The Desert WIne Guy - Khoury's Wine & Spirits

   Today I am going to review a local wine/beer establishment named Khoury's, located here in Vegas. Myself and another wine blogger here in Las Vegas met to discuss a possible exchanging of articles for each others blogs. I had never heard of the establishment before and to be honest from the outside it looks like just another “Liquor Store”, it is not. Walking into the store you see a good amount of wines on racks which are separated by the types of wine they are some were separated by country such as Africa. The cool thing I noticed was that aside from the usual wines you see in larger wine & spirits stores there were a lot of Boutique type wines. The wines that were involved in the tastings were actually all Boutique wines. As with all Boutique wines they were all from small wineries that released in small quantities. There was one that stood out and that wast the “My Essential” which the label says is simply a red wine. I truly didn't expect much but it was amazing. It was sort of like seeing a mutt (dog) and saying “I see this dog in the eyes, this dog in the feet” etc; I was able to taste all the wines (it is a blend) as if I tasted different, individual wines. It was amazing, look for the review. There was a special section that was refrigerated and where most but not all of the wines were on the higher price scale. The wines in here were layed out in their winery packaged boxes that I felt added a little class. The entire place was clean and well stocked. The person behind the counter (I think he was the owner) was participating in the wine tasting which seemed to prevent him from walking around. While he was able to walk around and and assist customers it appeared he chose not to. It appeared that he was more interested in the register. There was another employee to assist people in the store and I did talk with him at the counter however I was not approached nor did I see him while I was walking the isles. The times I saw him was at the bar he did appear to be busy, what he was doing I don't know. I had no doubts that if I had come to the bar to ask for assistance that I

wine tasting at Khoury's

Tons Of Selection

would have gotten some. There was also a representative, Thomas from Crush & Cooper Wine and Spirits who distributes the wines involved in the tasting. He appeared very knowledgeable on wines and while very busy talking with customers and explaining his wines, was very personable, I enjoyed talking to him. It appeared to me that if you left the wine tasting area you were on your own. Speaking of the wine tasting itself. There were five wines available for tasting at the cost of $5 which was applied toward a purchase. There was a 2011 My Essential Red, 2012 Hindsight Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010 A.P. Vin Gary's Pinot Noir, 2012 Turley Juvenile Zinfandel & the 2012 Failla Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (which I did not like). Thomas was in charge of the tasting and did an excellent job engaging in conversation and sharing his knowledge of his product as well as wine in general. One nice touch was a library of wine books that customers could look at. There were plenty of tables available to sit at and they filled up rather quickly because of the turnout which seemed like all regulars. I have to say thought that the customers were very nice and welcoming. While my wife and I walked around a customer came over and introduced herself and said she was glad we were there and invited us back. The whole place including the employees (at the counter) were very welcoming actually and being new my wife and I didn't feel out of place at all. There were waters, juices and energy drinks available should you go with someone who doesn’t drink, like my wife or for the designated driver which I recommend you bring. There is no food available although they do allow you to bring outside food in. There are plenty of places located in the shopping center to eat. If you want Pizza I recommend Montassanos which is located in the same shopping center. The place was well lit and there was no music which I found nice and allowed you to learn about wine from Thomas as well as talk to other people. Parking was not a problem either and the store is locate in a very nice part (Henderson) of Vegas. Being that this is a wine blog I left this part for last. The have an incredible selection of Beer also. There were large bottles of Samuel Adams that I had never seen before. I even picked up a 32 oz can of Pabst Blue ribbon for myself since Mrs Desert Wine Gal is from Wisconsin. Just like there were so many Boutique wines there were small production beers that are normally available in he states they are brewed in. By the way it is come as you are. I had a nice pair of jeans on and a U.N.L.V sweatshirt and was not out of place.

   If you come to Vegas I highly recommend that you check this place out. Go there on Wednesday for beer tasting night and Thursday for Wine tasting night. 

                                          
                                                                                            The Desert Wine Guy