Wine Boxes

It seems I've switched from wine to wine boxes. One hundred forty wine boxes, another sixty or so to go. Why wine boxes? They are just the right size for packing books, much better than the shipping boxes you can buy online. The hunt for wine boxes led me to some interesting encounters with wine people. The Washington State liquor stores used to be a great source, but now they hoard all the good one for themselves and only put out the odd sized liquor boxes. Scott at QFC has been helpful, but needs his boxes, too. I struck gold this morning at Safeway where Celeste, a merchandiser for Young's-Columbia was unpacking wine and I had the good fortune to catch her before she broke the boxes down. A real bonus was meeting Mohammad, the new wine steward - definitely my kind of man. The "local" wine section at Safeway has improved tremendously. In fact, I think they just started a Northwest section recently under the leadership of Mohammad. Doug at Metropolitan Market was more than generous which induced me to buy some champagne from him and I also checked out some Saumur and Saumur- Champigny in anticipation of our trip to the Loire in September. Doug has an extraordinarily focused top notch selection of wine from around the world, including the Northwest concentrated in a very small space at the back of the store. He is definitely a "go to" guy for wine selection, so is Scott at QFC. Mohammad is definitely moving in that direction. How wonderful to have someone to ask for help when faced with the overwhelming shelves of a supermarket. Once in a while you will run into a knowledgeable sales person at the state liquor store but usually you are on your own, so here are some tips for upcoming Washington Wine Month in August. Most wines from the following wineries will be good buys when on sale next month. They can be purchased at the state liquor stores and most of the supermarkets mentioned above. They are listed in no particular order.

• Columbia Crest "Two Vines"
• Columbia Crest Reserve
• Red Diamond
• Barnard Griffin
• Sagelands
• Hogue
• Gordon Bros.
• Pine & Post