The Korea Times

WIEIDINE . SIDIAIY.I, DIEICIEIMI BI EIR. 6,

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'Biggest Little Wine Shop'
By Ken Kim
Times Wine Writer
W
ell. what I tG say is
that a good wine shop
doesn't need to be the
biggest. Many wine $hops
the world. espcci;llly th<;se in
wine producing countries. have many
shops thm are not bigger th;tn the size of
an average living room. Yet they are
moving rather large volunte$ of wines so
one should never underestimate t.hem.
in fact, I fcmnd one just !ike what I
have described. here in SeouL Tnis shop
may not yet be enjc.>ying blockbuster
business right now. however it will only
be a matter of time. The \>:isis for this
prediction is the wine expe.rtise of the
proprietor and his personality.
Kim Hyo-chang. a Korean-Amerlcm1
and !\mner country representative of
Gallo-Sonoma to Korea. has opened up
a 'Nine shop in Seoul's
French Quarter.
The shop. called Rose's Wine Shop is
named after his wife Rose Kim. Again.
the site {)f this wine shop \"'iH indeed
mislead vou about the ahilitv of what
this sbtJp can do for you, espcc. ially if I
you are a beginning wine drinker. _
What umkes this store so different
from the others is its abilitv to evaluale
and seltxt wines that will lead to the
cuswnler's ultimate This
process doesn't end with the quality of
the wines being selected there. The v<tl
ue that customers wiJl 2:et is of the ut
most importance, not to mention the
s wide knowled\O:e of wines. On
top of ali that. the is totally hilin
g_ual SQ th:u. he can assi.st international
Wine shopper:> \-Vtthout having the bUr
den of a language banier.
The shop a multi colored,
semi-glossy wine newsletter in both
English and Korean. This newsletter
about s hot in the wine mar
kct and it offers education on wine.
Kim's wnw expertise goer. far beyond
the average '>Vtnt: $hopkceper across
town. The trained pa.!ate Mr. Kim pos-
is of an international quality. He
is atS<) very knowle<igeable about tbe
wine trade worldwide.
Prior ti.) opening up Rose's Wine
Shop, Mr. K1m was the president of
Sh!ndong wine companv. the maiM
wine importer which in
brmging in the premium wine !abds
from an:>und the viorld. \VH.h rhe
cncc from Shindong as well <1.S hi:; ear!v
experien.:es <l$ the '::oun;rv man<t!4er for
Gall>Sonnrua, he :1 <if
knowkdg(: ro pass nn10 hi ) shoppers
there. The size ot the store can misb1d
the pubtic as to the actu.1! stzc of inven
torv the store ctrrie!> there,
6JI>ently rhe st<xe has approximately
450 different labels whid> from
table wines to premiu.m wines l'or spe
cial occasions, I spotted weilknown
Carlo Rossi. which comes in those
750ml standard Bordeaux-style bottles,
The price for this California vine was
just 6.000 won. The store abo stocked
the caraf wines with the California Paul
M;t.sso.n labd, \Vine that comes in a
caraf is popular in many parts of the
world because the carats can be re-used
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for many other purpnses. even afte.r the.
wines are emptied.
Mr. Kim gives a great deal of atten
ti<)n to his tabel sel;ction for the store.
He didn't waste time hv even asking rnv
perSt)n;\l opinion during my re;;ent ''visit
to the store. His careful attention me<ms
great wines at supermarket prices. Mr.
Kim wants to keep prices under 20.000
on average per bottle for his clients
m Kangt1at1l.
The store abo maintains a tasting
table where the shoppers can sample
wines before each purchase. The tasting
table is well stocked and half empty
bottles are kept in airtight vacuum-
sealed bottles. He c1ffers shoppers an
expert wine education for free. Getting
a free wine education is Mt an easy
task. one must pay to go to a \vine aca-
demy. In fact, there are several wine
schools in town that charge more than
10.000 won per hour of education.
for those first timers. the tasting of
wine is a mlserv because other bc'Yer
ages do not usuillly require thi.> rituaL
Again, wine in the We.stern culture is
regarded as a tbod rather than as an al-
coholic substance so the tasting ritual h
nothing more than u shopper tasting
kimchi before their purchases. You may
also be asking whv get a wine education
instead of drinking wine. Well, if
you want to sl.art drinking wine just the
wav I ilid, V()U can me wine edtJ
cation and Just enjoy them.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying
wine wi thout any education or prior
knowledge. Getting to know the de-
ments about the wines vou a.re drinkitw
will ()r.!y the t:;<>te and pk:tsun;:
If you wam to h<lVe more than an aver
al:c knowledge of \vines. if vou have the
tDnc and wiili.ni::ncs:>. then Rose s \Vi fl(:
Shop is the best"bet for you. It is located
just behind the Palace Hotel near the Ex-
press Bus Termm<ll in K:u::gnam The
store maintains :m ,)ff street parking
space so you ca.:1 Jrive there.
Make J left tum before wu rea-:h
an ()VCrhc.ad. WJ!k.W:iV ri:!ht af1er V<)ll
p:tss the Palace Hote'!. i\r the sec(md
.:Mner after the turn, where the Buv the
Way .::onvenien: store is !ocHNi. mukt
arwthcr left tum, Th:n 2\' :1H the w;.tY h)
Eleven on Vt)Ur
Rose's Wine Shop i;; right next to it.
CaD {02i 34-S t -8276 ahead of time,