The Getränkemarkt - Old School "drinks shop"
The Job Hunter knows my Achille's Heel. Wine? Of course, I'll contribute to a blog about wine.
So when TJHWNN and I decided on a meet up for pizza and wine, I decided to go old school and visit the local drinks store. There are less and less of these in town, but they harken back to the days before large supermarkets when each neighborhood had a smattering of little shops - a butcher, a baker, a fruit and vegetable store, a stationery store, a pharmacy, a store for water, soft drinks, and beer and wine, etc. Well, you get my point. Actually, my local plaza/square still does have all those, and a teeny grocery store as well.
Anyway, my local plaza still has a drink shop. Several years ago, the grumpy old German who ran this and another drink store nearby sold out to two different people. One went bust, the other has been doing a flourishing business. (Interesting sideline, both stores were taken over by immigrants from different countries. I know the store that is still open is run by a couple from Yugoslavia*.)
The new proprietors never updated the look of the place, it looks just like it did 20 odd years ago with crates of beer and water stacked in rows with juices and soft drinks mixed in. The wine has its own wall with handwritten notes about the wines that are probably from the last owner. And when pinched for time, this is the only store that's not a supermarket within a short distance. So the selection and the prices are both interesting.
For competitive prices, I grabbed an old vine Tempranillo and a Negroamaro that beat the heck out of anything the little grocery store across the plaza has.
So, long story short, don't overlook the old school stores when looking for decent wine.
*Disclaimer, when I first moved to Germany, Yugoslavia was in its death throes so when I pick up on the accent I'm not always certain which country it is now.
So when TJHWNN and I decided on a meet up for pizza and wine, I decided to go old school and visit the local drinks store. There are less and less of these in town, but they harken back to the days before large supermarkets when each neighborhood had a smattering of little shops - a butcher, a baker, a fruit and vegetable store, a stationery store, a pharmacy, a store for water, soft drinks, and beer and wine, etc. Well, you get my point. Actually, my local plaza/square still does have all those, and a teeny grocery store as well.
Anyway, my local plaza still has a drink shop. Several years ago, the grumpy old German who ran this and another drink store nearby sold out to two different people. One went bust, the other has been doing a flourishing business. (Interesting sideline, both stores were taken over by immigrants from different countries. I know the store that is still open is run by a couple from Yugoslavia*.)
The new proprietors never updated the look of the place, it looks just like it did 20 odd years ago with crates of beer and water stacked in rows with juices and soft drinks mixed in. The wine has its own wall with handwritten notes about the wines that are probably from the last owner. And when pinched for time, this is the only store that's not a supermarket within a short distance. So the selection and the prices are both interesting.
For competitive prices, I grabbed an old vine Tempranillo and a Negroamaro that beat the heck out of anything the little grocery store across the plaza has.
So, long story short, don't overlook the old school stores when looking for decent wine.
*Disclaimer, when I first moved to Germany, Yugoslavia was in its death throes so when I pick up on the accent I'm not always certain which country it is now.
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