By BTL Staff
FERNDALE – Looking for a great bottle of wine that won't empty your wallet? Simply Wine in Ferndale is a great place to start.
Simply Wine, since its Ferndale debut in October 2003, specializes in a collection of fine wines from small producers from all over the world including South Africa, Italy, Spain, and France. The store's "100 best wines under $15" offers a wide selection of great wines for less.
"We specialize in small producers that make high quality wines inexpensively," said Sean Gagnier, Simply Wine's creative consultant.
Buying wine can be overwhelming for the novice buyer. Simply Wine was created with ease-of-selection in mind.
"The concept is we organize the wine in the store by flavor instead of by region," said Gagnier. "Because everything is laid out with descriptions it's really easy for someone who doesn't know anything about wine to find something they want."
Simply Wine divides its wine into "Taste" categories and uses a color-coded shelving system. Each simply wine "Taste" section offers food-pairing suggestions. Red wines are divided into "Ripe" and "Rustic" categories. White wines can be chosen from "Rich" and Clean" collections.
Ripe wines, said Gagnier, are your more luscious, fruit-forward red wines. "Rustic" wines are more earthy and leathery or full-bodied.
When it comes to white wines, "Rich" are sometimes sweet and oakey wines. "Crisp" wines are acidic, a green apple or pear wine for example.
Just because they specialize in wines under $15 doesn't mean they don't cater to seasoned wine buyers. They have a special occasion rack that has higher end wine that can go up to $150 a bottle.
They also have a selection to please even the most discerning wine drinker. "Because we specialize in these small producers you're going to find wines in this store that you won't find in any other stores in Michigan," said Gagnier.
Simply Wine will soon be hosting charity wine tastings at the store. They did their first one for Affirmations Lesbian and Gay Community Center soon after they opened. "We've got a permit now where we can charge people to come in to the store, taste all these wines, and all the ticket sales go to charity," said Gagnier.
Look for charity tastings at the store on Sundays starting soon.
