Lately I've been shelling out more bills for vino and I'm not feeling the least it guilty. Take last night. Walking home from work, I stopped by C’est and snapped up this French pinot noir. It drank like it read: notes of blackberry, cherry, and red fruit jam. Harmonizes with a wide variety of food. So true. It was a smash success w/ pasta primivara and shrimp. OK, I'll admit I selected the Ku De Ta, not for it's pink label, but because it was the least expensive in the house (cheapo alert) at $13.99. Wild Horses and the other "fun wines" they advertise were in the $20 range. So I went low, which was high for me. I. like you perhaps, pride myself by getting away w/ a $8.99 bottle that rocks. Nothing feels better than popping open a brilliant wine and saying, as everyone oohhs and ahhhs, "I got it for 8 bucks." But those juicy moments have been getting fewer and fewer. It's really hard to find a nice rock-bottom vin. So this wine, which was the best I've had in months, was worth the mark-up. I say mark-up because I found it online just now for $9.99 at a Jersey liquor store. But we are not in Jersey. And I loved that I didn't have to get in my car last night to find this wonderful wine! C’est, 177 Merrimack St., Lowell.
When it comes to quaffing a quality wine in the comfort of your own home, how high will you go?
Tasting notes: Tuttobene, Dick Rourke's new wine/cheese cave on Prescott is set to open next month.
WOW! Can you ever give a compliment without giving people a reason to think twice about going somewhere? Do you have any idea how you could be hurting the biz in DTL? I believe that any of small biz owners are trying there best to bring the best product at the best price. In the future you should either like it or hate it and leave the BUT out!
Posted by Anonymous | September 11, 2008 10:58 PM
Posted on September 11, 2008 22:58
I agree that $13.99 is great for the "occasional" bottle, so C'est is not going to attract people who are stopping to grab a bottle to go with dinner very often. It's great to have something in the neighborhood to purchase for a special occasion, but Conlon's on Bridge St. just a few blocks away has really upgraded their selection and has more reasonable prices.
Posted by KMM | September 12, 2008 5:58 AM
Posted on September 12, 2008 05:58
I consider C'est a great place. How was I hurting them? I was describing my experience and shining light. I said the convenience was worth it.
GG
Posted by Anonymous | September 12, 2008 8:39 AM
Posted on September 12, 2008 08:39
Looking forward to checking C'est out tomorrow. Loved what I saw during the Festival but haven't been back since they started selling wine. For an inexpensive wine at home I'm loving Petite Bistro's Cabarnet for $9.99.
Posted by anon | September 12, 2008 12:51 PM
Posted on September 12, 2008 12:51
Just wanted to defend GG's post. I, for one, appreciate an honest appraisal (and in this case, it was actually a pretty complimentary one!). It is not her job to provide only positive comments about every biz in DTL. That wouldn't do anyone any good (including the biz owners). I, too, visited C'est and was surprised that they don't offer any cheaper "fun" wines since so many abound elsewhere. Lately, we've been into wines from Fetzer Vineyards. Great taste, very affordable and the company is environmentally responsible. In fact, most of their vineyards are now organic, although not yet certified. Try the Zinfandel. Yum.
Posted by TwoVegetarians | September 15, 2008 10:55 AM
Posted on September 15, 2008 10:55
I love a good $10 and under wine, but as you say they are harder and harder to find (wow, is that poem?). Anyay, the Huntington Zin is great at about $9.99, but I can only find it at Donelan's in Acton.
Posted by Margaret | September 19, 2008 8:23 PM
Posted on September 19, 2008 20:23
I got the 2006 Bogle Cabernet ($15.99) and was happy with it, although it can be found elsewhere much cheaper. I try to stay away from cheaper wines because they often aren't worth the headache (no pun intended).
In general, I've been impressed with C'est, and I hope that if business picks up, they can drop prices a little bit. I paid $6 for a jar of jam that is $3 at Market Basket. Either way, if they are making ends meet with the current frequency people can afford to shop there, they are a great and convenient location for all sorts of little things, edible or otherwise.
Posted by Corey | September 22, 2008 3:12 PM
Posted on September 22, 2008 15:12