Thief Wine Blog

As most of you know, we’ve been working on opening a second location in Shorewood; we’ve signed a lease and we got our financing finalized last week, so it’s going to happen! Here’s a few answers to the questions we’ve been getting:

Q: Are you crazy?
A: Possibly. We were just starting to get out of debt and have somewhat normal hours – who wants that?!?

Q: Why a second location?
A: See the answer to the previous question. But seriously, we think there’s room in the overall market for another Thief Wine – since we opened in July of 2008 we’ve had an amazing response, but we think there’s still room to grow. Having a second location will enable us to have greater economies of scale and synergies between the two should lead to even greater value for all of our customers. The Cornerstone Building opportunity in particular was too compelling to pass up.

Q: You’ll still have your Milwaukee Public Market location, right?
A: Correct – we love being in the Public Market and the relationships we’ve developed there; we definitely won’t be neglecting that at all and will continue to work at making our MPM shop & bar the best it can be for you.

Q: Why Shorewood?
A: It’s got a great potential customer base – many of our customers are from Shorewood / Whitefish Bay and are extremely excited we’re expanding there. It’s close enough to our MPM location that we can easily coordinate between the two, but far enough away that the two won’t significantly compete with each other.

Q: What and where is the Cornerstone Building?
A: We think Shorewood in general is a great opportunity, but this location in particular is what sold us. The Cornerstone Building is a new construction at the corner of Kensington and Oakland (where the gas station used to be) in the north end of Shorewood. It’s a mixed-use building that will have North Star Bistro (who’s moving across the street into it), Alterra Coffee, Boutique B’Lou, and us on the ground floor, and three floors of higher-end (granite counters, hardwood floors, etc.) apartments above. There will be off-street parking and a great courtyard offset from the street where we’ll have a good amount of outdoor seating.

Q: Um, you do know there’s competition, right?
A: Sure – there’s always going to be competition no matter where you go. We think this is a great location, we’re confident about our ability to provide an unbeatable wine experience – selection, service, price, environment – and based on our current customers’ enthusiastic response we believe there’s a market for what we offer. We know you’ve got numerous options for purchasing wine, and like with our MPM location, we don’t take your support for granted and going to do everything we can to earn that support.

Q: What’s the timing?
A: We should be able to take possession of the space by July 1, build it out in two months, and we’re targeting a September opening.

Q: What will be the differences between the two locations?
A: The Shorewood location will be the same concept as our MPM spot, split roughly half and half between retail and wine bar, but definitely won’t be a carbon copy. It’ll be our own distinct space, so we’ll be able to create the environment – décor, lighting, music, mood – and the bar will have more of an intimate, sophisticated feel (as opposed to the market’s open, bustling environment, which is very cool in a completely different way). It’ll be open later at night, so hopefully will be the ideal way to spend an evening out. (Especially in summer – did we mention we’ll have an awesome courtyard?) There will be a good amount of overlap in the retail selection and possibly wine lists, but with some differences at each location.

Q: Will you offer food?
A: Yes! Via North Star Bistro, who we’ll coordinate with to develop an appetizer / small plates menu for the wine bar. It should be a win for everyone – customers get delicious freshly prepared food, we don’t have the added overhead of a kitchen, and North Star will get more volume and awareness. We’re excited to work with North Star in general – there are a lot of possibilities for synergies, including wine dinners, food / wine pairing classes, use of their private room for seminars, and more.

Q: Who will be where?
A: Initially, of course, we’ll both be running around like crazy getting the new location up to speed. Once we’re settled in, the plan is for Aimee to be at Shorewood 4 days a week and at MPM 2 days a week, with Phil at the MPM 4 days a week and at Shorewood 2-3 days a week. We’ll post our schedule on our site so if you want to talk specifically with either one of us you’ll know when & where we’ll be. Our wonderful staff will grow, and will probably be mainly at one location or the other but will have the flexibility to be at either.

Q: What about my customer rewards?
A: No worries! Our computer systems at each location will be synched to a central server, so your customer rewards will accumulate and be tracked regardless of which location you made your purchase at. Same with your customer history – if you buy something at our MPM location, we’ll be able to look it up in Shorewood.

Q: Last one – hey Phil, aren’t you supposed to be studying for your Master of Wine exam in June?
A: I was hoping you wouldn’t bring that up.

For this week’s sale we’ve got possibly our best deal ever, both in terms of quality of the wines and the price we’re able to offer them at.

Regular customers know what fans we are of Tandem Winery – we’ve had their Chardonnay on the wine list, we carry their wines on the shelves, and we had owner/winemaker Greg LaFollette, who we became friends with during our time in Sonoma and is one of our favorite people both personally and professionally, in to the shop for an exclusive tasting of his single-vineyard Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays this past summer.

Well, we just learned the Tandem label is being retired – the winery was bought about a year ago (though Greg is still in charge of the winemaking) and the new owners decided to capitalize on Greg’s renowned reputation and change the name to LaFollette Wines. What does that mean for you right now? Existing Tandem wines are dirt-cheap!

We snapped up what we could and at these prices they’ll be sure to go fast, so reserve your bottles / cases accordingly. Even better, case discounts apply, 10% off any 12 bottles or more, mix and match!

Tandem 2006 Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay, Russian River Valley – Rich, full-blown California Chardonnay that somehow keeps its acidity and balance. This was a huge hit by the glass. Update:  SOLD OUT

Tandem 2007 Manchester Ridge Vineyard Chardonnay, Mendocino – This wine has never been available in Wisconsin before – Greg brought a bottle to the tasting just for fun, and it blew everyone away. Spicy and floral, feminine yet powerful. Update – 2 cases still left; visit store for price.

Tandem 2007 Silver Pines Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Mountain – Dark black cherry and loamy forest floor suggest a Burgundy on steroids – New World fruit with Old World typicity; simply delicious.  Update:  SOLD OUT

Tandem 2007 Van der Kamp Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Mountain – Intensely structured, this wine rewards decanting or cellaring for a few years, but it’s delicious now. A more masculine, feral Pinot Noir with great concentration of fruit balanced by supple tannins and acidity. Clearly a wine of pedigree. Update:  SOLD OUT

Reserve yours today! 414.277.7707 or info@thiefwine.com.

A little bit late since the Champagne-buying season just ended, but one of my goals is to convince people that sparkling wine is great any time (it’s an ideal food wine, it makes everyone happy, the sound of a bottle opening makes any occasion festive – why wouldn’t you want to have it all the time?!?!) so it’s apropos in that respect. The tasting on Dec. 15 went wonderfully – we had a full house, and like I said, Champagne makes everyone happy.

We started off with Veuve Clicquot since that’s many peoples’ reference point – I thought it would be useful to compare that against what I consider to be more interesting Champagnes. Nothing wrong with the Veuve, though – it’s brighter than many Champagnes, with noticeable acidity and a lemony flavor that balances with the dosage (definitely on the high side for Brut, with perceptible sweetness).

Next was Marc Hebrart’s Cuvee de Reserve 1er cru, chosen to be a counterpoint to the Veuve – large producer vs a tiny producer. When you’re buying Champagne, look closely at the small print on the front of the label; you’ll see either RM or NM followed by numbers. NM (Negociant Manipulant) is what you’ll see most of the time; it’s a producer that buys most of the grapes. RM (Recoltant Manipulant) is grower Champagne; those producers can buy only 5% of grapes for their total production. RM is worth seeking out; these are smaller, artisanally made Champagnes with true character. Are they better than NM? Not necessarily, for a variety of reasons, but they’ve got soul. The Hebrart is RM, and at about the same price as the Veuve, I think it’s a far better value – from Premier Cru vineyards, with great purity and concentration. Primarily Pinot Noir, so has a nice richness and weight to it, with a beautiful finish. Much dryer than the Veuve.

Third was Jacques Chaput – also primarily Pinot Noir, and chosen to contrast against the Blanc de Blancs that came next. This Champagne was aged for a shorter period of time on its lees than the others here (normal is 3 years, this was 2) so it showed a lot of freshness and more fruit-forwardness than the others. The Pinot Noir component came through strongly, with a lovely cherry/strawberry finish. A refreshing Champagne, and this was a surprise favorite of many people.

Fourth and fifth up were Ruinart, which has long been one of my favorite Champagne houses with amazing quality for the price (I’d drink it over Dom any day, which costs twice as much). We did the Blanc de Blancs first – normally I’d serve BdB before Pinot Noir-based Champagnes, but the Ruinart has such concentration that it easily held up to the Hebrart & Chaput- rich, with baked apple, brioche, and a wonderful acid / fruit / yeast balance. My favorite Champagne of the night. A close second (and Aimee’s favorite) was the Rose – a little less yeasty, but with the added dimension of red-fruit flavors. Long, complex, and delicious.

Last week we tasted Chardonnays from around the world – I wanted to showcase the range of styles out there, since Chardonnay is such a malleable grape and there’s so much diversity available. Too often people say “I don’t like Chardonnay” when what they really don’t like is the oaky, buttery, flabby style – a crisp, unoaked version can be almost Sauvignon Blanc-like and utterly different from a warm-climate butterbomb.

We started off with the Razor’s Edge 2007 unoaked Chardonnay from South Australia – exceptionally high-acid (I’m sure they acidified, as is common Down Under), but well-balanced. Lime and lemon flavors dominated, with a pleasing tartness. I thought it showed well and is a great value ($10.95) – it was almost too unlike a typical Chardonnay for some, though, who were expecting more richness.

Next was Verget’s 2008 Macon Villages from Burgundy. I really like this wine; we’ve got it on by the glass now. White Burgundy is utterly unlike California Chardonnay – there’s fruit there, but fruit is only one component of the wine, as opposed to the entire wine. Subtle and nuanced with flavors of lemon curd, great minerality, and a hint of spicy oak. This went over very well, definitely one of the favorites of the night.

Stone Paddock 2007 Hawkes Bay Chardonnay was next. Hawkes Bay is on the North Island of New Zealand; it’s the second largest growing region in the country (after Marlborough) and the warmest and driest. Still cool-climate, but the abundant sunshine gives a bit of tropical fruit flavors layered over the classic pear and apple. Lightly oaked; great balance and good acidity. A lot of wine for the money ($16.50).

Fourth was Columbia Crest 2008 “H3″ Chardonnay, Horse Heaven Hills Washington. Columbia Crest is a very large producer, second biggest in Washington after Chateau Ste. Michelle. Normally we don’t stock much from big wineries, but every so often I taste one that I think is a great bottle, and offering the best possible wines that are great values takes precedence over winery size. The H3 is a new line for them, much smaller production than their Grand Estate series and I think a huge jump up in quality. Fuller-bodied than the previous three, with more noticeable malolactic influence and oak treatment. Still in balance, though, and the relatively cool Columbia Valley keeps the alcohol moderate and the acidity high, resulting in a kind of a hybrid New World / Old World style. This one’s also on the current wine list.

Moving into the last two wines, both significantly fuller bodied than what came before. The Vina Cobos 2007 “Felino” Chardonnay from Mendoza Argentina is ripe and lush, with 14.7% alcohol (the previous four were 13-13.5%). Vina Cobos is the Argentinian winery of Paul Hobbs, a well-known Sonoma & Napa winemaker; he’s one of the few who can pull off an opulent style that’s not flabby. This wine is big, but balanced; it was another favorite of the night. And because the cost of doing business in Argentina is so much cheaper than in the US, you get Paul Hobbs quality for $20 as opposed to the $48 that we sell his Russian River Chardonnay for.

We ended with the Brewer Clifton 2005 Sweeney Canyon Chardonnay, Sta. Rita Hills California. I first tasted this wine at a trade tasting last year (without seeing the bottle) and thought it was stunning for the style – big, yet with great balance and finesse. I ordered it for the shop, and was shocked to discover it was 16.4% alcohol – it doesn’t taste anywhere near that high, with no heat on the palate at all. It’s a $54 bottle of wine, but recently the distributor closed out the vintage so I got a great deal and it’s on the shelf for $30 now (though I’ve only got a few bottles left) – easily the best value of our California Chards. Despite the richness, to me it tastes more like a Meursault on steroids than a typical California Chardonnay – there’s a lot more going on besides fruit, with great minerality and stoniness to complement the fruit. Another favorite of the night.

All in all, the wines showed well – all tasted different and were a nice reflection of their styles; definitely a fun tasting that people seemed to really enjoy.

Thief Winos are now 5 and 0 – the only undefeated team in the Milwaukee Wiffleball League – with a 20-3 thumping of the Holey Balls last night. New pickups Matt & Jamie added some depth and pop, and overall a balanced offensive explosion.  I think one reason for our success is that we drink better beer. While other more youthful teams are swilling the Pabst Blue Ribbon, our beverage of choice last night was Bell’s Oberon Ale and Lakefront Riverwest Stein.