Hello, everybody! I just wanted to write in and let you know that my former employer, Domasoteca wine shop in Rosslyn, is slated to close on May 30. They are holding a HUGE sale to sell off the inventory. You can get the press release details at the City Paper Young & Hungry Blog. It is bittersweet to see my former wine shop fall victim to the economy, but if you can afford it, there are some great deals to be had.

The sale on wine is 20% off all wine and individual beers, 30% off for half-cases of wine and beer 6-packs, and a whopping 40% off mixed cases! What hasn’t been advertised is that all non-alcohol merchandise, wine paraphernalia, chocolates, and foods are 50% off! Obviously, buy a case if you can. 40% off alcohol and 50% off merchandise is literally wholesale cost. The store is not making a dime off of those purchases, so if you can afford it, definitely check out what wine is left.

Of course I stopped by this evening and bought a case. Needless to say, the shelves have been raided. After this weekend, I don’t imagine there will be too much left, so get it while you can! My former colleague Chad is definitely busy selling wine. Please be nice to him and say hi.
Below is what I got in my case:

2 bottles of Le Petit Crau (Rhone)
2 bottles Montirius ‘Le Cadet’ (Rhone)
1 bottle Torcalvano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (Tuscany)
1 bottle Grillo Schioppettino (Friuli)
1 bottle Icardi Brachetto d’Acqui (Piedmont)
1 bottle Donnafugata Anthilia (Siciliy)
1 bottle Vesevo Falanghina Sannio (Campania)
1 bottle Weingut Stephan Ehlen Auslese Riesling (Mosel)
1 bottle Anton Bauer Zweigelt (Austria)
1 bottle Colsanto Montefalco Rosso (Umbria)

And it came out to about $150 (including tax) for all of it! Yeah yeah, I know what you’re saying, that’s a lot of money to spend on wine, but at an average price of $12.50 per bottle for these wines, this was a deal not to pass up. Obviously, all of my choices were from the Old World (Europe) and many of them underrated Italian wines. I chose these wines because any affordable options from the New World had been picked over by the masses, and some of the Italians were wines that I’d been wanting to try, but couldn’t justify the price. I mean, who knows anything about Schioppettino or Montefalco aside from Joseph Bastianich?

Of course, this buying spree shouldn’t be regarded as a reckless endeavor, and I offer a word of caution. I tried to avoid the more fragile or fresh wines (rosé and light whites) that weren’t meant to be aged, as I knew the shop hadn’t ordered any new wine since March. This meant that whites that are in lighter color bottles could be light damaged and all the rosés would be from 2007, and generally would be past their prime. As always, check bottle condition, and so forth when buying these wines. Luckily from my time working, I had a good idea of which wines were more recent acquisitions, had better turnover, and better storing conditions.

As I said before, it is a weird feeling to see an organization where you spent hundreds of evenings working to put together and maintain, being dismantled and sold off. Because Domasoteca changed my wine world, I can’t say it was a waste. It was a good college try, but in this economy, with its hidden location, never had a prayer. But now I have some wines to savor and toast and remember the wine shop. Thanks Domasoteca for the good times and the fine wines! I’ll never forget you!

Domasoteca
1121 N. 19th Street
Arlington, VA 22209
703-894-5104 (call to confirm hours, last I checked, they close at 7pm on weeknights)