I have been a foodie my whole life and for 17 years worked at numerous restaurants and inns. During my last three years in the restaurant business, I worked at my friend Theo's upscale Italian restaurant. Theo knows more about wine, especially Italian wine, than anybody I know. She has traveled extensively throughout California and Italy and has attended Vin Italy numerous times.
Theo and her husband sold their restaurant and moved to Florida where Theo is now the Wine Manager of Total Wine & More in Palm Beach. I recently took a trip to Florida and took a couple of days to drive down to West Palm Beach to visit Theo and her husband, Carlo. The day I arrived, Theo's store was hosting a wine tasting and I jumped at the chance to see what it was all about, and to taste some great wines.
The Total Wine & More store in Palm Beach is 35,000 square feet that includes an incredible selection of 8,000 wines from every wine-growing region in the world. I go to a small, intimate wine store in Cambridge, MA where they know me and know what I like. I wasn't sure what to expect from Total Wine & More.
I was incredibly surprised, not only by the selection, but by the knowledge, service and passion of their wine professionals. I recently bought a new digital camera and took a photo essay at the wine tasting. Enjoy!
Thanks for this opportunity, Theo! I learned so much about wine from working for you and think that Total Wine & More is lucky to have you.
The wine tasting was packed and the catering was great. I love conch fritters.
Theo and her colleague doing inventory:
There are weekend wine tastings at the store and educational wine dinners in Total Wine's training facilities or at local restaurants.
Temperature-controlled wine coolers:
Beer cooler:
Agua:
My favorite section:
Each wine has an extensive description and if you have more questions and need help, call on one of the wine professionals:
Wine accessorie section:
Grape Guy!
Smoke cigars? They've got a great selection in their humidor.
It's all about customer service!
I didn't even get to the spirits sections! It was a great night and I left with a couple of bottles of very reasonable and great tasting sparkling wines that were recommended to me. I wasn't disappointed. Total Wine & More has wine stores all over the country, so if you happen to stumble upon one, check it out. Total Wine & More
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Comments: 32
(Nice photos! What is the new camera?)
I'm sending the link to your article to family and friends who love wine! Let 'em drooolll!
post.
Congratulations!
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A little off topic, I have the same camera and I love it! If you have any questions about using it I'd be happy to help! :)
Donna, I highly recommend that you do check one of the stores out if you have the chance. It's like a big slice of heaven for wine lovers.
Jennifer, after I left that comment, I found their California store. It's only an hour and a half north of San Diego and I go that route quite frequently. Next time I do, I'll be certain to allow time to check out the store. Thanks for the tip!
Oh wow. A marvelous, wonderful store. And the grape cluster guy is quite cute. Montreal had excellent French wines at a reasonable price, and for a long time, I was very, very spoiled. But our regular grocery store has had wine tastings every weekend for a couple of years, and I discovered some great Californians, as well as many other International wines.
Great photos and we appreciate the nice writeup. I agree, we are lucky to have Theo! I'm glad you enjoyed the wine tasting and we hope to see you out our way again soon.
Cheers!
Greg Tuttle
Total Wine & More
Wine Operations and Education
Twitter: @Total_Wine