Cellar Rat's $100 Monthly Case of Wine

$100 case of wine!?!? How good can that be? Sounds too cheap ('bout 8 bucks a bottle)!

Well my wine-loving friends, it's good AND cheap AND the coolest thing around!

We discovered Cellar Rat Wine Merchants about a year after it opened. We visited for a free wine tasting and were floored by the awesome cellarlike-but-large space and the knowledgable staff. These ain't minimum wage liquor store clerks...these are wine experts! And to top it off, they are APPROACHABLE wine experts. We immediately loved the place, bought some wine, and signed up for their e-newsletter.

Over the next few months, we kept seeing the "$100 Case" mentioned in the newsletter. "Yuk!" I remember thinking, "How good can that be?"

Well, in December, my curiosity finally got me and I headed down to "taste the case" (an event they hold around the 5th of each month). Once again, I was floored. These wines were damn drinkable. Most I would buy again! And, while no expert, I'm fairly picky about my wines.

So we bought the December $100 case. Okay, okay, I must confess that we actually bought it TWICE. December's a festive month! Then we bought January's $100 case. And February's. And now March's. We have become regulars.

And, the cases continue to impress us. They come with a tasting sheet that describes each wine, and makes some suggestions about food pairings. No, we don't LOVE every wine. But we are trying varietals and regions that we would not normally select. And we have come across some gems.

It's delicious and a fun experience. I highly recommend it. If you're unsure, do the "Taste the Case" to check them out before you commit. Cheers!

location: 1701 Baltimore, KCMO

website: http://www.cellarratwine.com/