There are so many new labels this year, mostly from people with large fortunes (and egos) who buy great locations; hire the best vineyard managers and winemaking talent available, and lay their claim to cult status simply by attaching a hefty price tag to their first bottling -- Monkey business is what we call it. Support your local wine store... as much as you can unless he (she): A. doesn't have any of the stuff you want or B. prices things way out of line intentionally (not due to local market factors) or C. doesn't regularly drink a wide variety of wines so that an opinion can be made honestly when you ask a question or D. just, generally pisses you off... This is when OWC can make your life easier and more fun... Just give us a call at 402-431-8558, we'll talk naughty to you about all of the great things we offer.
Lots of things bother us... crummy weather, uncontrollable flatulence, people attaching meaning to the meaningless... But what really gets our goat is when people call certain years great vintages or difficult vintages or whatever... Let's put things in perspective... suppose you had a job to do, a specific job -- with a measurable outcome, in a specified timeline... And you would get paid well by your client to do the job and do it as well as you could because it was important... you would prioritize your tasks and eliminate those not pertinent or positive... You would not take on the other jobs that; although somewhat profitable, would cause you to create a situation where your primary task would be compromised and it's quality would suffer... In a word... you would keep quality constant and quantity would be diminished... Great Wineries produce greatness always. Quantities vary from vintage to vintage. If greatness cannot be achieved in a given year they will simply not produce at all... These comments are Disneyland... you are probably thinking. To some extent you're right, but what's really awesome for us here at OWC is that we get to try hundreds of contenders in every category -- every vintage -- and we've figured out who the posers are, the BS writers too... and since we are beyond reproach -- we simply don't carry wines that suck... All that being said... there are so many truly awesome wines being released in 2009 it (or the wine) makes our heads spin... Big, fat, juicy, in your-face Cal Cabs... Syrahs to die for... so many extraordinary Pinots from (of all places) California... Solid, long-lived wines from all over Italy... Aussie reds with bizarre names (but no colors in their names) that will absolutely stun the most hedonistic consumer... 2009 A GREAT TIME TO BE ALIVE! Connoisseur (Kinda-Sewer) -- a quiet moment which defines the essence of being a connoisseur... Contemplation; awaiting that 'moment of discovery' that reveals a wine's greatness amongst its peers... What is a Sommelier? Sommelier (smell-ier) -- French: a pack animal driver; official who transports supplies; Modern: a self-professed expert on wine who will bore you to tears explaining the 'rules' of matching the 'correct' wines with food. P.S. No sommeliers welcome at OWC, only people who are passionate about great times with great wines... So ya wanna get on our new e-mail update list... So that each and every friggin week you can see wazzup with our new stuff... No prob! Just e-mail us: omahawine@owc.omhcoxmail.com