Best Cellars

A new store where all the wines are under a Hamilton

Uncorked by David Marglin

Wine is about a lot of things, and one of them is marketing. Especially at the inexpensive end of the wine world, marketing drives the industry. How much can you sell? Can you get people to come back and buy more?

These are the questions that winetrepreneur Josh Wesson is trying to answer with Best Cellars, a wine store that originated in Manhattan and just opened a branch in Brookline. Wesson's concept sounds simple: 100 wines, all less than $10 a bottle. The result is a store that looks like no other wine shop in the city -- or probably the world, for that matter.

To provide some perspective on the under-$10 wine business, let me throw some statistics at you: 10 percent of the US drinking-age population will drink wine in a given year. Of that wine-drinking group, a mere one-tenth of them will guzzle 90 percent of the wine. In other words, not a lot of people drink wine in this country -- and of those who do, a small minority of enthusiasts drinks the lion's share. Josh Wesson sees a potentially huge market in those people who drink some wine, but not all that much.

To reach them, he scraps the usual system of arranging wines by region or wine variety, which requires that customers have some background knowledge. Instead, he arranges his store by color-coded flavors: "Juicy," "Smooth," and "Big" for the reds; "Fizzy," "Fresh," "Soft," and so on for the whites.

As Wesson says -- and, being a pure-blooded marketeer, he likes to repeat his message a lot -- wine-buying is usually an essay question, where one has to describe one's experience, price range, attitude toward different regions, and so on. The idea behind Best Cellars, says Wesson, is to turn that essay question into a multiple-choice test: since all the wines are essentially the same price, and since wines are grouped by flavor, all you need is to get yourself to the right flavor category -- and from there, choose one of the few wines available. The philosophy is appealing, up to a point. And the execution is exceptional -- no matter what you think of the wine, you have to admit it looks pretty freakin' cool. The shop is clean and uncluttered, with a stove in the middle, and the vivacious and enthusiastic staff knows its hundred wines.

Best Cellars aspires to be the Starbucks of wine, and for my money it's well on its way. The written descriptions, with wacky taglines for each wine, are solid and engaging. And the wines themselves? Way more hits than misses. Wesson claims that he rejects nine wines for every one that makes the cut, and in my opinion, his palate is the real reason that Best Cellars is so successful.

So who is Josh Wesson? He's a foodie who got his start working at the Cambridge eatery Panache, eventually landing a job as a busboy at the Quilted Giraffe, a very tony Manhattan restaurant that epitomized the Bonfire of the Vanities '80s. From there he worked his way up to assistant sommelier; then, in 1984, while stationed at Hubert's, he won the first-ever competition for best sommelier in the US, at the ripe old age of 28. Later he became a wine consultant, wine writer, and generally knowledgeable food-and-wine dude before the idea for Best Cellars occurred to him. After opening its first outpost in Manhattan, Best Cellars is polishing the concept at its Coolidge Corner location before opening two more Massachusetts stores. Assuming it all pans out, there are plans to go national in the next millennium.

I've spent some time in the store, and my only caveat is that it's easy to be seduced into thinking that $10 is enough to get you a great bottle of wine. For that price you can get a lot of good, very drinkable wine, and you can introduce yourself to plenty of different styles and flavors to discover what you like best. But believe me, if you hold the line at $10, you'll eventually miss out on a ton of wonderful wines, and potentially better values. When you begin to move into that small group of committed wine drinkers, you'll want to use this service-oriented store as a mosaic floor for your wine purchases, not a ceiling.

What follows are some wines I tried, along with their prices, some of the more clever Best Cellars taglines, and my tasting notes.

Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc 1996 ($8.99). "Everybody Must Get Stone." A very full sauvignon blanc, with lots of mineral and tropical fruit notes. Classic.

Sokol Blosser Muller Thurgau 1997 ($9.49). "Muller Whadjasay." Quite fruity, almost licorice-like, with a hint of pétillant panache. Impress your friends.

Falchini Vernaccia 1997 ($7.99). A sharp wine, but with a great deal of character. Drink this cold with shellfish -- even lobster.

Zemmer Pinot Grigio 1997 ($9.99). "Pinot Longo." A zippy pinot grigio, with no oak whatsoever and a long, tangy finish. A fish wine.

Bois du Renard Chardonnay 1996 ($8.99). "From Perth to Paris." A pleasing chardonnay, with lots of ripe fruit and some oaky notes. A solid value for the money. But the '97 is a lot better.

Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare 1997 ($8.99). Surprisingly dry. It claims to taste of tea, rose hips, and citrus rind, but this rosé had a more robust and tropical feel to me. I like it with Mediterranean foods or hummus.

Montes Merlot 1997 ($9.99). "Smooth Operator." A big grapey wine, packing a wallop of berry flavor. Not a merlot for the timid.

Bogle Merlot 1997 ($9.99). A much smoother wine, softer and more velvety, but less complex than the Montes. Round and almost delicate.

Fenestra True Red ($9.99). "Window of Opportunity." A powerhouse zin blend, with blackberry and lots of cassis. Totally drinkable, but not a knockout. A party wine for the bold.

Bois du Renard Syrah 1996 ($9.99). "Out of the Woods." An opulent and lush syrah. The first bottle of this I tasted had an off nose, but with a little more age, it has developed maturity and class. A real steal.

David Marglin can be reached at wine[a]phx.com.

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Thanks go out to all the people who made our 2nd Uncorked tasting such a success. First and foremost, we thank everyone who attended; it was great meeting all of you and hearing your opinions on wine. Second, many thanks to the retailers who supplied wine for our event: Howie and Phil from Bauer Wine & Spirits, John from Vines, Tom from Marty's, Angie from Best Cellars, and Mike from Brookline Liquor Mart. And finally, extra-special thanks to Sarah and all the staff at Cosmopolitan for hosting such a great event, and for the excellent food.

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