Bradley N.
Yelp
Roberts Market's meticulously stocked wine department may be one of the best kept secrets in Woodside. Well, that and the list of local residents who gave money to Donald Trump's Presidential election campaign. Not only are there hidden gems and coveted bottles for sale, there also are some great deals under $20. And 10% off retail with any 6 bottle purchase (wines on sale aren't reduced any further, but they do count towards the 6 bottle total). Total Wines and More may have got them beat on sheer volume, K&L in terms of a superb real-time, keyword searchable inventory, and Weimax in terms of personalized service and intimate wine tasting options, but in terms of pure quality of the wines on offer, Roberts reins supreme.
There are some real treasures to be found stacked on the shelves, buried in the stacks of wine boxes, and stashed away in the refrigerated section, especially if you're into local Santa Cruz Mountains and other esoteric California wines. The Old World wine offerings, especially French, are quite impressive, too, but my locavore sensibilities cause me to gravitate towards West Coast wines produced by interesting winemakers whose vineyards, tasting rooms, and cellars I might possibly be able to visit as part of a day trip of weekend getaway. Bandol and Alto Adige, while tempting destinations, are just a bit too big of a carbon footprint away for me to justify traveling there anytime soon. The Cienega Valley, Yorkville Highlands, Pritchard Hill, or the North Fork of the Yuba River, on the other hand: those, my friend, are road trip adventures just waiting to happen.
On a recent visit to pick up a few bottles of age-worthy wine produced by Clos Saron, a somewhat mysterious, word-of-mouth microwinery hidden in the Sierra Foothills of Yuba County, north of Sacramento, I also couldn't help but zero in on a few other California favorites that helped me bring my total haul to the 6-bottle discount threshold. These were wines I already knew but was surprised to find on the shelves at such fair prices, either because they were older vintages no longer for sale at the wineries, or because they're limited production and rarely make it to retail from the wineries, who prefer DTC sales in their tasting rooms or through club memberships.
The best approach here is to enter the store with a vague sense of what you're looking for, then ask for help and spend some quality time scanning the shelves. Like that great used bookstore you once frequented before the rise of online shopping, or the flea markets in Paris, Prague, or Berlin you marveled at while spending a semester abroad in college, the wine section here rewards a bit of perseverance, and a willingness to Google an unfamiliar word on your smartphone. What's dry-farmed, old vine Negrette, exactly? Where in the heck IS the Cienega Valley, anyway? Yorkville Highlands Rhône blends? The makeup of the 2017 Frog's Leap rosé, "La Grenouille Rougante"? (If you guessed 97% Valdiguié and 3% Carignan, you're right!). How about Chappellet's 2015 Mountain Cuvée? Well, that one's on the bottle, at least. And good luck figuring out the makeup of Clos Saron's 2008 Black Pearl (trust me: you'll never guess this one right, even if you ARE a somm).
Sure, there are other reasons to shop at Roberts. The meat counter is great, as are the offerings of things like fresh bread, coffee, honey, chocolate, and the like. You could make this a one stop shop, and many Woodsiders do. But not me. My farmers' market vendors, coffee roasters, bee keepers, and local ranchers wouldn't be too pleased with me if I did that. But when it comes to weird, wonderful, and well-aged California wines, Roberts had me at "Old Man's Reserve Syrah? Ah, yes. We do have that one around here somewhere ..."