where, but as for what, seek out the Jean Lallement champagnes. For $60 or less you get a 93-rated that compares favorably with bottles costing as much as 4 times more.
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Take a pass on AJ's, it's totally overpriced for wine in my experience. Head on over to Sportsman's -- there are a few in the valley, but I love the original location at 32nd Street and Camelback. They're great -- tell them what you're looking for and what your price range is, and they'll hook you up. www.sportsmans4wine.com
Happy New Year!
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Thouhgh they are a fixture in the Valley, my first visit to Sportsman's was less than stellar. I had just moved to PHX, and because of the moving of my cellar, had mostly missed the '97 Cal Cabs. I walked in to Sportsman's on 32nd and spied the '97 Silver Oak Napa. I had tasted this on earlier, but had not bought, as I still had to build a cellar in AZ. I told the salesman that I would take a case. His comment was that it was only available for their "good customers," and that he'd have to check to see if he could sell me even one bottle. That was not necessary, as I wasn't interested in buying anything, at that point.
Some years later, I was at Martin's Wine Cellar, in New Olreans. I was buying a few cases for our cottage for the NO Wine & Food Festival week. The salesman looked over my purchases, and noted the big Zins in the bunch. He whispered, "we have several allocated Turleys, that are hidden and only available to our best customers." I pointed out that I hadn't lived in NO for 25 years, so I guessed that I was out of luck. He winked, and said, "anyone buying these Zins, deserves the Turleys, regardless of where they live," and disappeared into the back. He came out with a mixed case and then discounted them all to around US$27/btl. Heck, when I could find one in PHX, they usually ran over US$50. Great customer support, unlike my trip to Sportsman's. For the difference in service, I'll gladly pay AJ's price and never darken the door of Sportsman's again. Hope you get better service, than I did.
Hunt
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I consider Sportsman's a last resort after I overheard another customer asking about finding "a really dry white" and the sales guy said that wines with higher alcohol content will be drier because more of the residual sugar got converted to alcohol. Nice try, but no cigar. I've been happy with BevMo recently; I haven't picked their brains on wine yet, but when it comes to liquors the only questions I stumped them on were ones that the high-end beverage rep they have was stumped on too.
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Wow, I thought I was the lone Sportsmans dissenter. I went looking for a worthwhile substitute for my old beloved Clocktower port and got a twenty minute upsell and was given the impression that only fools would experiment with varieties other than Taylor Fladgate. Five minutes in, I had gotten the message loud and clear and ten minutes in I was fairly well annoyed.
If I were to sell wine, I would try to keep in mind that people's tastes differ and if it were a bad choice, I shouldn't stock it in my store. Plenty of good wine stores and if I want a Turley, they are hardly the only game in town.
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I have not been to BevMor yet, because of the distance. It is my understanding, that they are looking at 2 additional locations and hope to up and operating soon. All of my friends, who came from CA, seem to recall them fondly.
Since my Costco has become the #2 store for wine in the Valley (behind, but only slightly, the Scottsdale store), I've done more volumn buying there, and much of the rest from K&L Wines in Redwood City, CA. The rest comes from AJ's and from the various wineries.
If I get down to Chandler, I'll check out BevMor and "put 'em to the test." <Grin>
Hunt
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AZ Wine Co (locations in Scottsdale and Carefree) has an excellent selection (and variety) of champagnes and sparkling wines, at fairly reasonable prices. I've picked up my stock for tonight there.
http://www.azwineco.com
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Grey,
Thanks for the link to AZ Wine Co. I see they have a Rumball Sparkling Shiraz. I drank a half bottle last night...it was fabulous!
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I'm also on the hunt for a special occasion imbibable, a Canadian Cab Franc icewine. If anyone spots one, please let me know!
I stopped in yesterday to the new Crossroads Fine Wines at the 101-10 stack. I spoke with the owner, there, James Schabely, who has 27 years in the business, he's originally from Brooklyn. They had an incredible variety of splits, so I got a Veuve Clicquot and a Rosa Regale -- the Veuve to kick off salads & appetizers at Coupe des Tartes and the Rosa because it came recommended to go with the berries and chocolate tartes for dessert. I asked also for a great food wine for the entree and he came up with an incredible value for a DOCG, black rooster label Chianti Classico.
In general Crossroads looks to have a good distribution of wines between the big names that we should all be drinking and the next-big-things that still are a good value. I was really impressed with the selection. For the beer drinkers, there's an entire wall of microbrews, and many I haven't yet encountered, which is saying something, my family's been in the business a while! A definite worthwhile stop if you're on this side of town.
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Didn't see the article, until *after* NYE. We had 2 btls. of VeuveClicquot La Grand Dame from my cellar.
Other wines were a Joseph Drouhin Chassagne-Montrachet, Gregory Graham Napa Viognier, Marc Michelete & Fils Les Thorey 1er Cru Nuits St-Georges, Rosenblum Carla's Zin, Caymus SS Cab and Taylor 10yr. Tawny Port.
Hunt
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Although it isn't extravagant and often gets overlooked, I purchased a basket full of different wines from Cost Plus World Market. In my selection was a great ice wine, a semi-sparkling muscat that rocked my world, and a good number of $10 range bottles of red and white for holiday drinking.
There stock is not as large as some of the other places, but I have found some interesting finds (a white port, a raspberry champagne, and others) there and always seem to stumble upon something new every couple of visits.
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Good call Seth. I have found some great deals at WorldMarket over the years. Picked up 5 (that's all they had) Renwood Jackrabbit Flats Zin for $8.97 on closeout, after a tasting event. I'd have bought a case, if they had it. Their prices are usually quite fair and their selection can include some esoteric finds. Don't know how their stock differs from store to store. I usually hit the one on Camelback @~ 19th St. Do some of the newer stores, i.e. Desert Ridge, Scottsdale @ Great Indoors Shopping Center, have better/bigger selections?
Hunt
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I think the one at Happy Valley Road and I-17 in very north Phoenix has a bigger selection, but that could be due to the layout. The store there is much more spread out, so it could just seem bigger. But I shop at the Camelback store as well and never seem to fail to find something interesting or different to try.
I think "esoteric" is a great way to describe some of the Cost Plus selections. They aren't always winners, but it is fun at least trying them.
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I was looking for a specific Prosecco (recomended in the wine column in the AZ Republic). I checked AJs, Sportsmans, and a few smaller independent stores.
The place I found it, was Postino (next to LGO). It wasn't terribly expensive, and if you are there during happy hour (I think 3-5 M-Sat), you could try a glass for $5 before you buy the bottle.
Next time we are in the neighborhood, we plan on staying longer, and getting a bite to eat. The food looked great.
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The food *is* great at Postino. The bruschetta keeps me coming back, despite their parking woes. I try to confine my trips there to off-hours because of the crowds.
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I also went to the new Crossroads Fine Wines by the I-10 and
the 101 intersect In Tolleson in the west valley of Phoenix.
James Schabely, the owner was a very patient person and explained the layout of his store ( which he has more than 600+ different wines from all over. What I liked the most about
his store was how clean and layed out everything was. He also
has little individual signs hand written with little blurbs
about everywine in his store. He also said he has over 200
different microbrews. He made me feel very comfortable....
I'm hooked..............
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