Feeling Robbed

Sometimes you pay more for something and feel good about it. For example I have no interest in learning about computers and appreciate how simple Apple products are to use and maintain, so I don’t mind paying a premium for them.

Food is rich in examples of such products. Although more often than not you are paying for quality. That $10 per pound butter is truly incredible stuff. So sure, it’s a sometimes treat, but I never question if I’m getting my money’s worth.

Other times one pays for services. The Cheese Traveler lords over a hand picked selection of very special cheeses. His expert knowledge and skilled observations can help point you to something delicious. Then he’ll hand cut you a piece from the wheel. It will not be inexpensive, but you will have in your hand one of the finest pieces of cheese available in the Capital Region.

However, far too often, you pay for nothing. At least that’s how it seems, and that gets me angry. Angry enough to name names. Like the $25 plate of farmed Atlantic salmon or the $15 plate of dry barbecue brisket. Here is one recent tale of how I got taken to the cleaners by a place that I generally like and I know is beloved by many.

Here was the situation.

I was in Crossgates Mall the day before Passover and I wanted to get wine for a seder. It was purely coincidence that I was there. My main errands were returning some merchandise to H&M for Mrs. Fussy and picking up a jar of cinnamon from Penzeys.

However, we were invited to a friend’s house for the first night, and were asked to bring wine. My plan had been to stop by the wine store in Slingerlands that I knew from past experience had a decent kosher for Passover wine selection. But, I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be better if I could avoid buying wine as a last minute to-do item.

So I went into For Love of Wine (or F.L.O.W.) for short and asked about their kosher for Passover wines. I had wanted to spend about $15 for a bottle.

As it turns out they only had one. But that one wine had a heck of a story. It was a French cabernet sauvignon that they discovered when doing a broad tasting of the varietal. They did not decide to carry it because it was Kosher for Passover. That just happened to be a happy accident.

This to me was a good sign. But then I inquired about the price.

Nineteen dollars. It was a bit more than I had wanted to spend, and just shy of the point where I might otherwise cut bait and leave the store empty handed. With tax it came to about twenty-one bucks. For that amount of money a savvy wine shopper can snag a pretty serious wine. And I was assured by the owner that I would have a great experience with my bottle.

It was an interesting choice of words. The owners of the store are clearly very passionate. They taste everything they decide to stock on the shelves, and inarguably, they love wine. But it costs a pretty penny to buy it from them.

After the fact, I looked up my purchase at home. It was Les Jamelles Essential Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010. Now Wine.com isn’t the most inexpensive place to buy wine on the internet. In fact, I generally try to avoid this merchant in favor of places where I can get better deals. But even there, the identical bottle was listed for about twelve dollars. That means my local merchant was selling the wine at a fifty percent premium over an already pricey retailer.

Wow.

And it’s not as if they provided me with great service in picking a bottle of wine, they didn’t. My choice was the one bottle they carried. Nor was the wine itself even all that great. It was fine. It wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination. Had I paid under $10 for the bottle I would probably have been pleased with its taste, character and body. But even at $12 I would have been underwhelmed by this wine.

At $21 I felt taken.

It’s a shame, because sometimes they do have remarkable wines in the store that one just cannot find anywhere else in the Capital Region. I’m thinking specifically of the smaller production Beaujolais Nouveau they carried a while back. But seriously, an event like this one makes me think twice about ever stepping foot into the store again, despite their weekly wine classes and the potential they offer for discovering new bottles.

For those for whom money is no object, perhaps this isn’t a big deal. But when I buy wine I’m looking for great juice and a decent value. And I’m going to shop where I can achieve these goals.

It makes me glad that the FUSSYlittleBALLOT went with All Star Wine instead of these jokers.