Amazing Janasse Deal!

FREE Tasting featuring Janasse!
Saturday July 2nd, 2011
1pm-3pm



Featuring:
2008 Domaine de la Janasse Terre D'Argile
Release Price: $24.99
Winestore Price: $14.99 (net)
SAVE 40%

Only 15 cases available

Domaine de la Janasse is a brilliant producer of Cotes du Rhone and Chateauneuf du Pape and we tend to think they make pretty special wines. That is why we jumped all over this deal when it was presented to us recently. This blend of Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, Cinsault and Mourvedre is ready to drink and full of ripe fruits and smooth tannins - it is basically the essence of Provence in a bottle!

We're also suckers for wine the comes in a wood box (I mean, who isn't?) - it just looks a whole lot cooler and we can then reuse the wood boxes around the house (yeah for being green!). So if you really fall in love with this little beauty you can take home a case in wood for only $14.99 per bottle. Score!

We'll have a few other gems open this Saturday but the Janasse will be the star of the show. We hope you can swing by if you are in town!

To order you can:

Order online by clicking HERE

Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024

Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944

$99 July 4th Holiday Case of Wine

$99 Case of Wine for the 4th!
Available Wednesday June 29th - Sunday July 3rd

Featuring:
2 x 2010 Belle Provencal White
2 x 2009 Wente Morning Fog Chardonnay
2 x 2010 Annalisa Soave
2 x 2009 Leese Fitch Cabernet
2 x 2009 Cercius Rouge
2 x NV Le Lapin Multiplicity

Regular Price: $131.88
Sale Price: $99.00
SAVE 25%

You deserve a glass of wine this holiday weekend - you've been bustin your rump and now it is time to sit back and relax. Heck, you may even be spending some time with the in-laws this weekend and that means you may need more like a bottle...but you didn't read that here. That is why we have put together a great July 4th Holiday case for you and your friends and family. 12 bottles and 6 different wines - a little something for everyone for only $99. That is a 25% savings off our regular price.

We'll be running the special through Sunday July 3rd (we will be closed on July 4th) so even the procrastinators among you will be sure to have enough wine for your festivities. Maybe you're heading to the beach, maybe you're headed to a cookout or maybe to the neighborhood pool. No matter where you are headed we hope we can help supply your libations so you and your loved ones can be sure to have a great time!

As always, we appreciate your business and we look forward to seeing you as we head into the holiday weekend. Happy Birthday America!

To order you can:

Swing on by!

Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024

Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944

Calling all Chardonnay Lovers!

California Chardonnay Taste Off
Featuring Kistler, Rombauer, Newton Unfiltered and more!

Saturday June 25th, 2011
11am-8pm



Featuring:
2009 Rombauer Chardonnay
2009 Kistler Sonoma Mountain Chardonnay
2007 Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay
2008 Trefethen "Double T" Chardonnay
2009 Far Niente Chardonnay
2009 Morgan "Double L Vineyard" Chardonnay
2009 Frank Family Chardonnay
2009 Wente "Morning Fog" Chardonnay

We'll also have specials running incuding the following (but we can't tell you which Chardonnay it is - you'll have to stop in to find out!)

Winery Price: $60.00
Winestore Price: $39.99
Six Pack Price: $34.99
SAVE 42%

Chardonnay is the most popular variety among U.S. wine drinkers. That, rather obvious, fact is all too often ignored by wine geeks who love to smirk about their latest “ABC” infatuation. “Anything but Chardonnay” may describe the interest level of many jaded wine aficionados, but it doesn’t speak to most wine drinkers. For most, Chardonnay is plenty tasty, and good values abound. Of all those Chardonnay lovers out there, it is the rich and buttery Chardonnay - the character that defines California - that gets people really excited.

Sooo...we decided that we all need to taste some of the greatest Chardonnays coming out of California, against each other, in an epic California Chardonnay taste off. We'll line all the wines up on the machine and let the grading begin. Each taster will be able to rate the wines 1-8 (1 being their favorite) and we will release the results next week (with perhaps a deal on the winning Chardonnay)

If you are like us and love a great Cali Chard then be sure to stop in on Saturday!

See you Saturday and Happy Tasting!

Your new daily drinker?

2009 Gassier "Cercius" Rouge & Blanc
ON SALE
Wednesday June 22nd - Sunday June 26th



2009 Michel Gassier Cercius Rouge (Red)
Regular Price: $14.99
SALE Price: $9.99 (net)
SAVE 33%

2009 Michel Gassier Cercius Blanc (White)
Regular Price: $14.99
SALE Price: $9.99 (net)
SAVE 33%

We're always on the lookout for amazing "daily drinkers". You know what we're talking about - the wines that you love to open on Tuesday night with a Burger or on "Pizza Night" with the family. Well, when you get Rhone winemaking wizard Michel Gassier together with US Wine Importer Eric Solomon and the wine costs less than $10 you can usually count on it being a winner! (it also doesn't hurt that 2009 was a fantastic vintage in southeast France!)

The 2009 Cercius Rouge is a blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah aged entirely in concrete while the 2009 Cercius Blanc is 70% Grenache Blanc and 30% Sauvignon Blanc. Both wines are about as easy drinking as it gets - and if you don't believe us we have them both on our tasting machines for you to try out!

To order you can:

Swing on by!

Order online by clicking HERE

Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024

Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944

Massive 5 Year Anniversary FREE Tasting!

We're 5 Years Old!


FREE 5th Anniversary Tasting!
Saturday June 18th, 2011
11am - 6pm (or until we run out of wine :)

Featuring charcuterie and cheese from the best Chef in Charlotte

Featuring these wines and many more!
Duval Leroy Champagne
J. Lassalle Premier Cru Champagne
2005 Ladera Howell Mountain Cabernet
2009 Caymus Cabernet
2009 Silver Oak "Twomey" Pinot Noir
2007 Culler "La Palette" Napa Cabernet
2005 Closa Batllet Priorat
2007 Amphora Zinfandel
2008 Frank Family Chardonnay
2008 Edge Cabernet
2007 Mas Doix Salanques

If the 25^th anniversary is the Silver Anniversary, and the 10^th Anniversary is the Tin (really, tin?) Anniversary, what is the 5^th Anniversary? The Plastic Anniversary? Instead of suggesting something of great permanence and value, five years is a good but fairly common facsimile of a more valuable mark of time. It isn't so special a period; lots of businesses survive that long. Most wine stores, even those with unusual concepts like ours, last five years or so. So we have, too.

But I want to plead for a bit more respect because what is different about Winestore is that we have stayed true to our spirit and indeed (we hope) simply gotten better at it. Can you forgive this self-serving commentary? Most high-falutin' retail concepts have slowly slid from the passing lane towards the right lane by the five year mark; they might well be headed for the exits. We've tried to keep the foot firmly on the pedal: we started out with a vibrant and unusual store layout and with far fewer selections than any other store in Charlotte, and most throughout the country. We weren't trying to limit our creativity; we were trying to help customers find what was best in the market by winnowing all those selections down in advance.

Again, you must overlook a bit of self-congratulation, but the concept of smaller and more focused wine stores is now not completely unusual, although it is still more visible in New York City than any other city in the country. We think soulful Charlotte preceded slick Manhattan in this development, but New Yawkers may say different (they usually do). We wanted a store that offered clarity, value and focus to our customers, a store that was bright and cheery and that was very, very easy to read.

How different is it? Well, not to cast aspersions (now, of course, we will) most retail stores buy pretty much everything that they are offered by the big companies (whether wineries or distributors) especially when purchasing is "favorable", shall we say? If something gets a great review from one of the dominant critics (and the price seems right), they buy that too. And then if they can think of anything else ("Hey, we don't have a Vouvray". "Okay, buy one". "Which one?" "The one that's cheapest or one from whichever salesman is standing in front of you."), they fill that in. In most cases, purchasing is guided by whatever package seems most seductive to the buyer, again, at a favorable price.

Like they said on Seinfeld, not that there's anything wrong with it. But we started with a different concept: to focus upon the very best values we could find at any time. Not to try to be all things but to be only very good things: if we don't have a Vouvray (I'm not meaning to pick on Vouvray, which I really love, but you get the idea), it's because there isn’t one right now that's an excellent wine and an excellent value. And further we built the entire store not around the usual geographic delineation (France is over here, Germany's over there and the middle of the store is all California), but upon how people actually drink. They don't want a Vouvray (at least not usually per se), they want a white wine that's crisp and minerally and light bodied and fascinating. If we don't have said Vouvray, they will probably be just as excited with a Spanish Albarino, a dry German Riesling or even a Chenin Blanc (Vouvray's grape) from South Africa.

And we laid out the entire store in that manner: light, medium, full-bodied and colorful gradations in between.

Since we have fewer selections than box stores, we have had to concentrate on knowing each and every wine inside out, on being able to let our customers taste them and compare them to other wines, and on constantly finding new and exciting values that our customers might (or probably haven't) ever seen before. Early on, we focused on Spain – today, it's cool to have lots of Spanish wines. Five years ago, we were cutting new territory. Today, we hope that we are continuing to stay in front of the trends but, of course, that's for you, dear customer, to decide.

The watchword has always been price: we thought when we opened Winestore and we continue to believe today that people shouldn't have to spend more than ten dollars to get a damn good bottle of wine. You can spend more if you want, but don't do it unless you want to. Price is critical to who we are, even if we've had to learn a bit of flexibility in what we bring into the store. About the only change we've made in our five years of robust retailing is that our customers asked us to help them find great wines, even among more expensive origins. Since our shelves are devoted to value wines, our attitude about the pricier stuff is that we should sell it as cheap as we can and as fast as we can. That's good for us, but even better for our customers, we think.

Again, it's the Fifth so I hope you will forgive this chest thumping. For me, a fifth isn't an anniversary, it something you drink from. And at Winestore, we are here first and foremost because we love to drink wine, however bad that sounds when we say it that way. WE LOVE TO DRINK WINE! Sorry, doc, just how it is. How much do we love to drink? How many wines do we taste to get this tidy, little, ever changing and (we like to believe) brilliantly succinct selection that defines Winestore, as it has for five years?

We'll plead the fifth.

As always, thank you for your business - it is our pleasure to serve you.

Cheers,

Doug Frost MS MW
Master of Wine & Master Sommelier

50% off New Zealand Pinot Noir!

Two Great Pinot Noir Deals!


2006 Mitre Rocks Central Otago New Zealand Pinot Noir
Winery Price: $30.00 USD
Winestore Price: $14.99
SAVE 50% (Save an extra 10% as part of a mixed case!)

New Zealand keeps hammering away at Pinot Noir in a dogged effort to produce the next big Pinot Noir. They're likely to accomplish that but if they do, that Pinot Noir will not come from busy Marlborough but from Central Otago where this soft and plush red is produced.



2009 Robert Sinskey "Aries" Pinot Noir
Average US retail price: $27.00 (some as high as $41.00!)
Winestore Price: $24.99
6-Pack Price: $19.99 per bottle
SAVE 26%

Many of you have loved our T. Solomon Wellborn Pinot Noir - the blend of all of Tantara's single vineyard Pinot at a fraction of the single vineyard price. Well, let us introduce you to Aries, the blend of all of the Robert Sinskey single vineyard wines, and 100% Organic. Only 82 barrels of this beauty were produced in 2009, and as far as we can tell we are the only retail outlet in the country currently offering this wine - it is hot off the presses!

For all you Pinot Noir lovers these are two wines you should put on your radar screen - but we're for sure going to put some in our glass!

To order you can:

Swing on by!

Order Online by clicking HERE (Aries not available for online purchase due to extremely limited supply)

Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024

Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944

Calling all Pinotfiles!

Pinot Noir Battle Royale!

Pahlmeyer vs. Robert Sinskey vs. Arterberry Maresh

Saturday June 11th, 2011
11am-8pm



Featuring:

2007 Pahlmeyer Pinot Noir
2007 Pahlmeyer "Jayson" Pinot Noir
vs.
2009 Robert Sinskey "Aries" Pinot Noir
2007 Robert Sinskey "3 Amigos" Pinot Noir
2007 Robert Sinskey POV Red Blend (no, it is not Pinot, but it's fun!)
vs.
2009 Arterberry Maresh "Dundee Hills" Pinot Noir
2009 Arterberry Maresh "Maresh Vineyard" Pinot Noir
2009 Arterberry Maresh "Juliard Vineyard" Pinot Noir

Calling all Pinotfiles!!! This weekend it is time for another epic taste off, and a chance to taste some of the best Pinot Noir being produced in the United States. It's Oregon vs. California, it's gigantic vs. delicate, it's small production vs. big behemoth, it is the Pinot Noir Battle Royale!

You'll be able to compare wines from California blockbuster Pahlmeyer, Organic and Biodynamic Pioneer Robert Sinskey, and upstart and Oregon nuclear bombshell Arterberry Maresh. We always love putting great wines up against each other - it not only gives you the ability to really taste and see what type of styles you like, but you are also given the chance to compare and contrast notes with other fellow customers who are just as excited as you are about these great wines.

The tasting is pretty simple. Show up on Saturday, grab your tasting card and sample each of these fantastic Pinots to decide which producer is the winner. We'll have paper and pens for you to make notes and great pricing should you feel the urge to bring home a few of these phenomenal wines. Nothing says a Saturday afternoon in the summer like a little day drinking with Pinot Noir :)

We'll also have some other Pinot treats for you to try...because we are nice like that and love our customers.

This tasting should prove to be one of our best this year and we look forward to seeing each of you on Saturday!

2007 Chateauneuf for $19.99!

2007 Les Abbesses Chateauneuf


2007 Les Abbesses Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Release Price: $44.99
Winestore Price: $24.99
6 Pack Price: $19.99 per bottle
SAVE 55%

Only 12 cases available!

2007 was a blockbuster year in the Southern Rhone valley, and there were very few Chateauneuf offerings below $25 USD (if any) due to an extremely strong Euro at the time of release. Well, after some digging we have found this little sleeper for you - a kind and gentle 2007 (unlike some of the monsters created in the vintage) that tastes like more like the Chateauneuf that was made back when Chateauneuf actually cost $20 :)

It's deals like this that make us love the wine business. For basically $120 we get a six pack of beautiful 2007 Chateauneuf that we can enjoy - 1 bottle at a time - over the next 6 months (or six years for that matter). Take one to that 4th of July cookout, open one on date night with your honey, give one to a friend, and save a couple for the Holidays.

As always, we strive to bring you the best wines possible at the guaranteed lowest prices in North Carolina (if not the nation!). Thank you for your business and enjoy this great bottle!

Cheers!

To order you can:

Swing on by!

Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024

Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944

Taste our favorite California Cabernet - for FREE

Taste the wines of Laurel Glen
FREE Tasting
Saturday June 4th, 2011
2pm - until the wine runs out!



Our Favorite California Cabernet!

Featuring:
2006 Laurel Glen Estate Cabernet
2006 Laurel Glen "Counterpoint" Cabernet
2009 Laurel Glen "Reds"
2008 Laurel Glen "Terra Rosa"

Look, I don't expect you to like the wines I like. I think that my taste is the result of my upbringing, and of my own palate proclivities. Those proclivities include hypersensitivity to bitterness; most people aren't as averse to bitterness as I am. On the other hand, I've been doing this wine thing for more than thirty years, and I think that I've learned to adjust my natural tendencies to fall in line with what I believe to be a more common experience.

In other words, I've gotten used to bitterness. Once upon a time, I couldn't handle coffee, but now I'm addicted to espresso. I've tried to use my sensitivity to better (I can hope, can't I?) understand tannins, the bitter elements of red wine. Rather than simply register the amount of tannin (after all, tannin quantity is partly a function of youth), I try to understand the quality of the tannins.

Now let me acknowledge that, from a scientific view, talking about the quality and character of tannin is a bit weird, if not completely unsupported at this point in time. Maybe soon, we'll really be able to tear apart tannins (and catechins and other such compounds) in such a way as to be able to analyze these differences. But absent any mounds of supporting evidence, we can only talk about these matters from a sensory standpoint. And that's where I come in, me, Mr. Sensitive (don't ask my wife for her agreement).

I was once lucky enough to sit with Heidi Peterson-Barrett (winemaker of cult legend Screaming Eagle) through about 150 California Cabernets, though I must admit that I'm not sure what I really retained from the experience. With each wine, we talked about the character of the tannins, and I was fascinated, if a bit awed throughout. What I remember most is that one of the world's greatest winemakers had a laser focus upon tannin, and an ability to suss out when those tannins were balanced and integral to the wine's present and future, and when they were not.

After all these years of tasting, I won't pretend to believe that my ability to guess a wine's longevity and future is based upon anything more than guesswork, along with some negotiations between my mind and senses, and hopefully some well-founded experience. So like most wine reviewers, I can be persuaded by certain wineries that have proven time and again that they can age wonderfully. Those unnamed wineries have shown me that they understand balance, and when their wines appear to be built in similar fashion to their other, previous successes, well, then I believe that the wine will age as well as their earlier best efforts.

Have I offered enough caveats? Here's one more: some wines you just fall in love with, whether or not they represent the best. For instance, I love Laurel Glen Winery (just as I love Ridge Vineyards and a bunch of other wineries) because I love the way their wines taste, I love the style of their wines, and I think the owner and winemaker is brilliant and represents all that the California wine industry should aspire to be. Laurel Glen's 1985 Estate and their 1990 Estate aged as well as I could ever hope the best California wines should age. Seriously. Those wines were as elegant, as seductive, and as charming as any California Cabernets I have ever had, and most other vintages of Laurel Glen Estate have been close behind.

Which brings us to the 2006 Laurel Glen Estate. Let's (finally) be concise: great vintage, and one of the finest producers in California, working one of northern California's most compelling Cabernet landscapes on Sonoma Mountain. Drink now if you like your wines younger; drink later if you love the best that aged California wine can represent. I'm not a huge fan of bitterness, so I'm going to buy a lot of it and try to wait.

Happy tasting and we'll see you Saturday!

Doug Frost, MS MW
Master Sommelier & Master of Wine

An Eric Solomon Gem for 25% off!

2009 Gassier "Nostre Pais" Rouge


Regular Price: $19.99
Winestore Price: $18.99
SALE Price: $14.99 (net)
SAVE 25%

Sale runs Wednesday, June 1st - Thursday, June 2nd

Put together Michel Gassier, Eric Solomon and Philippe Cambie and you get a winemaking triple threat - and this triple threat has created an unbelievable value in the 2009 Nostre Pais Rouge. A Rhone styled blend of Grenache, Carignan, Mouvedre, Cinsault and Syrah - this has everything we love about a great Chateauneuf du Pape without the heavy price tag. At our sale price of only $14.99 (which also happens to be the lowest price in the US) this is an absolutely CRAZY value!

Added bonus is the stunning label - a watercolor by noted French artist Camille Trouve. Great package, great price, great wine - that's called the Winestore triple threat :)

To order you can:

Swing on by!

Order online by clicking HERE

Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024

Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944