Wine for the Holidays

Options Abound at New Hy-Vee Wine and Spirits Store

BY STEVE DINNEN

If you’ve yearned to taste but a sip of the 2017 vintage Hundred Acre Cabernet Sauvignon, drive to 375 S. Jordan Creek Parkway in West Des Moines, walk in with $599.99, plus tax, and exit with a bottle of one of the finest wines ever crafted in California. Just in time for Christmas, Hy-Vee has seriously upped the game for wine enthusiasts with its 15,000-square-foot stand-alone wine and liquor store, Wall to Wall Wine and Spirits. Prices on a standard bottle of wine there range from $760 for a 2014 vintage Penfolds Grange Bin 95 to another Australian offer, the decidedly less noble Yellow Tail, for around $5.

“We have 3,000 wines and 2,000 spirits,” said Chris Carrow, a vice president at Hy-Vee. That’s perhaps a 10-fold increase over what is available from a regular Hy-Vee. And they’re not done yet: Hy-Vee is just now opening a store in suburban Omaha that is twice as large as the new West Des Moines store.

Hy-Vee, Gateway Market, Ingersoll Wine & Spirits – every liquor and wine shop, actually, has stocked up for the mighty stampede that comes every Christmas and New Year. The rush is tied to parties and gift giving, and accompanies a switch from roses and lighter wines to heavier reds that will pair with the heartier meals of winter.

Carrow said Wall to Wall brings wine, and alcohol sales in general, to a newer and higher level due to the expertise of the staff – assistant manager Blair Zachariasen is a certified sommelier – and the expanded inventory.

Aaron Russo, manager of the Ingersoll Avenue location for Ingersoll Wine & Spirits, likewise is conversant on wines and champagnes, whose popularity rises dramatically this time of year.

Also seeing a seasonal boost in popularity is Gluhwein, Russo said. Americans know this as spiced wine, which typically is served warm. It joins chocolate wine – yes, there is such a thing – and many craft beers that are intended for the holidays.

They don’t really do Gluhwein in Spain, which is where my oenophilic tastes lie (heavy, dark reds; Priorats are a favorite. Just sayin’). With so much more shelf space available, Wall to Wall has, thankfully, expanded the Spanish lineup in Des Moines. Local competitors will not let this pass unchallenged. We, the wine consumers of central Iowa, will benefit.

Cheers!

Liquor Industry Wrestles With Supply Chain Woes

BY STEVE DINNEN

The pandemic is not leaving the drinks industry alone.

Want a bottle of Jack Daniel's, the nation’s biggest whiskey? Wall to Wall Wine & Spirits in West Des Moines secured a load at the last minute before its grand opening. As for Veuve Cliquot Yellow Label, probably the planet’s most popular champagne?

“I’ve got customers wanting it by the case” but his shelves are empty, said Aaron Russo, manager at Ingersoll Wine & Spirits, in Des Moines. “Taittinger’s out, as well.”

Jack Daniel's has the whiskey but not enough bottles, said Chris Carrow, vice president at Hy-Vee Inc., operator of the Wall to Wall store. And when producers secure enough glass, they encounter some other pandemic-era woe, such as too few labels, or too little glue to affix the labels, or no cardboard for boxes.

Carrow doesn’t see these supply chain problems halting anytime soon. “We’re going to be light on some of these labels for a few years,” he predicted.

Adding to the problem are rising prices. This has been especially notable with small-batch whiskeys, Russo said. For example, Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon had been retailing at $55-$60 but now is $120. Some online offers top $200. E.H. Taylor Small Batch Bourbon has quickly doubled in price from the $60 level.

What's a 'Stonk'? The New Language of Investing

BY MALLIKA MITRA FOR MONEY.COM

It seems far-fetched, but emojis, slang and just plain jokes are the new language of investing. And this fresh way of talking about the stock market didn’t come from Wall Street; it came from everyday people, sitting in their home offices, college dorm rooms or even high schools.

Gone are the days where investors had to visit their brokers in person, or even pick up the phone. Now, they trade stocks, funds and cryptocurrency via apps in a matter of seconds.

And instead of congregating on the stock exchange floor, these investors gather in online spaces. The subreddit r/WallStreetBets — where retail traders teamed up on social media earlier this year to send GameStop's stock prices sourcing — is the most famous. But many less rowdy places like Twitter and Discord have big fan bases.

Many of these online communities have developed their own distinctive subcultures — and lingos. And as trading stocks and cryptocurrencies has gained mainstream attention in the past few years, so has the new vocabulary. READ MORE.

Investing Strategies During Times of Inflation

BY MEGAN GORMAN FOR FORBES.COM

Well, it’s finally here — the ‘I’ word is back. After threatening to poke its head out and mess with all of our financials, we are now in the state of "transitory inflation." The term itself is menacing. Investors are concerned. Ideas are flying around, yet it is not clear what investors should do if anything.

What exactly is transitory inflation? Inflation is the progressive increase in prices for goods and services over time. Further, if something is transitory, it could mean it isn’t permanent or that it lasts a short period of time. To give context, since 1926, the historical average inflation rate is 2.6%. Today it is trending closer to 5.4%.

Looking through this lens, investors are simply solving for how to manage their portfolios for what may be a very short period of time. When there are challenges in the marketplace, the best advice is to stick to your knitting. It’s boring, but it’s often the right move. An asset allocation strategy works because it is built to withstand all market cycles. READ MORE.