R ecently, I was approached by a reader who was effusive in his praise of this column. This kind of interaction is new to me, so I basked in the glow of flattery while I tried my best to feign humility.

His one complaint brought me crashing back down to earth: “Every time I try to find the wines you write about; I can’t find them anywhere.”

He wasn’t wrong. We somms have a soft spot for the esoteric (see last month’s column on Scheurebe). These discoveries, delicious as they may be, can frustrate someone trying to pick up a bottle for immediate consumption (to which I say, special orders can be processed with minimal lead time and markup at awesome local fine wine stores like Fujioka’s, Tamura’s and R. Field).

However, it’s important to celebrate the classics alongside new finds. Thes

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