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ADVERTISING: Advertorial — GEORGE BALLING: Reaching up, dipping down

| April 15, 2020 1:00 AM

We just recently received an order from a client of ours to reload their wine cellar. “Cellar” may be overstating it. He basically just wanted to fill in the gaps in his collection that have evolved over the last year or so. This customer has one of the most sophisticated palates we know. He has lived and traveled all over the world. While he most always defers to us on wine choices, my sense is he knows far more than we and most of our wine professional friends know on the subject.

Like most truly passionate wine consumers he has his favorites in varietals and regions, and of course a typical price point he likes to purchase. When he asked us to help with the refill of his collection, he gave us a budget and instructed us to divide the budget in thirds. One third should be dedicated to his normal price point, one third would go to more expensive bottles and one third to more gently priced bottles than what he usually purchased. We were given discretion on what producers, appellations and varietals to pick, with a couple of exclusions for wines he doesn’t care for.

We have worked with this client for several years and we know his palate really well. His goal with this purchase, though, was to add wines he didn’t know as well and to try things he wouldn’t normally select on his own. For our regular readers, customers and our friends, you all know this is the part of our own wine journey that we enjoy the most! There are so many wines out there that trying the new and different not only furthers our knowledge, it is frankly a lot of fun.

A quote I frequently cite from the great wine importer Kermit Lynch illustrates this better than any. Asked by a reporter what his favorite wine was, Kermit responded, “Right now I am really in to Vermentino, but that will change. Wine is not like marriage. It’s OK to move around.” Indeed, it is!

What I learned most about assembling this order for our client though, and what I think is most valuable for wine consumers, is to, from time to time, to both reach up, and dip down from your normal budget level. If every wine consumer liked the same thing at the same price, we would only need one wine. The truth is we don’t, thus the variety. Price point though, perhaps more than any other qualifier, will generate some real surprises for all of us.

The average retail price per bottle we sell here at the shop is about $17. Nationwide the average retail bottle is around $13 as of last year. In the shop we have bottles starting at $9, with prices far higher, too. When you look at averages though, we all recognize that there are consumers out there on a daily basis buying both higher and lower-priced bottles leading to those averages. It is a good idea to find out what is in those other categories.

The interesting part for each of us as wine consumers is that by trying both higher priced and lower priced bottles than we normally drink, we will find new favorites in both categories. Life being what it is, though, you will also likely find some eye-opening dislikes in both categories. Here is our wish for each of you as you go through this. You will find new growing regions or countries you are quite fond of, and you will be thrilled by the experiment. While Bordeaux and Burgundy in France make some of the more expensive selections on the globe, Portugal makes some of the most gently priced wines. As you reach up for Bordeaux you may be thrilled with what you try and grateful for the chance to do so. When you dip down and pick up a $12 bottle from Portugal, I speculate that you will also find some wine that surprises too.

Domestically produced wines will elicit some equally shocking revelations. As Northwest produced wines continue to march ever higher in price, some large production wines from California may really stand out for you at the lower price points and you will no doubt still find some new favorites from Washington, just not at the great value levels we are used to paying.

The punchline is that ultimately you will be surprised and hopefully delighted at every turn as you develop your own knowledge of the big world of wine and as you enhance your journey by adding new price destinations to experiment with.

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George Balling is co-owner with his wife, Mary Lancaster, of the dinner party, a wine and gift shop in Coeur d’Alene by Costco. The dinner party has won the award for best wine shop in North Idaho twice, including for 2018. George is also published in several other publications around the country.

After working in wineries in California and judging many wine competitions, he moved to Coeur d’Alene with Mary more than 10 years ago to open the shop. You can also follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.