Second Labels

With the Euro and Italian wine rising like an Apollo rocket, restaurants are witnessing a decline in high-end wine sales. This is where savvy owners and consumers alike have to be creative and do their homework. We have had an unprecedented run of great vintages in Italian wines, typically in a great vintage, the difference between the flagship wine and the second tier wine are minimal. The top tier wine may cost seventy-five to three hundred dollars in a restuarant, where a second tier wine may cost forty to sixty dollars. As an owner, I try to focus on value wines without sacrificing quality. The other strategy I use is to go to my local distributors and see what they’re heavy on in their inventory. Wineries and Importers push their wines every year, Distributors have to take delivery each year of the current vintage, which in certain cases, causes a glut of good wine in inventory. Just like any business, the bean counters get ahold of the inventory and tell the distributors to cut. This is where I come in. I try and grab as much of this wine as possible and special it in my restaurant. This month is no exception, The estate of Sette Ponti lies in the heart of Chianti, fifteen miles northewest of the city of Arezzo. Sette Ponti is a 750 acre estate owned by Dr. Antonio Moretti, and until 1997 the estate sold their entire yield to neighboring Tuscan Estates, including Antinori. With the help of consulting eonologist Carlo Ferrini, Sette Ponti released their first vintage of Crognolo in 1998. Crognolo is the second wine of Sette Ponti after the famed Oreno, a top Wine Spectator favorite every year. Crognolo is a blend of 90% Sangiovese and 10% Merlot, it spends one year in French Barrique and an additional six months in the bottle before release.

I recently discovered that my local distributor was sitting on ten six packs of this delicious wine and was willing to part with it for a great price. Needless to say, I grabbed some cases and want to share my good fortune with everyone. Come in and try our Crognolo, we typically would sell this wine for around sixty dollars. For the next month, we’ll be selling it for forty-two dollars. This wine is drinking fabulous, I have this wine at home and share it with friends all the time. Everyone thinks it’s a hundred dollar bottle of wine. Another of my favorites is the Le Volte, this is Ornellaia’s second label. If you follow Ornellaia, you’ll know the price has gone through the stratesphere. Le Volte on the other hand, sells for about fifteen percent of the price. So when you’re shopping for wine and you want a treat, talk to your local retailer and ask them about some hidden gems. Look for wines that aren’t in the Supermarket, alot of these wines are bulk wines that wineries produce for mass consumption. Try and find something that isn’t well known. Sometimes this can mean the difference between a fifteen dollar bottle of wine that disappoints you, or a fifteen dollar bottle of wine that has you checking your receipt to see how much you paid for your wine.