Antonsvintagewineblog: Exploring my passion for wines and the industry.

   Welcome to Antonsvintagewineblog. My purpose is to enlighten and inform everyone of the wonderful world of wine. Based here in Wichita, KS I have been involved in the Wine and Spirits industry since 1990 when I started stocking a beer cooler for a friend. In 1993 I bought my first liquor store on South Seneca and ran it until 1998.  Desiring to learn more about the Wine and Spirits industry, I enjoyed a short stint with Maryott Wine and Spirits in 1998-1999. I spent a short time in Dallas in 2000 working for Red Coleman's as a clerk and transfer truck driver. I eventually purchased Hornbeck's Wine and Spirits in October of 2000, changing the name to Anton's Vintage Wine and Spirits which I owned until I sold the store in January of 2011.
   So where did your passion for wine arise you ask?  It all began in 1993 when a friend gave me a bottle of Robert Mondavi 1987 Private Reserve which she told me at the time cost nearly $40.00!  At the time my focus was on running Kowalski Retail Liquor, so I promptly took it over to my parents where it remained undisturbed until 1995. While rummaging around their basement one day, I rediscovered the bottle and decided to take it home and try pairing it with a nice T-bone I had bought to go on my grill. The rest, as they say, is history. At eight years, I had opened it at the perfect drinking window. I can still remember the signature nose of Mondavi's private reserve of black olive, vanilla and currants with wave after wave of smooth rich black currant flavors accented by anise, cedar and spice. In a nutshell, that's all she wrote. I became enamored with wine almost immediately going through wholesaler's catalog bringing in and trying new wines on an almost daily basis. I started to read everything I could on wine, starting with Wine Spectator and eventually subscribing to Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate. Eventually, my in store selection grew from five to six SKU's to over forty in the span of three years. When I purchased Hornbeck's, they already had 600 SKU's, which I nearly doubled to over 1200 SKU's by the time I sold the store.
   So where am I going from here you ask? One thing I have discovered is the wide variety of styles of wine based on terrior (more on this later), varietal composition, conditions at harvest and winemakers. It is my intention via this blog to bring you the latest on wines available here and elsewhere, various informal wine clubs and tastings, that you can go to and enjoy the wine experience and anything else that will help you learn, see, swirl, taste and experience the wonderful world of wine.