The DFW area has several great resources when it comes to purchasing wine -
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Sponsored by Patrizio Osteria
Written by Ken Kuczwaj, General Manager Patrizio Osteria
The days ofbrthe boutique liquor stores are coming to a rapid end with the ever-presentbrindustrialization of the Mega RetailbrExperience. Gone are the days ofbrgoing to a mom and pop store where you knew everyone and could find the small specialtybrwines the larger super chains didn’t carry due to production andbravailability. Being in the restaurantbrbusiness and having some weird encyclopedic mind for wine prices going backbrtwenty years, I have been amazed at the small margins some of these superbrretail mega stores sell their product. brAccording to TABC law restaurant wholesale pricing and retail pricing isbridentical, which begs the question – Wherebris the best place to buy wine?
Tough questionbr– because if you want the experience of finding rare boutique wines at decentbrprices and people who are actually passionate about the product, then you havebrto try places like Pogo's Wine & Spirits on Lovers Lane in Dallas. Pogo’sbris my personal favorite with its killer selection and great prices. I also totallybrdig Vino 100 Dallas on Mckinney Avenue, which has at least 100 great wines atbr$25 or less and a well-trained staff. brNow if French wine is your drink of choice, La Cave Warehouse by thebrdesign center is the granddaddy of all wine stores. It has an extensivebrselection, really great prices and an amazing collection of older vintages.
However ifbrprice is your main consideration, you can't beat Costco. I see wines in therebrall the time at 5%-10% over wholesale cost. Never made sense to me but I guessbrthey know no one ever goes to Costco and buys just one item. What you don't get is personalized service orbra wide variety of labels, but you do get recognizable brands at insanebrprices. Costco is battling governmentbrregulation in an attempt to purchase products directly from vineyards, ratherbrthan purchasing through distributors such as Glazer's and Republic. If successful in its attempts, this would putbrits competitors at an extreme disadvantage.
As for otherbrbig stores, Spec's Wines, Liquors & Finer Foods is new to the DFW market frombrHouston and is a Disneyland for adults with its tremendous selection of cigars,brgourmet foods, wines and spirits. They carry exclusive vineyards in theirbrstores and also have reasonable pricing on certain brands. The staff isbrknowledgeable, friendly, and can point the neophyte in the right direction morebroften than not.
Kroger andbrTom Thumb do a decent job regarding price as well as selection, and once in abrwhile they go crazy like last summer when they sold Jordan cab for $25 perbrbottle, which is way below their cost.
Call me crazy,brbut I still love the idea of walking into a shop where the staff not only knowsbryou, but also knows what you like and is happy to turn you onto a great winebryou've never heard of before and remember to tell you what to eat with it. That's what I call enhancing the vinobrexperience!
Have fun andbrhappy shopping –