Seattle Post Picks Best Wine Shop of the Year! Of course, it was the Whole Foods Market run by the fabulous Melanie Mann. Here's what the paper said: The most innovative wine shop in the city is in the back corner of a chain grocery store. Unlike the produce department of the Whole Foods Market on Northeast 64th Street, where carrots and lettuce are displayed with military exactness, the aisles in the wine department are formed by boxes of wines stacked chest high, the top boxes cut open to make a casual display. On each display you can read the personal tasting notes of the person who selected it. Unlike most grocery stores (and many wine shops) you will not find 5-liter boxes of cheap wine or even the current high scoring darlings of the wine press. Instead you will find the well-thought-out selections of wine buyer Melanie Mann and her staff of three. The wines are mostly from France and mostly from small, family-owned producers who grow the grapes and make the wines, frequently in minuscule amounts. Often these producers have a powerful connection to their land. Mann's strict criteria for selecting a wine reflect not only her buying philosophy but also the basic wants of most consumers. "I want to be fascinated by a wine," says Mann. "I want it to have immediate appeal and I want it to be overwhelming for the price." Editor's Note: It is unclear for me if the award was just for Seattle or for the entire nation. |
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