Photo by Jen Van Tieghem
Purchasing wine through Garagiste.com takes time to get used to, and more time to actually receive. The process starts by signing up for daily email offers that describe wines in great detail. If interested, you request a number of bottles and on a first-come, first-served basis, buyer’s requests are confirmed. The wines come from small, lesser-known producers and prices are typically lower than found elsewhere; if they can be found at all.
However, the wines aren’t simply sent out at the speed one buys them. The company keeps the wine in a temperature-controlled warehouse, only shipping when you’ve reached a whole case (or multiple cases) and when shipping conditions are ideal.
I was introduced to this unique system by an instructor in SDSU’s Business of Wine program. The late John Alonge was a well-known wine expert with an incredible wealth of knowledge—anything he took interest in was worth noting. Alonge told us about Garagiste first because of the company emails, which include lengthy descriptions that blur the line between poetry and prose. There were lessons to be learned from these in-depth narratives about various wines, producers, regions and other tidbits.
Being naturally impatient, I signed up without expecting to make any purchases. But then I saw the prices, which mostly range from $10 to $50 with a few selections over $100. I decided to buy a bottle each month and, after a year, I had reached a full case. Serendipitously my delivery arrived the week of my birthday.
My order included mostly French wines along with a few from Italy and one from Oregon—all under $30. The three I’ve opened have all been impressive. A Tuscan red was an ideal match for a meatball dish and half the price I’ve seen elsewhere, while the French rosé made for a fine Friday refreshment. But my latest sampling, the 2015 Domaine de Cognettes Muscadet Sevre et Maine, has been my favorite. It had a subtle salinity with crisp acidity.
Part education, part practice in patience, my experience with Garagiste has been thoroughly enjoyable. Keeping in mind that I ended up with an abundance of French wines in my first case, I’ve begun my next with two German Rieslings, which I can’t wait to try but have to.