I work in a wine shop. Well, two wine shops actually. I’m kind of like the LA wine shop slut. Yes, I said it. Anywho- I was thinking. Thinking you might like to know what happens day to day at a wine shop. So, I’m gonna tell ya! Play by play. The day was Wednesday May 4, 2010. All people and events are real. Names have not been changed.
Arrive- drop off my belongings, immediately grab a wine glass and my notebook and proceed to tasting “lounge” as Tom, who reps Evening Land Vineyards, has already begun pouring for Jill (El Jefe.)
We taste 4 of Evening Land’s wines from California and Oregon. Just as my lunch arrives, so does Peter Hunken of Black Sheep Finds with a delivery of his wines (Genuine Risk Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon) and… a few to taste, of course.
Peter joins us and Tom in the “lounge” for some restaurant chat, talk of Twitter “following” and… wine. He pours us the 2008 Hocus Pocus Syrah, 2006 Genuine Risk Cabernet and the 2005 Piedrassasi Syrah. Verdict- delicious.
The men bid us adieu and I got to stocking some shelves. Just as I was helping a customer check out with their purchases, a flurry of activity comes streaming through the door. Amy Atwood had arrived with her caravan of Austrians!
Amy is traveling around LA on this fine day with all of the Austrian winemakers she represents. We taste wines from each of the producers. In the house: Martinshoff, Weingut Christ, Zahel and Rotes Haus. Zahel and Weingut Christ wines are already in the store. Is there perhaps room for their friends on the shelves?
The boys have to hit the road. Off they went to Lou’s. Off I went to walk the racks and see what was new in the store since I last worked.
Tom, a bartender from nearby Terroni comes in and walks the racks with Jill. We talk wine. We talk more wine. Tom buys wine. Tom leaves. We miss you Tom.
Ned from one of my favorite Italian importers Vinity Wine Company was eating lunch next door and thought he should swing by. See how the wines from his portfolio are doing. Why isn’t the Rosso di Montalcino selling? Or the Amarone? Hmmm….also, he has some wine in the car. Do we wanna taste? Do you have to ask?
3rd Delivery of the day arrives. More stocking. One of the wines was a new vintage of a wine we already carried (The Wolftrap from South Africa.) Why did the rep not alert us to the fact that the vintage had changed? He’s in trouble. We need to taste it! So- we do. All is well. We resume stocking.
Tim from Angeles arrives with obligatory wine wheel-y case full of wine in tow. Also in tow- Louisa Lindquist of Qupe and Verdad. A great tasting ensues as does discussion of biodynamic and “natural” wines. And she leaves the store with 3 purchases!
Work day= over. Total wines tasted: 27.
All in a day’s work. Until next time…
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So what’s the other shop you work at?
So now I want to quit my job with decent pay so that I can work at a wine shop for pennies. For real. I mean, how awesome would it be to just hang around and taste and talk wines all day? I am incredibly jealous. (Did I mention that the pics of all of those wines and hot Austrian men put me over the top? Yeah.)
Rosso!
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