A Good Year

As the book closes on 2007, I spent some time the last few days analyzing the wine tasting "lineup cards" that have been provided every Thursday night this year (except for Thanksgiving), and was surprised myself by just how many great wines have been poured. From a "value" tasting back on the 4th of January through last week's "best of" celebration, over 325 wines have been served on Thursday nights throughout the year, and another 250 or so have been offered on Mondays. That's nearly 600 wines!

The tastings this year fueled several trends at Stimmel's Market; Spanish wines were a big hit, and with over 40 solid wines poured this year, the selection of Spanish reds soared. Our French selection blossomed as well, notably dozens of additions in the areas of Rhone and Bordeaux. California Cabernets, as popular as they were at the beginning of the year, continued to be the ultimate crowd-pleasers (and by the way, don't miss TONIGHT'S great Napa Cab tasting), and good Pinot Noir from California and elsewhere was had by all. Great beers from around the world continued to flow, and we managed to fit in sake, mead, and other assorted goodies in the past 12 months. Next week I'll post my personal favorites of the year.

Stimmel's luckily added Sara Thieman to the wine and beer staff, and we somehow coerced Lance Massey to post his Thursday night tasting notes (which are simply great). As 2008 looms, look for more of the same, as we will continue to scour the world in search of great wines, great bargains, and fun themes for tastings. January will feature a HUGE Rhone tasting, a New World vs. Old World taste-off, more of the Top 100 wines of '07, another great cheese tasting, and the first Stimmel's Market field trip (details coming soon).

All of us here at Stimmel's look forward to seeing all of you in the coming weeks, and wish you the best this holiday season!

Cheers!
Bill Stimmel