Seize the wine. If I had a personal motto, that would be it. Life is too short to not drink good wine. And it is definitely too short to drink bad wine. Good thing there’s none of that (bad wine, that is) in our store.

My name is Candy and I am new on the Marion Street Cheese Market block. I am super happy to be here. This is a business committed to things I believe in and want to support via my lifestyle and my work: we practice eco-friendly operations and use recycled and sustainable materials as much as we can. We source local ingredients whenever possible. We are not afraid to try new things. We have the best darn wine selection I’ve seen in my 22 years of being a cork dork. I can’t take any credit for that. All the kudos for our fantastic wine collection go to our brilliant wine buyer, Julie. She’s a walking cask of wine knowledge and I am honored to be working alongside her.

Birders (of which I am one too) often get turned on to birding by a single bird and then find themselves managing a lifelong search for and obsession with the feathered critters. That certainly happened to me. My bird was the Blacksmith Plover. Not particularly colorful or exciting to watch but something about him struck me during my first safari in Kenya in 1995. Since then, I’ve added almost 2,000 bird species from five continents to my life list. Admittedly and proudly, I am a complete bird nerd and surpass myself in geekdom only when it comes to wine.

The wine equivalent of my Blacksmith Plover was Roederer Brut Premier NV. From the first sip of that toasty bold Champagne to the present day and who knows how many bottles later, I’ve enjoyed, studied, lived and worked with wine. I wish I had been diligent about keeping a life list of my wines but I wasn’t. I guess i was too busy enjoying the life that goes alongside a good bottle of wine - seizing the wine and the moment.

My job is to help you find fun bottles to take home that are going to be perfect for whatever you want them to be perfect for. While we’re doing that, I’d love to hear your wine story. How did you get into the vine? What was your Plover of the grape world? Is there a single bottle about which you can recall every single little detail - from the label to the last lick on the side of the glass? Or did you start with wine coolers and work your way into things with corks? (Before the Roederer, I did enjoy me some Seagram’s Peach Wine Coolers…)

It’s a dynamic vibrant place, this world of wine we share. However you got here, I’m really glad you did. Mindfully and responsibly, carpe vinum.

Cheers,

Candy, winemonger