Corkscrew Chronicles: Sourcing your favorite wine

There are a number of places to source wine. Here are some of the main choices with their pros and cons: Local wineries Ohio has an abundance of wineries within close proximity to Lorain County, with a very diverse number of grape varietals and styles of wine available to please your tastes. Take a short trip and try the wines before you purchase. You will find a number of friendly and helpful winery people that are focused on helping you find products that you will enjoy. One way to start is to visit the website www.findohiowines.com, which gives information on Ohio wineries, their individual website, if available, contact information and addresses. Once you find favorite products you can ask if the winery is willing to ship to you (shipping within the state is legal). A number of them also have wine-related products available through their tasting rooms. With warmer weather coming it is an ideal time to plan a tasting trip to get to know our local winemakers and winery owners and to find new favorites. It is legal to purchase from smaller, out of state wineries if you pay the sales tax to the state. Finding the form to pay the tax is another matter. Specialty mail order clubs A number of these clubs are already internet-established, with brands that are not in the retail stores or generally available. While it is acknowledged that part of the price of national brands includes advertising costs, known products are generally established commodities. Realizing that there is a certain cost for production, packaging and shipping, if the prices are too good to be true, the quality is generally questionable. There are instances where small cooperatives or a number of small producers sell their fruit, juice or wine off to a negociant who finishes the wine and bottles it under a private label. Some of these wines can be quite good. The challenge is that you don't know what you are getting until you have purchased the products. Try before purchasing in quantity. Specialty retailers Quantity discounts for Ohio retailers are not legal, so all retailers can sell at the same price, making the small shops competitive. These specialty retailers will try to make up for a smaller selection by offering specialized services and assistance to ensure you find what you are looking for. Quite often products are offered for tasting for a small fee, giving you a chance to purchase after trial. Unique and limited items can often be found with specialty retailers who use these products to draw in customers. Specialty retailers that are knowledgeable can be quite helpful and offer a lot of good educational information to assist you find wines to your tastes. Finding outlets with someone who truly understands wine's fine points is getting easier daily. Grocery stores With the large cash flow provided by other products in the stores, chains and independent groceries can offer a large selection of both mass-marketed and premium wine brands. Some establishments have hired consultants to do wine purchasing and work the aisles to assist customers in making product choices. Buyers own brands are becoming more common, but quality is still quite varied, as is value. Most of what is stocked are the mass-marketed brands because they sell strongly, though there are some stores that are encouraged by the management to purchase and stock more unique and limited release items. Restaurants Restaurateurs can sell at retail pricing if their license includes this service. There are many restaurateurs who are quite knowledgeable and will assist you in finding quality products. Happy hunting! Gary Twining is a certified wine educator who worked 34 years in the wholesale fine wine industry. E-mail him at winingwithtwining@hotmail.com.