Jason Main, owner and president of The Wine Merchant, Ltd., has been guiding guests through the vast world of wine and spirits for decades. His team takes pride in finding patrons what they're looking for, even if they aren't quite sure themselves.
Main has long felt that the easiest bottle of wine to shop for is anything over $100. They all taste good; maybe something doesn't quite fit your fancy, but they all taste good of their representative styles. What the crew at The Wine Merchant excels at is finding that cheaper bottle of wine that punches well above its price.
"It's gotta be fun," Main says. "When I'm working with new employees, I always explain to them that you have to figure [out what] makes people feel comfortable right away. And not put them on the spot." He adds that wine can often be intimidating, but that it doesn't have to be. "I like to remind everybody that wine drinking, in general, is supposed to be fun, and if it's not, you're either drinking the wrong thing or drinking with the wrong people," he says. "I always think it's a good idea to remind people that you do not have to spend a ton of money to drink really well."
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Main and his team put their stamp of approval on everything they sell in the store. If it's for sale in the shop, he or someone who works there has tasted it. "We won't sell just any old thing," Main says, noting that he was recently approached by a well-known California winery offering a new product; he turned it down. "I tasted it. I just didn't feel it was a good product. And so, we don't carry it. We won't sell it just because we can make money; it has to taste good. It has to pass the test. There's no resting on laurels, or names of wineries or anything like that with us."
He takes that same approach to running the store. Rather than settling into an easy routine, Main is always keeping a pulse on the world market of wine and spirits to ensure St. Louis has access to delicious libations. "I love bringing people something that they're not expecting, something new, something different," he says. "Which is why we work with so many different importers and have a big focus on who's importing what. That's how you find the good stuff; you find the people who are over in Europe, who are over South America, who are in these places, discovering regions that are now great but didn't used to be."
The Wine Merchant spent years in Clayton on Forsyth before moving to Olive just west of I-170 in August 2023. The move made sense with the construction changes happening throughout Clayton, but even from a logistical sense, the new storefront has improved many aspects of purchasing wine.
"We love it here; we have a more neighborhood vibe," Main says. "It's got a big open feel to it; it's brighter, it's easier to shop, and there is better dedicated parking. The other building was a lot more cool and funky. And I've just come to realize over the years that ultimately, at the end of the day, that doesn't move the needle. The only thing that matters is easy parking. Because wine is heavy, spirits are heavy. People need easy parking."
What is the best thing you've ordered at a local restaurant recently? The pizza at Scarlett's Wine Bar; which is under new ownership. And that guy is legit over there. Everything we had was amazing. But his pizza - it's top of the line.
What's your favorite food memory? Qui Tran, who owns Mai Lee restaurant, invited me to lunch. This was years ago. I showed up, and the greatest champagne house on planet Earth, Krug Champagne, was there. He made us his salt-cured fish fried rice, and we had it with champagne. It's still, to this day, one of the most incredible pairings I've ever had.
What's your favorite place to grab a drink, and what do you order? If we go out for a drink, a lot of times we will go to Planter's House, and I will order whatever they tell me I should order because there is not a [single bad drink] on that list. And it's constantly changing.
What ingredients do you think everyone should keep at home and why? Really good tequila. You can make everything from something as simple as ranch water to gorgeous cocktails. Tequila is one of these categories that is just on the precipice of becoming unobtainable - the really good stuff. And it's still so reasonably priced. I would push anyone who's into spirits, in general, to just start really developing a good collection of tequila.
What's your most controversial food opinion? Americans don't understand off-dry and sweeter styles of wine because of what their parents and grandparents drank. I think that there was so much sugary trash being offered in this country, post-prohibition up until the late 70s, that there is this whole world of incredibly lovely off-dry stuff out there that Americans turn their nose up to. Try and mention dessert wines, or any of this kind of stuff to Americans, they just don't get it. And then you go over to Europe, and they're like the most revered wines I had. The best restaurants won't let you out the door without at least having some cheese and dessert wine. But even just like off-dry stuff is so much fun.
The Wine Merchant, 9200 Olive Blvd., Ste. 126, Olivette, Missouri, 63132, 314-863-6282, winemerchantltd.com