Free Wine

It seems that a high end restaurant has a "clean out" sale a couple of times a year. You get to taste 30 wines "free" and then have the option of buying off a list which included the wines available for tasting along with many others not being opened.

I would have liked to taste the 1982 Chateau Petrus, Pomerol but somehow they deemed this wine worthy of selling but not a "free" taste. Retail was $11,500 and sale price was $5,750. If I had not bought so much "Monday Night Football" wines in Paso Robles I may have opted for a case of this jewel.

Of course they had a few lower end specimen's. Like a 2005 Marquis Phillips Merlot at $11.The 2006 Caymus SS Cabernet Sauvignon was going for $80, the NV Krug Reims Champagne was $90, the 2006 Arcadian SLH Pinot Noir was $19 and the 1996 Domaine de la Romanee Conti, Montrachet was going for a mere $3,750, Lot's of bargains for every price range.

All wines are 50% off their retail price. Of course the retail price is on the high side but factoring in 50% discount then the wines become a bargain.

This sale is apparently the biggest secret in town and I intend to keep it that way.

It was nice to have a tasting where the crowd at the tables wasn't 5 people deep. Of course dealing with the"beautiful" people is another thing. They all feel that the tasting is strictly for them and they hog the table pretending to know a lot about wine while talking with the wine rep's. They are in their own little "bubble world". I have always wondered why so many people that think they are "wine savey" hold their glasses by the bowl and warm the wine they are drinking.