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Local support. Not.

I walked into a Safeway in the Portland suburbs yesterday. I was probably 45 minutes' drive from Newberg, so not quite in the heart of Oregon wine country - but darned close.

What greeted me first was a wine display. "Nice," I thought, until I walked all the way around it, and the wine closest to Oregon was from the Stags Leap District, some 600 miles to the south.

Oh well, those things are controlled either at corporate levels or by distributors pushing California brands.

I walked through the wine selection - it's one of my many bad habits - and was greeted by a woman offering wine samples. Wine samples at a grocery store! How progressive, I thought. What a great way to introduce patrons to the high quality of local wines.

She was pouring Gallo.

So much for supporting any of the 200 Oregon wineries that were within a two-hour drive from this store. And so much for me ever walking into a Safeway again.

By aperdue at Oct 1 2006 - 9:12am | Oregon | wine shops | aperdue's blog | 1723 reads

buy local wines at local wine shops!

How about supporting local independent merchants in your local area by buying wines at your neighborhood wine shop. This can become a fulfilling endeavor for both you and your merchant. By working with your wine merchant they become your personal wine buyer, this will reward you with wine finds that you wouldn't necessarily find yourself by grabbing a bottle off the grocery shelves. In this event, Safeway maintains itself as a grocery store and your nearest wine shop can stay in business and promote local wines, these wine shops are outlets for our local wineries. Artisan wines do not always do well on grocery shelves, for one many local wines are priced a bit higher than the California and Austrailia wines that are created just for grocery shelves. These wines are meant for the masses, created for volume, not quality, not showing place or time like many of our boutique Oregon and Washington wines. There is a difference between quantity wines over quality wines. Smaller wineries need smaller wine shops that know and sell their specialized product, and share with interested parties what the wine is all about. Here in the Northwest we are fortunate to have such a number of quality wines available. Support localism by buying at locally owned establishments. Find and buy at your local wine shop.

By oregonwinegirl at Tue, 10/17/2006 - 2:17pm | login or register to post comments

Amen!

Amen, oregonwinegirl! Local merchants are a great way to learn about all kinds of wine. These small businesses typically do not carry the same wines as groceries, so there isn't much overlap.

Also remember to support smaller upscale grocers. My favorites are Yoke's in Eastern Washington and Zupan's in Portland. Larry's, sadly, has gone away, but the Thriftway stores in the Puget Sound area (aren't they now Metropolitan Market?) have always supported regional vintners and growers.

By aperdue at Tue, 10/17/2006 - 6:01pm | login or register to post comments

Safeway

Well, on the surface that's just weird. But I wonder if you might be overreacting a bit. To begin with, we don't buy much wine at Safeway, but from the variation in selection at different Safeway's it doesn't appear that each Safeway wine display is a corporate clone. Perhaps a discussion with the local manager is called for, wherever the locale.

Secondly, it is doubtful that Safeway chose to pour Gallo. Much more likely, Gallo offered to pour, and Safeway said "why not?". While that wasn't a good decision, especially in Oregon (or Washington, or Idaho), the decision still may have been a local one, and the manager needs to know what we think. Or needs educating.

Having said all of the above, when next I'm in the local Safeway I intend to (1) look at their wine selection more critically, and (2) talk to the local manager regarding their wine selection policy. Given the quality and variety of wines produced in the PNW, if the selection is less than half PNW, someone isn't using his head. I'll get back to you. And if "corporate" is in fact pushing the inventory into each store, then they may need some educating.

By stevek45 at Sun, 10/01/2006 - 10:34am | login or register to post comments

Safeway, Fred Meyer, Massachusetts

I didn't hook up with the Safeway manager, but in Fred Meyer found out that their selection is determined at headquarters, and stocking done by the distributor. Likely the same at Safeway. The local Safeway has a decent selection; the end displays were 1/4 CA and 3/4 OR/WA. Ray's Supermarkets, if you know who they are, has an excellent buyer and a good variety of OR/WA wines.

An interesting discussion is taking place on Chowhounds.com regarding an upcoming vote on whether to allow groceries to carry wine in MA. It's here http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/331006 if anyone wants to see the views in a state that can't buy wine as easily as we can here.

Bottom line, IMHO, Safeway and the like make wine easier to buy for those less willing or able to make an additional stop. That has to be better for the wine industry.

By stevek45 at Thu, 10/05/2006 - 8:22am | login or register to post comments

Safeway

I travel over the entire Pacific NW and have gone into Safeways in communities from Ashland, Or. to Bellingham, WA., to Missoula Mt., to Pocatello, Id.. Every Safeway has virtually an identical offering of wine. The difference is that each does have a small selection of local wineries. Usually only 3-4. The rest of the wine is identical to every other Safeway. Dominated by Ca. wineries with a very strong Australian showing. If you want any of those wines, you can rely on Safeway to have that wine at every store. The point is that if you want to experience the local wines you have to find the retailers that specialize in stocking them. Or, go to the wineries.

By wineO at Mon, 10/02/2006 - 7:38am | login or register to post comments

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