Cheap Wine Store

A Seductive Valentine’s Day Gift

cheapwinestore — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:12:36 +0000

So, like any typical guy, I usually run out the store the night before or morning of Valentine’s Day – desperately looking for a gift that will pass as sentimental, romantic, or even just plain thoughtful. Well, this year I am set! With a new wine store, I am going to pick out the best bottle of wine I have and make a romantic dinner as a gift. No more running out to the store, hanging out with fifty other guys in the card section of Hallmark – looking for a Valentine’s Day card.

I encourage you to do the same. What can be more enjoyable than making a fine dinner and giving your love a bottle of wine. Check out my Valentine’s Day suggestions on CheapWineStore’s Valentine’s Day Gifts page.

Introducing the NW Wine Academy Wines on cheapwinestore.com!

cheapwinestore — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:47:55 +0000

I am really excited that we are now selling wines from West Seattle’s only winery, right around the corner from me! The South Seattle Community College has one of the few really comprehensive wine education programs in the state, with classes in everything like sales and marketing, enology, and full on wine making!

The chief winemaker and instructor, Peter Bos, has been a leader and very respected in the industry for years and has won several medals for the wine produced with the students at the SSCC. The unoaked Chardonnay this year is killer!!! I really need to stash a few bottles for myself!

Regina Daigneault is the program coordiantor as well as being an instructor. I took a class with Regina and she was a wonderful teacher and brings a huge wealth of real world knowledge to the program.

I would recommend trying all of the wines as soon as you have a chance. We have them at NW Academy Wines at CheapWineStore.com at very good prices so they are affordable as well as approachable.

Northwest Wine Academy wines

cheapwinestore — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 04:25:14 +0000

The South Seattle CC Northwest Wine Academy wines will be on sale for delivery on CheapWineStore.com in the next week or two!! I am very excited to be working with them. The instructor/winemaker Peter Bos has really led the class into making some great wines and the unoaked Chardonnay is really a first class wine. I’m thinking it will definitely win awards this year.

Down home cooking and wine

cheapwinestore — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:33:30 +0000

So, it’s cold in Seattle. Very cold to me as I relocated here from Florida. I remember when I lived there and we would all get so excited when the mercury dropped below 50 for that whole week in January. Now I’m happy when it stays above 40 for more than a few months!! Anyways, here is one of my favorite recipes for when the weather gets cold. It takes me back to Florida so I can reminisce about the amazing food and great weather. This recipe can be changed a hundred different ways, and my real favorite is to use crawfish. Crawfish are in short supply up here, so shrimp will do.

I recommend pairing this with a nice Voignier like the McKinley Springs or Sauvignon Blanc like a DeLoach… nice a crisp with pear and a great finish. I’ve also just made this and I had a Beaujolais Nouveau which added a whole different dimension!

Shrimp Etouffee

Seasoning mix

salt and pepper (use white and black if you have it)

cayenne pepper

dried basil and thyme

Other stuff

Onions, celery and green pepper all in the same proportion to equal about a cup diced up

Green onions very finely chopped

3/4 cup of flour

2 sticks of butter

3 cups seafood stock (use the shrimp shells or crawfish shells)

shrimp or crawfish (you can use as much as you like but a couple pounds will do

How To

1.) Make a Roux- heat 7 tbls. of olive oil in a pan till almost smoking and gradually add the flour (stirring constantly) for about 3-5 minutes until it turns a dark brown. Take it off of the heat and add a tablespoon of the seasonings and the veggies and stir some more until it cools.

2.) In a saucepan bring 2 cups of the stock to boiling and whisk in the roux until it is completely dissolved. Reduce the heat and keep whisking for another 2 minutes- then remove from heat

3.) In another pot, melt a stick of butter and then add the shrimp. Add the green onion. Saute for a minute and the add the rest of the stock. Add the other stick of butter and the stock/roux mix and let the butter melt. Add the remaining seasonings and add hot sauce if you want to at this point. Cook for 5-6 minutes and keep stirring

4.) Serve over a nice bed of white rice and serve with some nice french bread, torn into hunks

Loving the wine business!

cheapwinestore — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:51:10 +0000

I’ve had so much fun starting and running cheapwinestore, it’s crazy! Everyone who signs up for the wine club has been saying how much they love it and the people that I talk to from all across this country are really great to chat with.

I think I am going to start combining my two favorite things, wine and food and start posting some of my favorite recipes with some wine pairings.

I just discovered Owen Roe’s wines and I am really in love with how well balanced and perfect these wines are. I tried the Sharecropper Cab the other day and promptly declared it to be my new favorite table wine but I just opened the “Sinister Hand” blend and have now decided that it just rose to the number one position. For an everyday wine, you just can’t beat it. It tastes like a $40-50 bottle at half the price!

Follow Me on Twitter!

cheapwinestore — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 05:09:31 +0000

500 wines under $10

cheapwinestore — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:45:17 +0000

I have set a goal to be the only online wine store where you can find over 500 bottles of wine for under $10. It’s pretty daunting and is going to take a lot of work and searching, but I am determined!!!

Interview by Komo 1000!

cheapwinestore — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:41:01 +0000

Brian Calvert from Komo 1000 (great radio station) interviewed me this last Friday. It went really well and I hope I got my message across… we’ll see I just wanted everyone to know we are a family business and just want to make wine more accessible and fun! Go cheapwinestore.com, go!

My adventures in wine

cheapwinestore — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:29:18 +0000

So, like all other things government, when I decided to open cheapwinestore.com I had to fill out form after form to get my license. I felt like I was buried in paperwork! My enforcement officer is a good guy and has been doing his job for a while and he was a lot of help in navigating the right and wrong ways to do things.

After getting my liquor license the next step was getting to know my local distributors. The wine world is pretty close-knit and it seems like everyone knows everyone. I was fortunate

in meeting some really cool reps and other people who have really helped in fine-tuning the project. The really nice perk in this business too is the numerous wine tastings that I get to go to.

A good friend told me that the only way to expand my knowledge was to taste, taste, taste.

That has proven to be really good advice! I’ve gotten to taste a lot of really good wines at the industry tastings. The other nice thing is that you get to meet the winemakers and really get a feel for their personal styles of winemaking and what is important to them. It really helps to put a face with a wine and it lends that much more to the whole experience.

just a regular guy that really likes wine

cheapwinestore — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 22:31:05 +0000

o, the thing with CheapWineStore.com is that I am not the world’s foremost expert in wine. I don’t write articles, and I don’t judge wine competitions. I also don’t necessarily believe everything I read in a wine review. My opinions are based on what I actually think of the wine.

I drink wine with friends and I really enjoy pairing food with wine … it’s “real world” wine tasting.

I’m just hoping that there are enough people like me to make this wine venture a success. It’s cool to be able to share good deals on wine…. that’s what CheapWineStore.com is all about.