Walter Bailey’s Holiday Spirits                                   (back)

Voice of Action launches a new feature, “Advice from the Experts,” presenting consumer oriented advice from informed members of UFCW 8-Golden State.  In this issue, Liquor Manager Walter Bailey offers advice for celebrating the holidays. UFCW 8 urges those who drink alcoholic beverages to do so with appropriate restraint and responsibility.

Tips for Responsible Hosting

·         Never make drinking the focus of your event. If someone says no to a drink, be sure to offer them non-alcoholic alternatives such as a “mocktail,” soda, juice, water or coffee.

·         Don’t plan sports or physical activities when you serve liquor. People are generally more prone to injury or mishap after drinking.

·         Serve plenty of high-starch, high-protein foods so no one drinks on an empty stomach. Salty, sweet and greasy snack foods increase thirst.

·         Serve measured drinks yourself or appoint a bartender guests tend to drink more when there is an open bar.

·         Close down your bar at least an hour before the party officially ends. Offer guests desserts, coffee and other non-alcoholic drinks.

·         Make a plan to deal with any guests who drink too much. Ask someone responsible to help you monitor the situation.

·         Drink moderately yourself, so you’re better able to act quickly and avoid problems. Find out how guests will be getting  home from your party. Be prepared to ask for car keys and have cash and taxi numbers handy.

·         Do whatever it takes to keep anyone who has been drinking from getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. Be prepared for overnight guests just in case!

Even though Walter Bailey doesn’t drink, he knows his wines and liquor. Bailey has been the Liquor Manager at Safeway 1866 in  Rocklin for more than four years.

He retired as a sprinkler installer five years ago but “got bored” and decided he needed something to occupy his time

 “I work about 30 hours a week,

and I love it,” Bailey said. “I have my regular customers who come in and shoot the breeze with me.

    And I enjoy helping those people who are not sure about what to buy and ask me what wine goes best with various foods.”

  Bailey said that beer is by far the biggest seller in his department and that beer drinkers never ask for advice. “They know what they like and that’s what they buy,” he said.

   “I sell Budweiser and Miller more than any other brand. A few people, though, want the  imported stuff, such as Guinness.”

    Wine sales are a close second to

beer. “The mid-priced wines sell the

best,” Bailey said. “Meridian and Clos du Bois are the ones I recommend when people want a good mid-priced wine.”

  Bailey said he usually recommends a good dark wine, like a straight Zinfandel, for meals featuring red meat or fish. For poultry, he suggests a Chardonnay or a White Zinfandel/Chardonnay mix.

        When it comes to hard liquor, Bailey said that Smirnoff vodka and Jack Daniels whiskey are the most popular. “That shouldn’t be too surprising, given the amount of advertising they do,” he said.

   “Usually, whatever is on sale sells the most. Sometimes people will ask for one of the expensive vodkas like Absolut, but Smirnoff is just as good.” Bailey said that old standbys such as Seagrams 7 and rums don’t sell as well as they once did.

   “People don’t seem to want sweet wines much, either,” Bailey said. “And the liqueurs such a Kahlua

and Grand Marnier only sell sporadically. Most people use that

for special occasions.” Bailey said he plans to keep working for the foreseeable future and continue to dispense advice on

wines and spirits to anyone in need.

Wine-Buying Basics

People who aren’t connoisseurs and that includes most of us are advised to experiment to find out what wines they like and which regions produce the wines that taste best to them.

     Don’t be afraid to ask your store’s Liquor Manager for advice. Magazines like Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate and Wine Enthusiast publish special issues that highlight the best wines. Wine sellers frequently display numbered ratings from Wine Spectator.

     When you find a wine in your price range that is rated above 90, you would do well to buy it.

     Don’t be afraid to try new things. The “rules” (drink red wine with beef, white wine with fish, etc.) are a good place to start, but they can be too limiting.

     Make up your own “rules” as you go along. Most wines are classified in one of two ways: by “varietal,” which means wine made entirely from a single variety of grape like Merlot, Cabernet and Pinot Noir; or “appellation,” which refers to the region where the grapes were grown such as Bordeaux, Chianti and

Champagne.

Red wine: There are about 40 kinds of red wine grapes, ranging from the light Gamay and Pinot Noir varieties, to the popular Merlots and Zinfandels and the heavier Syrah/Shiraz.

White wine: The most popular varieties are Riesling, Sauvignon

Blanc (sometimes called Fume Blanc) and Chardonnay. Riesling is a light

white, while Chardonnay tends to be heavier and Sauvignon Blanc falls

somewhere in between. Other white wines include Pinot Blanc, Pinot

Grigio, Semillon and Muscat, which is a popular sweet wine.

Sparkling: Only grapes grown in the Champagne region of France are allowed to call their product  champagne. Wines of that style made

anywhere else in the world must instead be called “sparkling wine.”

Pink: Rose is light and fruity, while white Zinfandel, made in

California, is a sweet wine made from Zinfandel grapes that are picked

early. The juice is quickly separated from the skin so the wine retains a

pink color.

Fortified: Madeira, Port, Sherry and Vermouth are fortified with other

spirits to raise the alcohol content and produce rich, heavy liquors.