The Hootch

Nashville Brides! Make sure you read all the way to the end to hear about the DEALS happening this weekend at Frugal MacDoogal!

So Sarah Elizabeth, another bridal-blogger-fabulouso, mentioned her upcoming issues with buying wine in Tennessee. You can read about it here.
Tennessee sucks when it comes to Blue Laws. A bunch of other states suck at this too. It's called separation of church and state, people. At any rate, they exist and that means you can't buy booze (except for beer) on Sundays. It means you have to go to a liquor store to buy wine and spirits. You cannot buy wine or spirits in the grocery store, but you can buy beer. You cannot buy wine and have it shipped into the state (for instance, through a Wine of the Month Club). It's ignorant and antiquated. Politicians are afraid to upset a core group of rabid religious constituents. It doesn’t matter that the laws are hypocritical (as in legalizing the sale of “immoral” alcohol but restricting it only one day of the week, unless you’re in a restaurant, in which case it’s okay). Nor does it matter that it’s an infringement upon the rights of people to engage in commerce. Nobody in the legislature has the courage to stand up and strike them down. Pussies.
Yeah, it's my blog and I can get preachy and inappropriate if I wanna.

And, back to the subject at hand.....
I'm allowed to bring in my own wine to Mere Bulles, but still have to pay a cork fee of $15 for every 750 ml and $30 for Magnums (1.5l). Meaning, The Thirty-Something Bride needs to find her some cheap wine! Cheap, but good.
I consider myself an expert wine drinker. I'm just really good at it. Really, I am. Can I tell if the grape that made the wine is from the Rhone Valley, circa 1997 - the year they had the light frost late in the season, thereby adding a hint of acid to the blend? No, I cannot and I could care less. If it tastes good, I'll drink it. If it doesn't, I won't (okay, I'll drink the crappy stuff too, who am I trying to kid?). There are some really good, fairly inexpensive wines out there and I'm on the hunt for the best!

First though, we need to talk about where to go. If you don't live in a lame, Blue Law state, my vote would be Costco. They have a good selection and their prices are decent. I found two really good online sources too: BevMo.com and MarketViewLiquor.com. The downside is paying for freight. I almost ordered cases from Market View and had them sent to my folks in the state they live in. I was going to have them haul the cases to Tennessee before The Big Show. I am SURE I would be breaking some sort of law doing this. But don't worry, I don't think we have to resort to criminal activity to get our drink on.

First of all, the Costco's in Tennessee do have liquor stores next door that sell wine and spirits at a discount. The prices are good, but not fantastic.
We also have Frugal MacDoogal that offers a wide variety of wines and liquors at dang good prices. The Candyman and I stopped by on Saturday to check it out. We picked up the following wines for a trial run.

Sacred Stone Red (California), blend of Syrah, Carignan, Grenache, Sangiovese and Zinfandel, 87 points, $8.99

Menage a Trois Chardonny (California), 84-90 points depending on the year, $8.99

Montes Malbec (Chile), considered a 'Bordeaux varietal', Malbec has characteristics that fall somewhere between Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, 84 points, $11.99

Puerto Viejo Chardonnay(Chile), 87-93 points, depending on the year. $8.99

Last night I was over in East Nashville getting my hair done by Wynn, the most amazing hair stylist EVER over at Chop Shop, which just happens to be right behind The Woodland Wine Merchant. I love this wine shop! Everyone who works there is amazing. I spoke with Will and Courtney and they helped me pick out this wine:

Grao Vasco (Portugal), Red Blend, 85points, $8.00

When my folks were here over Easter weekend, we all tried this wine and liked it a lot. I bought a case already.

Cline Pinot Gris (California), 80 points, $9.99

The Pinot Gris had a bit of a blush color to it and that surprised me. I am not a big fan of whites unless it's a beefy Chardonnay, but I liked this one. I'm not sure if we'll keep the case, but I need a light white to offer.

Here's the skinny on the deals!
Frugal McDoogal - 10% off cases over $10 a bottle, EXCEPT if you're a bride. Then, it's 10% off per case no matter what the cost. SWEET! You can return unopened and unchilled wine. I spoke with Jeff, their wine manager, and he informed me that THIS WEEKEND they are having their bi-annual sale! They will have a huge selection of wine AT COST! The 10% does not apply to that discount (boo, hiss), but I'm hoping the deals will be good.
The Woodland Wine Merchant - 10% off cases of wine and you can mix and match your cases. You can return any unopened and unchilled wine. I can't wait to try the Grao Vasco as it comes in Magnums, which in the end, will save us money.

My advice at this point is to shop the market hard for deals and steals. They exist, you just need to find them! Don't snub the infamous Two Buck Chuck, available at Trader Joe's (except in Tennessee). It's not the best, but it's not the worst either.

Tomorrow night I'm having a little meet and greet, wine tasting thing with some special guests I'll reveal on Friday!