Grateful Palate Warehouse Sale 11/22
A Grateful Palate
Slurp up some specials on wine, bacon, and other culinary delights perfect for holiday gifts and meals at the Grateful Palate Warehouse Sale in Oxnard this Saturday November 22!
And yes, the sale is IN the warehouse–so once you get off the 101 freeway between Camarillo and Oxnard and head toward the ocean on Del Norte Blvd, drive around from the front office at 701 Del Norte Blvd Ste 205 to the back where there’s plenty of parking and a large loading dock door open for you to stroll on through first thing Saturday morning.
The sale starts at 9am–get there early for the best deals. You can bet someone will be cooking up bacon–maybe even Dan Philips himself! R Wines chef Greggory Hill will be there, preparing treats for us to eat while we roam the warehouse collecting cases of wine for ourselves and for friends. Grateful Palate sells coffee too–let’s hope a pot is brewing and real half and half to go in it!
In addition to wine, coffee, and bacon, you’ll find super high end soy sauce, real maple syrup, distinctive olive oils, and more.
The postcard I received in the mail promises up to 75% off on select stock. If past sales are any guide, there will be some wonderful wines at amazing prices. For example, I’ve been astounded by a 2001 RBJ Theologicum for $9.99 (that’s a Chris Ringland wine which blends granache and mataro). I will be picking up a bottle or two of Chris Ringland’s Ebenezer shiraz for sure and probably some Luchador as well. MMMnnn and maybe I’ll find an RBJ Mataro and and and…
As many people know, Grateful Palate recently cut back on the number of wines they import and the wineries they represent here in the states (here is Micheal Pollard’s list of what’s in and out). I imagine at this warehouse sale there will be a number of bin ends and previous vintages of these wines as well as wines they will continue to carry marked way way down from the $50-100 range to around $20-25. Pollard also has commented that Australian wines have been over valued. Watch also for “damaged” bottles–last time I picked up a couple of bottles of Majella shiraz for $10.
While the wine most people think of when it comes to Australia is shiraz, think sparkling shiraz for holiday gatherings. It’s festive, fun, and a sure conversation starter. The warehouse sale will probably offer Paringa sparkling red for under $10, as well as Trevor Jones and Majella for under $20.
The Grateful Palate Australian wine that I always have around is actually a port–Jonesy port (which Parker scored in the low 90s) which I can buy from Ventura Wine Company on Telephone near Market but will probably be a dollar or two cheaper at the sale. While the Jonesy is great as an every day port, I fell in love with Old Codger and another one with horses on it…I will be on the lookout for some unusual ports and dessert wines too to warm up cold winter nights and liven up the end of holiday meals.
In case you didn’t know, R Winery makes American wines as well–be sure to check out Ringland’s Green Lion cab if just to look at the bottle art. I can’t tell you how good it is because mine is still in the cellar at my mom’s house on the hill, so I’ll be able to keep it longer. If it was here, I would have drank it already!
As you can see from the links to previous posts, or by visiting my Wine Predator site, I’ve written quite a bit about wines from Grateful Palate since the last two sales I attended. Here’s my post from their last sale.
In fact, for awhile there, I was concerned that Art Predator was becoming Wine Predator so now I am in the process of copying my wine posts to http://winepredator.wordpress.com. I will continue to post on an eclectic range of topics here as usual, including wine, but I will also be developing Wine Predator starting with previous wine posts so that people interested in that subject can find those posts with more ease and continuity.
Once I get all the older posts transferred (there’s about 40), the Wine Predator site will offer regular features, recipes, travel, tastings, and tips. At least that’s the plan! Please check it out!
