By Monte Belmonte
For the Valley Advocate
What is going on at Table & Vine in West Springfield? Given that you are reading a wine column, I assume you partake of the grape. Then you probably know that Table & Vine is the wines, beer and spirits branch of the large, but still family owned, western Mass based company, Big Y. Table & Vine has been their flagship location for fine wine, cheeses and other such sundry since 1962, when the store was in Northampton. In 2002, Big Y acquired Town & Country Liquors in West Springfield and turned it into the Table & Vine flagship. But when you go there now, you may notice that some things and someone is missing.
PHOTO BY MONTE BELMONTE
An anonymous wine store owner sneaking into Table & Vine to purchase some fine wines half off.
After nearly 30 years, the former beverage buyer for Table & Vine, Michael Quinlan, parted ways with the company. Or, more honestly, it looks like they parted ways with him. I have referenced and quoted and interviewed Michael Quinlan many times for this column. I have also frequently referred to him in this paper, and elsewhere, as “The 800-Pound Gorilla of Wine in western Mass.” There was a time in our small world of wine where, if you were a wine salesperson who found favor with Michael Quinlan, the purchasing power he wielded with Table & Vine could launch your wine portfolio into Vino Valhalla. And if you fell out of favor with Quinlan and Table & Vine, you might as well call it a career.
But as of the middle of March, Quinlan was no longer in West Springfield. And his absence was immediately felt. The most famous voice in the Valley, my colleague, New England Public Media newsman and Jazz Safari host Kari Njiiri, came blazing into the office soon after Quinlan went MIA and frantically asked me “What happened to Michael Quinlan?!” Perhaps the writing on the wall for Mr. Q was when Quinlan was no longer tasked with buying wine for the chain of stores and was given the new title of “Table & Vine Ambassador.” He had already been “the face” of Table & Vine. Literally. When you walked into the store, there was his face on all the placards and standees. But perhaps making his role a more ceremonial one was a first indication that strange things were afoot.
PHOTO BY MONTE BELMONTE
Some of the 50% off finds Monte and his wine snob friends took advantage of.
Full disclosure, Quinlan is a friend and a frequent guest in our “Wine Thunderdome” segment as part of The Fabulous 413 on NEPM radio. As much as I would like to plumb the depths of gossip surrounding Quinlan’s departure, that’s between him and the D’Amour family, who own Big Y. But since his departure, there have been some curious changes at the store in West Springfield.
In what felt like a land speed record after Quinlan was removed, so was the cheese counter. Previously, a large island of fancy cheeses, olives and meats graced the center of the store. And now the cheese, like all the cheese in my own fridge, has mysteriously vanished. While I’m to blame for the mysterious disappearance of cheese in the Belmonte house, why was the cheese missing from Table & Vine? Cheese is wine’s best food friend. And many a fine wine store has a cheese monger ready and able to help you with pairing preferences. Luckily, western Mass still has Provisions and other great stores for this. But is the removal of cheese evidence of Big Y’s intolerance towards lactose? Or is Table & Vine moving away from the finer side of all things “fine wine?”
Another major piece of evidence that something fishy is afoot when it comes to “fancy” wines in West Springfield is also a boon for wine snobs with limited budgets, like me. Almost as soon as Quinlan was out, high-end wines began showing up at 50% off. Half-off! It’s the wine snob deal of the century. Immediately, everyone I know who knows anything about wine was immersing themselves in fine finds at 50% off. An undisclosed wine friend sent me a screenshot of a $100 Chateau Grand Puy-Lacoste Pauillac 2018 and a $150 Cos D’Estournel Saint Estephe 2019, both of which he purchased at half price. Your layperson wine drinker, let’s call him Josh Yellowtail, is not going to be psyched to pay $125 for just two bottles of wine. But we wine snobs went crazy with the offerings of this sale. The same undisclosed wine friend bought six bottles of the exquisite dessert wine, Sauternes, for $25 a 750ml bottle! This is the deal of the century.
To make sure it wasn’t too good to be true, I had to go there myself. I’ve been a wine snob for over 15 years. But I’ve been too broke to try wine from a particular region in the northern Rhone in France called Cote Rotie. Cote Rotie is fun because it is mostly a red wine, Syrah, blended with a white wine, Viognier. This blending of red and white wines is common in Champagne, but not as common with still wines. I scored two Cote Roties (Cotes Rotie?) and have finally lost my Rotie virginity. I also grabbed a vintage Premier Cru Champagne and a Grand Cru Corton-Charlemagne. While none of this was cheap to Josh Yellowtail (or to my wife), what a bargain! Wouldn’t you know it, while I was there I ran into the owner of one of our fabulous, but fewer, remaining fine wine stores. He was crate-digging through the 50% off racks, just like I was.
PHOTO BY MONTE BELMONTE
Some of the 50% off finds Monte and his wine snob friends took advantage of.
The quality of the 50% off pickings is starting to go down as word spreads and supply runs out. And putting this in print may be the nail in the coffin for our deal of the century. But it’s been a few months since the secret sale. Enough time to no longer feel obliged to issue a spoiler alert. The bigger concern is for the future of fine wine in the Valley. To be sure, we still have excellent wine shops with knowledgeable staff up and down the 91 corridor. But what will the scaling back of fine wine at Mothership Table & Vine mean? Will that location stay as Table & Vine, and remain committed to supporting small, family-run wineries and farm families the world over, as they have done for decades? Will Big Y sell the West Springfield license and/or the building, perhaps making room for a Total Wine Outlet? If they do, would this usher in the Wal-Mart-ification of wines here in the 413, decimating the small brick and mortar wine shops, as Total Wine has already done in so many places? I reached out to Table & Vine for comment, but as of my deadline there was no response.
As for our hero, Michael Quinlan, he almost immediately landed back on his feet, as 800lb gorillas are prone to do. He is managing a wonderful fine wine portfolio through Ruby Wines called David Milligan Selections. Milligan specializes in supporting small, family-owned French wineries. I had the opportunity to taste a few of the selections with him and what I had was delicious. In the meantime, if you like the fancy stuff, it might not be a bad idea to head to West Springfield and see what you can find at 50% off. I just went back and picked up two bottles of Sauternes, half off!
