Great Wine for $4.99 - Yes, It's True!

2005 & 2006 Vina Mayor Crianza

Release Price: $15.99
Lowest Price in the US: $14.40
Winestore SALE Price: $4.99 (net)

SAVE 65% off the lowest price in the US!

ON SALE Thursday December 29th - Saturday December 31st, 2011

Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time. We received an e-mail yesterday that 61 cases of 2005 and 2006 Vina Mayor Crianza were available for purchase at a truly unbelievable price. Let's forget that 2005 and 2006 were stunning vintages in Ribera del Duero...and let's forget that this 100% Tempranillo is given an awful lot of TLC as it is aged for 24 months before release. Let's just focus on price for a moment. Here is an offer for a solid (but let's be honest not life changing) bottle of wine for $4.99. I can't really go into all the things I buy for $5 that end up being a total waste. Here is a way to spend 5 buckaroos and make it go a looong way...like all the way to Spain for some tasty vino long. Maybe $5 wine ain't your thing. Maybe you are thinking "This is too cheap to be good". Or you may be asking yourself, like a customer asked us yesterday when we told her of this upcoming promotion, "Is this even legal?". (Yes, it is :)) No matter your hesitations, trust us when we tell you this is a worthy drink for you and your friends for $5.

Outside of guaranteeing our prices will be the lowest in North Carolina, we work hard all year to bring you some crazy good wines at crazy good prices. At $59.88 per case this may have become your new winter table wine!

To order you can:

Swing on by - we would love to see you!

CALL SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024

CALL BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944

Chardonnay Deals At 50% Off!

Two Great Chardonnay Deals!


2008 Lincourt Santa Barbara County Chardonnay
Winery Price: $20.00 (Click HERE to see)
Winestore Price: $9.99 (net)
SAVE 50%

Lowest price in the US!

We hope everyone had a great Holiday weekend! We enjoyed spending some quality time with our close friends and family for sure. In the spirit of family, we are pleased to be able to offer this rocking Chardonnay from Lincourt to our Winestore family at a savings of over 50%. If you are a fan of Wente, Trefethen Double T, Rombauer etc. we suggest you grab a few of these beauties as this is a one time / one drop only price we received directly from the winery. At $9.99 per bottle this may just be the wine you were looking to serve to your friends at your New Years Eve party on Sat. We only have 30 cases available so get while the gettin' is good!

Also back in stock!

2009 Ferrari Carano "Reserve" Chardonnay



Winery Price: $32.00 (Click HERE to see)
Winestore Price: $22.50 (net)
SAVE 30%

Lowest Price in the US!

We are psyched this wine is back in stock as it blew out the door the first time we offered it back in November. If you're a Rombauer drinker (and if sales are any indication there are a bajillion of you out there) then the Ferrari Carano Reserve Chardonnay for only $22.50 is a must try. It's big, it's rich, it's powerful - it's basically the Oprah Winfrey of wine.

Your Wines Of The Year!

Your Wines Of The Year!
SALE Runs Tuesday December 13th - Thursday December 15th, 2011

We don't really like top ten lists, and we definately don't like wine "scores"...basically we don't think anyone should be telling you what you should be drinking and enjoying. When we started this company we trademarked the line "You're the expert", and we did so because you like what you like and in the grand scheme of wine drinking, that is all that is important. So, instead of us telling you what we think are the best wines of 2011 - we are going to let YOU do the talking. We have taken your 10 favorite wines at winestore - using total bottle volume matched with dollar volume. They are all on sale, by the bottle, for the next few days - and at many times at the lowest price in the nation!

These are the wines you and your favorite Charlotteans have been gobbling up at record speed this year! They are in no particular order (you know, that "list" thing) - so enjoy!



2010 Wente Morning Fog
Regular Price: $12.99
SALE Price: $8.99 (net)
SAVE 31%

Wente's way with Chardonnay has always gotten to me. There's something about their style of fat and rich fruit, combined with clean and fresh tartness. Whether in a blind setting or when I know what I'm drinking, I keep finding myself preferring Wente over other, bigger names.




2006 St. Supery "Elu"
Regular Price: $65
SALE Price: $**.** (net)
SAVE **%

Long story short this deal is so crazy we are not allowed to put it in our newsletter. That being said, if you love Napa Cabernet and have not been in the store to see the deal we have running, you are missing out...big time.


2009 Leese Fitch Cabernet
Regular Price: $11.99
SALE Price: $8.99 (net)
SAVE 25%

THIS IS IT! This is the everyday Cabernet you have been looking for...at least we're pretty darn sure it is. Full bodied, easy drinking and light on the pocket book...that's what we like to call a triple threat!




2008 Trefethen "Double T" Chardonnay
Winery Price: $17.99
SALE Price: $12.99 (net)
SAVE 28%
Lowest Price in the USA!

What is your perfect Chardonnay? California made...full bodied...hints of oak and butter but nothing too overblown...great price...food friendly...??? This is all that and just a little bit more.



2009 Kunde Cabernet
Winery Price: $20.00
SALE Price: $12.99 (net)
SAVE 35%
Lowest Price in the USA!

Kunde makes classic Sonoma Cabernet - and now we can bring it to you at a classic price. This normally $20 Cabernet is offered to you at the lowest price in the United States. Drink up and enjoy the ride!



2008 T Solomon Wellborn Pinot Noir
Regular Price: $24.99
SALE Price: $19.99 (net)
SAVE 20%
Lowest Price in the USA!

Tantara Winery has an impeccable reputation as being one of California's premier Pinot Noir producers. Their T. Solomon Wellborn label is a blend of barrels that don't make the cut for their single vineyard bottlings (which are priced at not so friendly prices of $50 and up). So, do yourself a favor and go ahead and drink some super juice from the same vineyards for roughly half the price.



2010 Salmon Creek Chardonnay
Regular Price: $6.99
SALE Price: $5.50 (net)
SAVE 21%
Lowest Price in the USA!

Oak, butter & lots of fruit for $5.50?  Might as well pick up six!




2010 Honoro Vera Garnacha
Winery Price: $11.99
SALE Price: $8.99 (net)
SAVE 25%

Is this one of the best $10 wines ever? Garnacha loves lots of places on the earth: Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Priorat may be the best two iterations. But I’m really partial to Calatayud; the wines aren’t as big as Priorat and they’re not as elegant as Chateauneuf but they offer mineral and charm.


2010 Belle Glos Meiomi Pinot Noir
Regular Price: $17.99
SALE Price: $15.99 (net)
SAVE 11%

Pinot from your friends at Caymus Vineyards. This is what we like to call Pinot for Cab drinkers. Large and in charge this Pinot packs more punch than many Pinot's that are twice as expensive. Don't worry about the screw cap...these people know what they are doing.



2010 Rombauer Chardonnay
Regular Price: $34.99
Winestore Everyday Price: $27.99 (net)
SAVE 20%

Fruity.  Buttery. Big.

It’s Rombauer, I don’t think any further explanation is needed.

Like Chateauneuf? Don't Miss This Tasting!

Taste 2009 Beaucastel Chateauneuf!
Saturday December 10th, 2011
11am - 8pm
ALL DAY LONG!



Featuring:
2009 Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape
Other places in town: $99.99
Winestore Price: $79.99 (net)
SAVE 20%

2009 Coudoulet de Beaucastel Cotes du Rhone
Winestore Price: $24.99 (net)

2009 Perrin & Fils Cotes du Rhone Villages
Winestore Price: $12.99

In addition to our 15% case sale this weekend, we decided to put up the brand new (as it just landed two days ago) release of Beaucastel!

There’s no getting around it: there are some wines that we have personal connections to and for which those connections color our perceptions of those wines. Having discovered Chateau de Beaucastel early in my wine development, my rose colored glasses may indeed alter my view of the work of the Perrin family, who own Beaucastel as well as Coudulet and nearly countless iterations under the rubric Perrin et Fils.

Many of my compatriots evince a rather disrespectful tone when I talk about the Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Papes in my cellar: the usual complaint is that they have Brettanomyces. Maybe yes, maybe no. Okay, probably yes. Fine. I’ll just say yes. But Brett is not a bad thing, dammit, just because it’s now cool to hate it (and just because Parker likes it?). One man’s horse poop might be another woman’s scented leather; it’s very much subjective, like most wine attributes.

Ask the Perrin brothers and they’ll say, no, that’s not Brett. I’ve heard the same from Bordelais winemakers and I don’t believe them either. There’s little mistaking that edgy note of animal hide, the toasty note, the bandaid hints too. All telltale signs of Brett, assuredly, or so I have believed for years.

But of late I have begun to doubt what I know about Brett. Last year at a winemaker’s conference, I joined about four dozen winemakers in a massive blind tasting exercise: among the many characteristics we were seeking were Brett levels. I won’t describe the carnage (there’s a lot I got wrong) but the most shocking part for me was how rarely any of us (I’m dragging those winemakers under the bus with me) were able to spot Brett or its precursors. Sure, if the wine was reeking of Brett, we could spot it. But it’s the smaller levels, and the presence of those damned precursors (they go by names like furfurol and such) that seemed to slip by. We would accuse a wine of having Brett and then we’d look at the data and see that there was none. The next wine we would declare as clean and then, well, whadayaknow…there’s Brett there.

I have become more skeptical when my sommelier colleagues pronounce a wine as having Brett. Even a small amount of Brett might be bad, because the rap on Brett is that it gets worse with bottle time; I’ve certainly experienced that myself. I have very unhappy memories of the lovely 1982 Gruaud Larose; at least it was lovely for a year or two until the Brett simply destroyed the finish of the wine and smothered the fruit in a bandaid covered, bleeding animal skin. Or something like it.

So here we are discussing Beaucastel and I have focused upon the Brett controversy. Why? Because I opened a bottle of 1989 a few weeks ago with some of said Brett sleuths, each of whom expressed disdain for the wine, at least until I opened it. Then everybody grabbed their glass, slugged it down and asked for more. The Brett? Yeah, there was some leather going there, but so much else besides that. In a word, it was gorgeous.

Let’s be clear about one other thing: I’m writing about Beaucastel and Brett because if you have any sense at all (oh, yeah, and extra money), you will lay away some 2009 Beaucastel and maybe some Coudulet 2009 too. This is one of those vintages, like 2007, like 2005, like 1989, that will do some very wonderful things if given time and cellaring. And if you drink it today, you won’t sniff a whiff of Brett; it’s covered by lush, powerful fruit. If you ask the Perrins, they’ll say it’s not Brett at all. I no longer feel that I know the answer and I’m a bit weary of people who insist that they do.

Make no mistake: other than the Coudulet, the rest of the Perrin stable has no horsiness to it. They’re all solid examples of their respective appellations, and always at very good prices. And I feel badly that I’ve been given a bit of room to write about Beaucastel and that I’ve chosen to accentuate the negative. But I see this little missive as a chance to sow a little doubt in the haters’ minds, to muse about wine’s endless inexplicability, and to tease you into discovering one of those wines for which I have a strong personal connection and that has a personality all its own.

Happy tasting and we'll see you Saturday!

Doug Frost MS MW
Master Sommelier & Master of Wine

15% Off Mixed Cases Just In Time For Your Holiday Party!!

15% Off ALL CASES!
December 8th - December 11th, 2011

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, the holiday party season is in full swing. You've probably received multiple clever invitations and sent at least one of your own, but the question remains: what wines should I serve and what exactly makes a wine a good "party" wine.

We've put together some simple guidelines for you to follow in the hopes of making your life easier this holiday season. Remember, these aren't rules (we are not big on rules), merely some suggestions. Rules are for wine snobs, and let's face it, you didn't invite them to your party anyway.

#1. Party wines need the ability to pair with many different foods.
It's a pretty safe bet that you're serving a wide variety of foods and need a wine that goes with everything from cheese to those mini cocktail wieners. You'll probably never hear Bob Parker say, "This cab is a hedonist's delight, filled with black fruits and perfect for cocktail wieners." I really wish he would though. With this in mind, you might want to find a Red and White that are overall crowd pleasers and don't paint yourself into a corner with an obscure wine that tastes like "Chestnuts and shoe leather" or anything like that.

#2 Budget, Budget, Budget
If your friends are anything like mine, then they tend to sport-drink at Holiday parties. Basically they only notice the wine if it's REALLY bad. Other than that, they just happy to be socializing with friends and even though the wine may be delicious, it's not likely to be the first thing on their mind. Given this, there's really no need to break the bank when buying a case or more of party wine (hence our 15% discount). I know, you never expect your average retailer to tell you "spend less money," but we didn't set out to be an average retailer. We figure that Charlotte has plenty of those.

#3 Easy Access?
If there's ever a time in life where a screw cap comes in handy, it's when Cheryl from the office just polished off her third bottle of Chard and you're in charge of opening the wines. Just a thought...

#4 Experiment
Don't be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone. Try an Albarino instead of Pinot Grigio, or a Grenache instead of Cabernet. It's your party and a perfect time to introduce your friends to some wines that they may or may not ever had before. You'll probably be surprised by their response. Besides, what better impression to leave on your guests than "Amy and Bob really knows their wines" You can just smile, nod, and never tell them that it was $7.00.

#5 The only rule is that there are no rules
Well, actually, there is one rule. Don't drink and drive. Other than that, have fun, be goofy, and enjoy the time with your friends and family. If the wine is preventing your friends from having fun, then you should consider revising your invitation list.

Cheers!

It's December - and that means big time deals!!

FREE Tasting this Saturday!
Saturday December 3rd, 2011
2-4 pm



What are we tasting?
100% Cabernet from Howell Mountain in Napa (2005 Vintage)
Neighbors of this winery include Plumpjack, Duckhorn, Cakebread, and Robert Foley
Winery Price: $70.00 per bottle
Winestore Price: $34.99 per bottle
6-pack Price: $29.99 per bottle
SAVE 57% or $40 per bottle!

It's December - and that means it is time to break out the big time deals. We're not allowed to publicly tell you what the feature wine is going to be (you're going to have to come into the store and see for yourself!), but what we can tell you is that the savings are monumental, the winery is top flight, the vintage is awesome, and the juice is outstanding. Not enough to get you excited? How about this:

Right now, the lowest price in the USA on this wine is $63.00 - our six pack price is $29.99 per bottle - a savings of $33 or 52%. I mean, that is CRAZY!

So yes, this Saturday we are tasting a mystery wine - and while it's not exactly priced at what we would call an "everyday drinker", any time I can buy a Maserati for the price of a Kia I usually don't pass it up!

In addition to the wine above, we'll be running deals all weekend (Friday - Sunday) on some of the following wines!

2010 Far Niente Chardonnay
2009 Morgan Double L Pinot Noir
2006 Vieux Lazaret Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Exceptionnelle
2009 Chalone Estate Pinot Noir
2009 Kunde Cabernet
2006 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red

and more!!