The Harris Teeter on 29 (at Forest Lakes) has an ongoing problem with pricing wine and beer.

Example: Dead Guy Ale is on currently on sale, according to the huge sign at the door, for $9.99, except that when you get to the register, it’s $10.99.

According to store management, this kind of problem has been going on for months: wine and beer often don’t ring up at the same price as the sign on the shelf. “Oh, we get several of these a day,” said the apologetic manager. “A couple of days ago a bottle of wine rang up for twenty dollars more than the price on the shelf!”

The reason for this, according to the corporate office in North Carolina, is that sometimes the distributors set the prices for wine and beer. They create the display, apparently, and even print the little sign. And sometimes they just MAKE UP discounted prices, and don’t tell anybody.

So the lesson is: if you shop at Harris Teeter, and you find that your favorite beverage is on sale, get out a pencil and write the price on the bottle. When you get to the checkout, make sure you got charged what the sign said. If you’re overcharged, don’t be a dick and hold up the line. Pay the cashier, and take it the receipt to the manager, who’ll cheerfully refund the difference. They’re all really nice about it. But they apparently have no control over the process.  [Written entirely by an observant birdie]  [Photo Credits]

An out of town guest provides the perfect opportunity to play tour guide, and this past weekend I had just such an opportunity. I tried to give my visitor a complete view of our delightful little ville: The University Grounds and the Corner full of douche-bags reeking of vinegar like a fine North Carolina barbecue sauce; the Downtown Mall with its seemingly endless offerings of dining and drinking establishments; Belmont bursting with a quaint cast of PBR drinking hipsters, rednecks, and the pleasant fragrance of Hogwaller; and the outlying county ready to be ravaged by SUV’s and bonfires. »Read More

A birdie lets us know that the Keswick Vineyards are for sale. No word on pricing, but probably not cheap.

[pic from gargola87]

A birdie asks…

My parents are coming into town this weekend, and I’d like to take them to a local vineyard for a tour/tastings. Looking for somewhere interesting, reasonably close to campus, and affordable. Ideas?

Letter sent in by a birdie…

Read our prior articles on Crush:

August 21, 208 – Our Love, Gregg leaves Crush

October 28, 2008 – Crush Rumored to be Sold

February 16, 2008 – Crush Rumored to be Italian Restaurant

Good Afternoon Crush Wine Lovers:

As some of you may have heard, we are going through some changes at Crush. After much deliberation over the past few months, Nan and I have decided to sell the wine shop to Michael Keaveny, who will be transforming it into an Italian trattoria/winebar. It will still include a wine shop, carrying many of your favorite wines from around the world. There will be a heavier influence of Italian varietals. There will still be the same focus on great wine values on which Crush built its reputation.

This has been a very difficult decision for Nan and me, but it was a necessary one. We really need to return our focus to our Insurance business and to our family. I am looking forward to building the business and coaching my kids’ sports teams; something I haven’t been able to do for the past year. We have really enjoyed being at Crush recently, especially the Friday night tastings. We have met a lot of great people and hope to continue these friendships after Crush is gone. We appreciate everyone’s business since opening in December of 2007, and we hope that everyone enjoyed what Crush brought to the community of Belmont and to the Charlottesville area. We believe that the spirit of Crush will carry on with the new venture that Michael will be bringing to the space. I will probably keep some limited involvement in the new business, possibly doing outside wine tastings and dinners, as my schedule permits. In fact, we still have our South American wine dinner this Saturday (which is almost sold out), as well as a couple of private tastings in late March and April.

After this week’s Clearance Sale, Michael will probably shut down the shop for a short period of time to bring in the kitchen equipment and other build-outs. For the time being, the Friday night tastings will be eliminated while the transition takes place. Once the restaurant opens, there are plans to have wine tastings/classes on Monday nights. As much as everyone loved our Friday night tastings, it will be impossible to continue them with the huge crowds we had on the busiest restaurant night of the week.

We will miss everyone, but hope to still see everyone at the new place, or around town. Please feel free to call us anytime at Coleman-Creasy Insurance, even if just to talk about wine, get recommendations, join us on wine trips, etc. Nan and I can be reached at (434) 295-1154. Stop by and check out some of the wine deals (and meet Michael) this week and you will receive more e-mails in the future as the restaurant opens. Thanks again for your patronage and friendship!

Sincerely,
Paul & Nan Coleman

From a birdie…

In mid-March Paul is selling crush to some guy named Michael who’s going to close it for like a month & make it into a “rustic italian” restaurant & wine bar. He wants it to be all cozy like NYC places with narrow storefronts. He’s keeping the retail but getting rid of the Friday tastings, because he doesn’t think there would be room.

I just went into enoteca for the first time in a couple months and it seems like the entire staff has changed including the manager. Does this mean that the long anticipated CC overhaul/ firesale is underway? Now accepting field reports from Ten, Blue Light etc.

I was informed earlier this week that the Charlottesville Food and Wine Experience has been moved to the weekend of July 31st.  We didn’t receive any information explaining the rescheduling other than the quote from the festival’s president, Tim O’Brien which read:

The rescheduling of this event will further enhance this world-class gathering for wine connoisseurs and food enthusiasts right here in Charlottesville.

I imagine this has something to do with the ticket prices and the economy.  I understand this is a high-end event, but we had a fair number of complaints about ticket prices from foodies on our site.  30-something downtown hoo explained it best in a comment:

»Read More

Charlottesville will soon be home to a food and wine festival, officially named “The International Food and Wine Experience of Charlottesville.” Spanning 3 days, this conference (IFWEOC for short) intends to make Charlottesville the “Wine Capital of the East” with various fine food and wine experiences.  The Experience involves a whole host of local wineries and restaurants, well-known chefs and foodies.

What are these experiences?

Scroll to the bottom to find out how to win free tickets to one of the events.

»Read More

In addition to the recent rumored sale of Java Java (too many coffee shops and too many wine places in Charlottesville?), we heard Crush is trying hard to be sold.  Birdie explains:

The owner didn’t go into much detail about it, but it’s definitely sad, considering it’s a great wine shop.  I don’t know if this is old hat, but it was news to me.

How does this relate to our favorite wine connoisseur’s departure?  Anyone recall the “scariest food business from our 2007 superlatives?”

Related articles:

• Oakencroft died.
• Wine is now a private affair?