Price supports rarely benefit small farmers.
House is an Adjective
House. It’s a funny word. It can be a noun (This is my house.), verb (Where will we house all these books?), or even an adjective (Just order the house wine-it’s very good here).
At Pour Richard’s we frequently use ‘house’ as an adjective. Our house rum is Privateer. Our house whiskey is Mad River. Ask us for either, and odds are you’ll exit with a bottle of Privateer or Mad River. Not because we’re sitting on a bunch of product and not because we’ve cut some sort of special pricing deal. Nope, we sell these things because we consider them among the best available for the price. Bonus: both are New England-made, by small companies that keep more of your purchase dollars circulating in our region. Hence ‘house’. We adore these tasty spirits, and want you to experience them, too.
At many restaurants, House Wine has come to mean the opposite: whatever cheap plonk they can buy in bulk, pour by the glass, and make a healthy markup on. This subverts its original purpose: to provide affordable, accessible wine that complements the food they offer. Dining out in Europe, a carafe of the house red or white is often fantastic with the cuisine AND a fantastic bargain; restaurants that serve crappy jug wine as ‘house’ are a travesty. We’ve committed to the rehabilitation of ‘house’ as an adjective.
Every holiday season, we select both a Port and a Champagne to feature, allowing you to learn about these producers in depth and taste a broad sampling of their products. We are INCREDIBLY picky about these ‘House’ selections, and immensely proud to announce that we’ll be working with Louis Roederer Champagnes and Ramos Pinto Ports this season.
Roederer Champagne owns a high percentage of its own vineyards, hardly the norm in Champagne. They are transitioning to fully organic and biodynamic status, a hugely complicated undertaking. Moreover, their wines are stunning, walking that fine line between complexity and gossamer grace.
Ramos Pinto is steeped in history, but forward-facing. They’re practicing organic viticulture, maximizing the advantage of top-quality estate vineyards, and consistently producing a full range of gorgeous ruby and (my favorites) tawny ports.
If you’d like to learn more, stop by. Learn why we chose these producers, and what makes their wines so special. Taste our collection of Ramos Pinto ports. If you’re a Champagne lover, tell us! We’ll have opportunities to taste both Louis Roederer and Roederer Estate wines this holiday season.
House. It’s an Adjective.