Supermarket Wine Versus
Restaurant Wine-List Wine

Walk into most supermarkets and you'll find a wine department divided into two categories: Domestic and Import. And within the two segments you'll find a variety of wines in various sizes, in boxes or bottles, whites or reds, and a great deal of it under $10.

There's nothing wrong with that picture, except that it's not what you'll find here in The Market's World of Fine Wine.

We make a distinction between wine that is mass-market, found in nearly every supermarket in the country (and that has a large marketing budget to pay for TV and print advertising) versus the smaller, boutique wines, usually found in specialty wine shops or on wine lists at fine restaurants. The big name supermarket wineries produce mass quantities of the same flavor year after year and, for better or worse, some of the distinctive character of the grapes as well as the vintage (the year the grapes were harvested) is lost in the process to manufacture a consistent product.

Smaller wineries, however, utilize methods that can more fully express each grape's unique characteristics such as the varieties of grapes, the regional climate, the soil, when they were harvested and so on. And from year to year, vintage to vintage, there are appreciable changes that add to the complexity and the fun of getting to know more about wine.

But the real difference between the two types of wine-supermarket wine and restaurant wine-list wine-comes down to how they are sold.

Here at the World of Fine Wines we hand select every bottle of wine on our shelves-something most supermarket grocery managers don't have the luxury to do. Instead, supermarkets rely solely on advertising to reinforce the brand because most supermarkets do not have a wine expert on hand to recommend wines or describe what foods they best pair with.

The reason some supermarket customers shy away from new and different wines is there's no one to explain what the wine tastes like. But here at the World of Wine we thrive on turning customers onto new wine adventures. So we promote a liberal sampling policy. Every day we offer one ounce sample of a variety of unique wines in our wine department. Another opportunity to taste wine is in our Café where you can enjoy a Wine by the Glass with your lunch or dinner.

If you're looking to try something other than the "typical standby" we can happily recommend something fun and new and in the same style you're looking for. And here's the best part about the wine on our shelves: a lot of restaurant wine-list wines don't come with pricey restaurant wine mark-ups when they're sold in a grocery store. We're just as price-conscious as you are, so we're always looking for outstanding value wines.

Craft vintners are developing new wines all the time. Whatever you're looking for, there's never been a more exciting time to explore the World of Fine Wines here at the Market at Jordan Creek.

One more thing: If you have a favorite selection at your favorite restaurant, come see us … if we don't already carry it, we can get it.