New Service Offers Fast Wine Delivery to Wellesley and Weston

So I'm driving back running some errands last weekend (a visit to Guitar Center and Home Depot in case you were wondering) and I see an illuminated OPEN sign in the window of Metro West Wines. I'd heard about this business popping up in Natick just over the Wellesley line on Route 9 on The Swellesley Report but I hadn't noticed they'd opened for business yet.

So I pop in and have a conversation with the two guys behind the operation - Fred McIntyre and Paul Lavallee. They've set up Metro West Wines as a DBA (doing business as) of Nine East Wine Emporium which they share a building with. If you've traveled east on Route 9 entering Wellesley you've seen Nine East's "25% 2+ Cases" sign. They're one of several retailers that have set up shop right on the Wellesley border to offer ready access to alcohol for Wellesley residents. Although Wellesley restaurants are allowed to sell alcohol with meals liquor stores aren't allowed in Wellesley.

This limitation, along with an interest in providing the convenience of fast delivery to Wellesley and Weston is the main thrust of Metro West's value proposition. Currently, they're asking for a $50 minimum order and charge a $15 delivery fee. They deliver wine, beer, and spirits to Wellesley and Weston within an hour.

I spent about a half an hour or so talking with Fred and Paul. They're enthusiastic, motivated guys. They come from a tech background and paired with Nine East's assortment of products they've got some nice things to offer. By law Metro West's pricing must be exactly in line with Nine East's.

They shared that the idea for the business came from looking around at Weston and Wellesley households who have their dry cleaning delivered, their groceries delivered, their lawns taken care of, and take-out delivered a few times a week. In Manhattan you can have practically anything delivered to your apartment quickly. They feel there's an interest in eliminating "one more stop" from people's hectic schedules and they're here to serve.

I wish them the best in this new endeavor and I'm pleased to have them on board as an advertiser here on the WWP. Hopefully for a long time.

Check 'em out:

Metro West Wines

http://metrowestwines.com

@MetroWestWines

Question of the Day: Under what circumstances would you take advantage of a service like this? Have you heard of similar services in other locales? What suggestions would you have for a business like this?

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Last Call for Scoop the Spectator 2012 Entries

It's been a fun couple weeks seeing the entries pour in for Scoop the Spectator 2012.

A well-timed post by @EvanDawson over on Palate Press -- In Defense of the Wine Spectator Top 100 -- discusses the Top 100 list and has some interesting data on price increases for the winning wine.

the Wine of the Year does indeed see a sharp increase in price. Over the past decade, the average release price for the Wine of the Year was $67.60; the current average price is now $172.50. That’s an increase of 155%. But if we discard the past two winners, the Kosta Browne 2009 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and the Saxum James Berry 2007 Paso Robles, the price increase falls to 95%.

Dawson goes on to note that the price hike generally evaporates for the next vintage of the winning wine and that the price increases trail off quickly as you go down the Top 10.

How about the rest of the top ten? Turns out only the runner up wine sees much of a spike in price soon after the list comes out. The average release price for the runner-up wines was $68; today you can get those wines for an average of $100.50 per bottle, an increase of nearly 48%. The 10th-ranked wine has seen a price increase of 22%, which is not nothing, but not exorbitant in the higher-end wine market.

The piece goes on to mention our Scoop the Spectator contest and notes that you all have successfully predicted the winner each year the contest has been run.

Now, I used to think the entire concept of a Top 100 list was silly. This year, mine was the first guess on Dwyer’s site. As Dwyer explains, his contest is designed to help consumers. 

“The fundamental motivation for knowing the winning wine ahead of time is to provide an opportunity to buy that wine before the street price goes up,” Dwyer told me. How do you know that you can get the winning wine based on Dwyer’s contest? Well, so far, Dwyer’s contestants have sniffed out the winner in advance.

Have one of you guessed the winner already? I think so.

The Wine Spectator reveal starts Wednesday (pushed back a couple days by Hurricane Sandy). We'll keep the contest deadline tonight - November 9th, 2012 at 11:59 pm Eastern.

While you're waiting, jump on Grapes the Wine Co's wine offer email list. Despite being without power at home and at the store he's still been pounding the offers, with a particular focus on 2010 Rhone (How Could it Not Be 2010 Rhone?). Gotta love it.

Subscribe to the WWP for commentary as the wines are revealed next week

Thanks again to all who have entered. And good luck!

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3 Sub-$10 Spanish Monastrell that offer Silly Value

At The Capital Grille's Generous Pour event last year, I discovered a Monastrell that sent me off on a value hunt. The category has had an exceptional batting average for me since so I'm pleased to present three particularly outstanding, mind-bending values for your consideration. But first, here's The Capital Grille's Master Sommelier George Miliotes' thoughts on Monastrell:

Wellesley Wine Press: You have a knack for finding wines that appeal to wine enthusiasts interested in discovering delicious new wines without stretching too far out of their comfort zone. In a nutshell, what’s your philosophy for choosing wines by the glass for The Capital Grille or for events like this one?

George Milotes: "For me, it is all about wines that are well-made and taste good. As solid winemaking practices have spread around the globe, there is a greater pool of diverse and tasty wines to choose from. We love to find areas or wines that are overlooked or underappreciated. Hence, the Tarima Hill Monastrell is part of The Generous Pour Wine Event this year. Monastrell is the greatest underappreciated red in the world today from a growing area (Alicante) that is barely known in Spain, let alone here in the US. We feel privileged to introduce the wine to the U.S. while showing our guests something new and delicious."

Here are three winners I've enjoyed. The price points are unreal and the wines are outstanding.

2011 Bodegas Castaño Monastrell Yecla - Spain, Murcia, Yecla (11/7/2012)

Medium bodied visually, this wine is ready to go as soon as its screw cap is opened. Quite nice on the nose with flinty raspberries wrapped around an herbal and floral infused rope. Light on its feet but utterly satisfying with chalky tannins and desirable flavors that convey on the finish. (91 points)

$7.99 at The Wine Cellar of Stoneham (or 4 for $25 - $6.25/btl)

Bonus: Rated 90 points by Steve Tanzer's IWC (Josh Raynolds)

2010 Bodegas Juan Gil Jumilla Wrongo Dongo - Spain, Murcia, Jumilla (1/14/2012)

A tremendous eye opening wine that'll have me hunting more Monastrell from Spain. It's all here and I can't believe the price point. Paid $8.99 in MA without any case discount. Ample clean fruit, some earth, tremendous balance. Wow. Fire up the QPR alert! (90 points)

$8.99 (before case discount) at Burlington Wine & Spirits

2009 Bodegas Volver Monastrell Tarima Hill - Spain, Valencia, Alicante (4/26/2012)

A blockbuster of a wine offering a tremendous amount of tasty fruit and earthy supporting components. Gets a little fakey grapey at times, and the 15% abv shows itself at points. But my goodness - can you complain in the $8-$9 range? Silly value here. Silly. (89 points)

Purchased from The Spirit Shoppe

Posted from CellarTracker

Related:

• The Capital Grille has redesigned their website. Have a look if you haven't visited recently.
• Scoop the Spectator ends Friday! Get your entry in if you haven't already.

Question of the Day: What are some of your favorite Monastrell?

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$20 for $40 at Wine Enthusiast

Living Social is offering $20 for $40 at Wine Enthusiast.

Shipping tends to be pricey from Wine Enthusiast, but I don't see that the cost of shipping is explicitly excluded from this offer. It's unclear to me whether one would be able to stack this voucher with other offers, but I thought to mention this offer if you've been eyeing wine accessories from Wine Enthusiast.

Limit 1 per purchaser, up to 1 additional as gifts • Limit 1 per person per order • Valid only for online purchases • Entire value must be used in a single visit • Not valid at WineExpress.com, or for the purchases of eCards and Toast of the Town tickets

Offer ends November 12th, 2012.

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