“The wise wine urges me on, the bewitching wine, which sets ever a wise man to singing and to laughing gently and rouses him to dance and bring forth words that were better unspoken.” – Homer, Odyssey, XIV.463
For the past month I’ve stayed on my quest for shops that offer good selections of wines. For me, a wine fanatic, each visit has been pantingly pleasant. Continuing my satisfying search, here are more shops worth stopping by:
Costco
950 Port Washington Rd., Grafton, 262-204-1050
This wine department looks like a variant of a candy store. Run by an enthusiastic and well-informed man named Jeff, it is an impressive operation with some great prices, if you shop carefully. All purchasing is done down in Chicago, and this store may be joined by a sister in the area soon. I found only one unfortunate note in the Costco symphony, wearing my MilwaukeeMagazine.com hat, I asked if I could buy a couple of bottles of wine that I had been greedily fondling. Alas, I was told that I could only do so if I were a member of Costco, which costs $50. Failure!
Downer Avenue Wine Company
2638 N. Downer Ave., across from Sendik’s, 414-332-0880
Mark Nord does a wonderful job operating this 5-year-old shop that deals with a variety of clients, from UWM types to Sendik’s shoppers. He hosts periodic and popular tastings and is quite familiar with his wares. His three most popular sellers are: Les Jemelles Pinot Noir for $9.99, New Harbor Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand) for $9.99 and Leese Fitch Cabernet Sauvignon (California) for $9.99. I also spotted a fetching display of New Age NV White Wine (Argentina) for $8.99, a wine that I recommended in one of my previous columns.
Grasch Foods
13950 North Ave., Brookfield, 262-782-9330
Owner Bob Grasch runs an extremely attractive and well-organized store that has clusters of attractive wine displays scattered throughout, often next to departments that they complement. I couldn’t resist grabbing a 2007 French Cotes Du Rhone, a beauty that was reduced from $13.99 to $9.99. Bob said that his best-selling wines are in the $9-$12 category, with $12-$15 a bit slower, and wines more than $20 slower still.
Otto’s Wine Shops
A fine family of stores located throughout the Milwaukee area. Otto’s wine stores are nicely laid out and organized, and the staff is terrific. In my opinion, its flagship stores are Elm Grove and Brown Deer with Oakland Avenue taking a close second.
Pick & Save
Various locations.
I recently visited the Mequon location on North Port Washington Road, just north of Mequon Road, then spoke with the wine manager. I found the wine section to be neat and well-organized, and my eye caught an attractively priced favorite Pinot Noir of mine, Mark West at $9.99.
