The oldest recipes for alcoholic beverages date back thousands of years to ancient Egypt. Homer references the “wine dark” nature of the sea in his epic poems. Sake is one of Japan’s great defining alcoholic beverages. The bubbly beauty of champagne is featured in arias by Straus and Verdi. Shakespeare’s Falstaff makes merry with Elizabethan sherry, “sack.” Vodka’s a mainstay in Russia and Great Russian novels, with Dostoevsky and Turgenev’s characters regularly debating issues over a bottle. Red wine shows up everywhere from Civil War-era Spain in Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls to Central California in Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath.
All of this makes alcohol one of the oldest, most globally-accessible aspects of human life. It takes a special place to take all that history and culture and feature it in one location – and that’s precisely what you can expect from a great local wine store near you!
Lovely Options
When you shop at a great local wine store, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy bottles of red and white from around the world. What’s more, you’ll be able to choose varieties that best suit your palate. Looking for something tart or bold? Cabernet Sauvignons and Pinot Noirs offer some of the best big-name red wine options out there while lower-key offerings such as Beaujolais have bounced back of late in terms of popularity. In the mood for something crisp, subtle, and refreshing whilst enjoying the summer sun? You can’t go wrong with some good old Sauvignon Blanc or German-style Riesling. Hosting a party? Champagne is, with good reason, a classic and the best local wine store in your area can set you up with the best bottle of bubbly for your budget!
Affordable Wines
Speaking of cost, that’s another reason to shop locally. When you shop for wines with larger wineries or else have wines shipped from afar, you can run into some steep costs, in part due to the cost of shipping and handling wines internationally. By contrast, a great local wine store offers impeccable options at always-affordable rates.
