Wine Skewer

W.R.TISH gives gives his humorous (and cynical) take on the relationship between some wine stores and the big wine mags.  At the end, he highlights the type of retailers who have broken the cycle.

FROM THE ARTICLE:

                  Perhaps most important of all, however, reliance on ratings has led retailers to surrender their own sense of authority. Rather than make their own standards evident in their merchandising, many (not all, but yes, too many) wine merchants let the broad and steady stream of EZ ##s do their (shelf-)talking. In short, they seem to have assumed the role of {pardon my French} bitch to the various points-wielding media.

Today, I’m showcasing three true indies, one on each coast and one in the middle. I have set foot in each store exactly once, but each has proven particularly memorable.

Li’l Shop of Wonders
Frankly Wines. 66 West Broadway, NY NY 10007; 212/346-9544
http://franklywines.com; @franklywines on Twitter

Not yet two years old, Frankly Wines is the domain of Christy Frank, whom I first met when she helped run the Columbia Business School wine club, and who worked for LVMH before opening up this matchbox-sized shop in Tribeca (320 sq. feet). The store leans a bit toward southern hemisphere wines, but Christy’s greatest strength is good, old-fashioned editing with an eye on value. She has jammed the store with value, even at higher price points. Lack of size is no problem here; still plenty to suit diverse tastes, tightened budgets and even the most jaded collector. She turned me on to a great Artazuri Navarra rosato for $7 and a Roger Perrin 2007 Côtes du Rhône 3L BOX for $39 that I milked for about four weeks. She has a knack for shaking some real deals out of the NYC woodwork (a Chateau Musar vertical comes to mind; and 1985 Lafon Roche for $50). And she is always ready to suggest something just a leetle bit different, à la the Altos Las Hormigas 2007 Bonarda ($10) from Argentina. Nice blog and judicious email blasts, too.