- you must support Bryan and Abby, the couple behind www.fatcork.com. Put down those Champagne bottles you found at your local grocer folks, Fat Cork has done all the work for you - picking out great - and I mean fabulous bottles of bubbly for the world to enjoy. It's all about supporting the small guys "grower champagne" straight to your house now. I love the passion that creates & drives new opportunities in the wine biz! You can order any bottle (or 100!) online or visit them in Seattle after scheduling a private appointment with them too.
I get this all-of-the-time - "So what is your favorite wine Ali?", I always say CHAMPAGNE. I'm thrilled to have met Bryan a few weeks back at the Direct to Consumer Wine Symposium and learned of his new venture. BRAVO!!
I'M A SUCKER FOR A TRUE LOVE STORY: "The story of how Portland native Bryan Maletis began selling Champagne’s finest grower selections to a world wide audience starts with highschool jobs in a distributor’s warehouse and ends with meeting the right woman at the right time." LOVE!
Read more about them here.
Gimmonet-Oger
Blanc de Blancs Millesime 1996 Premier Cru
bottles
$189.00
This Champagne has been resting peacefully in the Jean-Luc's cellars for the last 14 years, and we are thrilled to offer it to you directly from those cellars. For this amount of age, it is extremely youthful. However, that youth is a prime characteristic of this exceptional vintage that is a rare find these days. The mousse is immaculately white. Hints of candied nuts, toast, and pear lead to a finish of beautiful acidity and minerality that lasts for minutes. This clearly has a future ahead of it, as it will continue to develop for years to come. A very limited selection that will thrill Champagne enthusiasts. 100% Chardonnay
Most of their small producers are new to me, can't wait to start receiving my Fat Cork shipments...
Cheers! Ali
PS. This goes "Why Didn't I think of That?" column in my life.
Tomorrow, from 12pm-3pm, please stop by The Austin Wine Merchant 
Maypearl, Texas: Meet my Papa and Grandmother Jackson, these long-time love birds were always cookin' in the kitchen together for each other & guests. Almost all of my memories of them revolve around sitting at their big oak table in the kitchen or standing in front of the wall-mounted gas furnace watching them cook. Sipping on "sweet-tea" (the only place I was allowed to drink it) and snacking on whatever was put in front of me was always so fun as a kid. I can almost smell the classic enchiladas Grandmother made, and my favorite Papa meal was his big country breakfast of fluffy hot biscuits, gravy, scrambled eggs from the farm, bacon and fresh orange juice. "My Three Sons", "Gilligan's Island" and "I Dream of Jeannie" buzzing in the background from the TV-tube located in the front room of the house. No matter how many folks were there to eat with us, they made sure everyone was served before they sat down beside one another. 
