This publication has covered the tastes of Southwest Detroiter Putnam Weekley before (see
The Detroiter Who Ate (and Drank) Everything). Well, he's making news again, this time with a new business:
Detroit Wine Truck, a service that will deliver his personally curated bottle packages to any Detroit doorstep.
Weekley has honed his chops working for wine shops, departments and wholesalers in the suburbs and Ann Arbor for about a dozen years. Like many kinds of retail in the city, he found options back home to be lacking -- stalwart Cost Plus in Eastern Market and new kid
MotorCity Wine notwithstanding. "With such a diverse set of products, you could have have 20 wine stores next to each other, all with different products," he says. "Detroit has historically had less of those kinds of things than some suburban places."
With thoughts of opening a storefront long on his mind, Weekley decided a delivery business was a good entry point. "I can learn who is drinking wine in Detroit, what they are interested in," he says. Added bonus: giving city dwellers "more access to a subject near and dear to me."
Packages range from the value-priced -- six bottles of three French red varieties for $66 -- to a pricier pair of Italians for $55. Deliveries began last week and, as he suspected, the lower cost packages have been the most popular. "Ten dollars is a lot of money to spend on a beverage," says Weekley. "But to make interesting wine, it is hard to deliver that to market for much less -- at least to the standards I apply when judging wine." He pledges that he will offer no wine, no matter the price tag, that is "formulaic or mass-produced."
Other "foodie" businesses popping up around town --
Beau Bien,
Neighborhood Noodle and
Corridor Sausage, to name just a few -- point to a critical mass of thoughtful eating and drinking choices in Detroit. Weekley sees this as positive for his enterprise. "If you're an adventurous eater and trust your own palate, and you taste the wines...intuitively (there is) something delicious about them, satisfying and memorable," he says. "You might want more -- and then maybe, I have a business that will sustain itself."
Check out Detroit Wine Truck packages
here (scroll down). To schedule delivery call 313-450-2420, twitter Putnam100 or email
[email protected].
Source: Putnam Weekley, Detroit Wine Truck
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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