As a wine writer, I don’t get to wine stores as much as I used to which is a bummer. I love looking through all the shelves and finding new wines, talking to the (hopefully) knowledgeable people who work there about what they’re liking or discovering. I always get the chance to shop when I have to send wine to someone though (it’s illegal to ship wine in the mail without a liquor license) and it makes me happy to spend a while picking stuff out for whoever I’m sending to.

Recently I was sending a case of wine to a friend and her dad, and spent about an hour at my neighborhood store Acker Merrall on West 72nd Street picking out some crisp whites (like Gruner Veltliners and Albarinos) that I knew my friend liked as well as her dad’s tried and true Canadian Club (I’ve never had it it, but it’s very Mad Men).

Cut to over a week later when I spoke to my friend, who said she never got the package. I was super bummed as it was for a specific event that by then had already passed and I’d wanted them to get the wine quickly. But someone made a mistake and the package never left, so whent hey found that out Acker wound up overnighting the case and refunding the money. My friend got her package the very next morning and, going above and beyond, they also sent me a small package as well.

I’m always looking for interesting bottles, and getting them from people who know their grapes is always fun. A biodynamic Syrah/Grenache blend from Pic Saint-Loup? Count me in. Super excited to explore these, and if I love them I’m sure you’ll be reading about them in future posts.

I was very impressed and figured if I have the platform to shine a light on a company that has good customer service I might as well. Maybe they can teach the airlines a thing or two?