Tag: holidays

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Holidays

Okay, We Can’t All Afford a $2,000 Scotch For Christmas…

...loaded it onto his trusted burro Cuco...
Balvenie Vintage Cask 1966
The Balvenie Vintage Cask
1966… Only $1549.00

…but we have them if you need them, and lots of other, more affordable gift ideas this holiday season.

“Oh. My. God. I had NO idea.” This is a phrase often uttered when a visitor to the store first explores our “Secret Cellar” or bothers to look up at the hundreds of collectible, limited release, and small batch spirits that line the wall near the ceiling of the store. Being the holiday season and all, we thought this might be a good time to once again say it out here on the intarwebz (we mentioned this last year during the “fiscal cliff” drama). Main Party is a classic example of why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Hiding behind our admittedly slightly funky facade is a world of wines and fine spirits you probably wouldn’t imagine would be here. The beer folk know about our amazing selection of craft and import beers, but for some reason the fine wine crowd has been slower to get hip to our offerings. We’ll be celebrating our 25th anniversary in business next year, and Joe (the owner) has been carefully building what is probably the most extensive selection of fine wines and spirits in Ann Arbor. We’ve picked some unique items below to highlight what we have to offer, and rest assured that with around 3,000 wines on hand, we have pretty much anything you’re seeking that fills that gap between something like the 400 dollar 375ml Château d’Yquem below, and the $8.99 Argentinian red table wine. Stop in sometime, look up, and look in back too. You’ll probably be amazed at the selection. Then tell a friend. We’re tired of the premium cellar being Ann Arbor’s best-kept wine secret!

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Holidays

[UPDATED] Need a Versatile Wine for a Holiday Dinner? Just look for the Curious Turkey!

Curious Turkey Update![UPDATE: We realized that our “Curious Turkey” tags tended to get lost in the mix of all the shelf talkers, so we switched to a bright red ornament to make them easier to spot. So we figured while we were at it, we may as well select more great wines to feature! See below. ] Your Thanksgiving menu may change from year to year, but there’s one thing you can count on with holiday dinners. And that is that when the full spread is a melange of dishes comprised of everything from a classic holiday turkey or ham to Aunt Gertrude’s famous suspended marshmallow bundt-pan jello or Campbell’s-soup-based green bean casserole, there is no single wine that is up to the task. That’s why we’ve once again selected some value-minded versatile wines that have a lighter, simpler, or sweeter touch to better embrace the riot of flavors that are likely to be on the table. As we pointed out last year, that “Bacon Turducken” trend is probably over, so we can at least eliminate the terror of the “Russian egg” birds-within-birds-within-birds hurdle. But holiday dinners remain an impossible challenge when it comes to selecting a “perfect” wine. The solution then becomes almost simple — just stick to certain styles and varietals and it is a fairly easy task. Rieslings, Chenin Blanc, and Pinot Grigios are a no-brainer for the whites, and Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and a smattering of other reds can cover you for the reds. Below is a short selection from the 3,000+ wines we have on hand. Just look for the “Curious Turkey” tags. If the specific wine we’ve chosen to highlight doesn’t suit your fancy, you’ll at least be looking at the right section to help you make a selection! Our last-minute picks are below.

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Holidays

Break Out The Bubbly! We Survived the Mayan Apocalypse!

Well, 2012 wasn’t the end of the world, but the end of the holiday season and the beginning of a bold new year are upon us. That’s why we’ve once again selected a few of our over one-hundred sparkling wines and specially priced them for New Year’s Eve. The days of premium prices for premium sparklers are long gone, so you can easily break out the bubbly without breaking the bank. We’ve previously pointed out that “Too Much Champagne” Is An Oxymoron and suggested Champagne For Your Real Friends, Real Pain For Your Sham Friends, and although some of those featured wines might not still be available, the items featured will give you a good idea of the breadth of our selection. We may have others on special; you’ll have to stop by the store and see for yourself! But selecting some nice bubbly isn’t the ONLY thing a good host should be thinking about this New Year’s Eve. We definitely encourage the enjoyment of fine drink around the holidays, but only if it’s done RESPONSIBLY. And if you’re hosting a holiday party this year, the well-being of your guests is YOUR responsibility. Here are some quick reminders for how to have a safe holiday celebration:

Check Keys Like Coats – This is a great way to make sure you see EVERY guest as they leave to see what kind of shape they’re in. Any guest who has a problem with this may have problems with other things, like sensible drinking.

Have One Or More Designated Drivers On Hand – Taxis can be hard to come by on New Years Eve. Make sure you have one or more people in attendance who will commit to staying COMPLETELY sober, and willing to give rides throughout the evening.

Feed Them, Water Them, Don’t Overserve – This is no-brainer stuff. Make sure you have plenty of food and NON alcohol beverages on hand. And SLOW DOWN the serving of drinks as the party progresses, don’t SPEED IT UP! And STOP serving well before the party ends.

Those are some basics, but for a much more expansive list, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission has a handy guide called Responsible Party Host Tips (269KB, PDF)

HAVE FUN, BUT BE SAFE!
IF YOU DRINK, DRINK RESPONSIBLY!

Specials below:

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Holidays

The Perfect Wine to Serve With Bacon Turducken?

Enough is enough!

This Thanksgiving, let’s all give thanks for the fact that the whole Bacon Turducken thing seems to have faded from the limelight. If you were lucky enough to miss it, it started with roasting a duck inside a turkey, which – in the internet age of bacon fascination – inevitably led to a version wrapped in bacon, and probably reached an unchallengeable apex with the Turgoodukfowmalsinquaparquabantenuck. That is the likely name of the result of roasting a turkey – stuffed Russian nested doll-style – with a goose, a Barbary duck, a Guinea fowl, a Mallard, a Poussin, a Quail, a  Partridge, a Pigeon squab, a Pheasant, a Chicken, and an Aylesbury duck. Who knows why they stopped there; there are smaller birds, if we’re not mistaken.
As we pointed out last year, selecting wine for Thanksgiving dinner can be enough of a challenge with the riot of flavors on the typical table, a challenge compounded by the unpredictable contributions by our guests, which may include time-honored American traditions like Jell-O with things floating in it, or sweet potatoes baked with marshmallows. Or that other classic “recipe” that is basically a can of green beans and a can of cream of mushroom soup sprinkled with dried onions. Sorry to give your secret ingredients away, Auntie Emma.
So once again this year, we’ve selected some wines that are versatile and reasonably priced to get things rolling. These are just some starters based on versatility and price; with over 3,000 wines in stock, if you already know what you’re looking for, we probably have something to suit your needs! But if you DON’T know what you’re looking for, look for the little turkeys amongst the shelf talkers. Even if the featured wine isn’t

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Holidays

Let Them Eat Cake? Puh! We say LET THEM DRINK WINE!

Let's just not have a scene like THIS, okay? Our doors are open 7am-2am

Did you know that retailers use all sorts of subtle store layout tricks to make you buy more stuff? We’ll go into detail about that a little later, but amongst the things they do is put all the pretty, nice smelling stuff at the entrance, to help get rid of shoppers’ “sidewalk momentum”. This is why the produce and floral departments are at the front of most supermarkets. We don’t use tricks like this at Main Party; we don’t have enough room! As a result, we often run into people at the very back of the store, asking why we don’t have any French wine. This is because they walked right past it, first thing! Which is quite impressive, since there are about 200 affordably priced French wines within ten feet of the front door! On the bright side, if you’ve made it to the BACK of the store, you’re that much closer to the premium cellar, where you’ll find some really REMARKABLE French wines. Everything from some familiar and still-affordable items like the 2005 Louis Jadot Pommard Clos De La Commarine (about $55) to the somewhat more rarefied 1997 Grand Vin de Chateau Latour Pauillac or Chateau Haut-Brion Premier Grand Cru Classe De Graves (about $399 & $350 respectively), or even a 6 liter 2008 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe “La Crau” Châteauneuf-du-Pape (you’ll have to ask). So this Bastille Day, we’ve decided to help you map an attack plan to “storm our fortress” as it were. This Bastille Day, you can have your cake, and eat it too. After dinner with a nice French wine. Maps below.

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