Local Wine Shop, a Part of the Community

One of the many advantages of shopping at local businesses in Hinsdale is that more often than not you will be helped by someone from our community. We understand that you can take your business anywhere, but we believe it’s the small things like hiring employees from within Hinsdale that make shopping locally a better experience for everyone which is why we frequently hire young people from our community who are in between college and their next step.

Five months ago we hired a recent college graduate and resident of Hinsdale for twenty years. Having just graduated from the University of Iowa, Martin spent the last year of his studies in France. It was while inFrance that he began to teach himself about wine and within several months Martin developed a knowledge of French wine. Returning home in August, Martin came into our store asking about the help-wanted sign in our window. Since he was interning during the week in the city, working weekends with us at the shop fit perfectly in everyone’s schedule.

As he is preparing for business school back in France, he has benefitted from learning many of fundamentals of running a small business. “Sean has taught me a lot about sales and marketing, two things which I had very little experience in before I began to work here. It has really been a beneficial experience,” Martin said.

As with a Hinsdale Wine Club membership, having Martin around the shop has been another way of making relationships with our customers more than just solely a business relationship. Martin told me, “I truly enjoy seeing my neighbors, friends, and their parents come into the shop. It is a nice way for me to catch up with people from Hinsdale since I left for college. I was searching for a part-time job in which I would not only know the owner personally but one where I would also know the customers. The Hinsdale Wine Shop fit the bill perfectly.”

I asked Martin to choose his three favorite wines from our shelves and share his thoughts about them:

1) 2007, Domaine des Escaravailles “La Ponce”, Red Blend, Cotes du Rhone Villages, Rasteau, France

“‘La Ponce’ is the kind of wine I cut my teeth on: red blends from the Rhone Valley in France. This wine exemplifies everything that I love about wines from this affordable French region. It is big and robust, with smoky, earthy and peppery tones, all standing atop of a deep black fruit base. This wine drinks like a $80 Chateau-neuf-du-Pape and given that it is priced at $29.99, this 2007 Cotes du Rhone tops my list not only for its character but also for its reasonable price.”

2) 2008, Chateau Tour de Mirambeau, White Blend, Entre deux Mers, Bordeaux, France

“When I first began working here, this bottle was the white wine offered in the monthly wine club selection. It is a dry, white Bordeaux blend which offers citrus and floral notes on the nose and a surprising weight on the palette. Nearly equal parts Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle, and Semillon, this Bordeaux is a steal at $14.99. It typifies the quality white wine you find at a small French café when you only have to spend 3 euros.”

3) 2008, Luca “Laborde Double Select”, Syrah, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

“Moving away from the French world of wines and into the new world, I have come to truly appreciate the Argentinean take on the Rhone varietal, Syrah. The 2008 Luca has the same grand structure as a Rhone and the same smoky, spicy character as well, but it offers much more in the way of fruit: blackberry then blueberry. It took me sometime to warm up to wine aged in oak barrels and this wine really gets it right. To the new world! ($27.99)”

 

Kicking Off the Holidays With A Little Bit of Luxury

Amidst the hurry up-and-celebrate feeling that can come with Thanksgiving and the December holidays, it seems appropriate that the Inspired Wine Club bring you wines that seem so uniquely luxurious that they are perfect to help celebrate these festive occasions or pamper one’s self in the middle of chaos. Read more

 

Chile Today, Chile Tomorrow

Some would say that this has been a horrible year for Chile. Most recently, 33 miners were stuck in claustrophobic conditions for 68 days after the area where they were mining gold caved in. And that so dominated the news, many would forget that Chile also suffered a horrific earthquake that measured 8.8 on the Richter scale in March that caused widespread damage.

Remarkably, to look at Chile’s economy, the country’s exports and people’s morale, the year would hardly seem dismal at all despite these significant catastrophes. After all, Chilean officials successfully rescued all 33 of those miners. The miners set a notable record for survivability. Its president is more popular than ever, and people seem, well, grateful. The lesson we invariably draw is, gosh darn it, Chile has true grit and resilience. Tough times don’t seem to get Chileans down; it just seems to make them stronger. That is why it seemed like a perfect time to contemplate how well Chile makes wine.

The 2010 earthquake killed more than 800 people and among the devastation was millions of dollars in damage to the 10th largest wine-producing country’s vintners due to cracked barrels and demolished storage tanks and warehouses. But like those emblematic miners, Chile’s wine industry will survive and thrive despite these hardships.

Read more

 

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