The first phone call from the PR lady was flattering. She went on and on about my wine experience and the wonderful things she had heard about my shoppe. I thanked her. Then she said she works with Concannon wines from California and wanted to schedule a time for John Concannon to visit the shoppe so we could taste his new Conservancy series and specifically his new "Crimson and Clover".

I said sure, and in fact, we had been selling the Crimson & Clover for several months with great success.

This made her happy. Then she dropped the bomb.

"He will be in Indy the week of January 23 so can I call you back to confirm a time?"

Zoinks. Of ALL of the weeks in the year THIS is the one he chooses to make the trek from Livermore Valley to Indianapolis.

"Uh, well, sure," I say.

We hang up. She is happy. I am worried.

Why? Because the weeks of January 21-Feb 5 had been deemed The Holy Grail for those of us in the hospitality/retail industry because that's when the NFL Machine would roll in and Super Bowl XLVI would lift us out of our January sales doldrum.

And that kind of message is what the 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee had been driving into our heads for the past 8 months. Endless emails telling retailers/restaurants to "Stock up and staff up as you will sell a week's worth of food and products in ONE day".

And now I have a well known winemaker wanting to stop in and see me during that time frame. I didn't want to turn him down but I didn't want to take our time away from the hundreds possibly thousands of customers that would be passing thru our doors those days. Or so I thought.

Jan 21 arrived and the customers didn't. Same said for Jan 23, 24, 25...so when the PR lady emailed on the eve of January 25 to say that Mr Concannon would arrive the next day, my manager and I were THRILLED to have ANY body in the shoppe.

John Concannon showed up early with a smile, a selection of wines AND the midwest rep for his brands who had recently moved from Atlanta to Indianapolis. PEOPLE-- REAL PEOPLE in the shoppe!! My manager Lisa and I were over the top with happiness and that was before we tried the delicious Concannon wines.

The Concannon family has been in the California wine business since 1883. John's great grandfather James Concannon moved his family from Ireland to Livermore, California where they along with the Mondavi's, Wente's, Gallo's, and Martini's became the pioneering force of what is today a thriving California wine industry.

The family history is rich with tradition and pride and alot of hard work. They were the first to plant petite syrah grapes in the area (1911) and the first to bottle it commercially (1961). When other wineries went under in the 1920's during Prohibition, Concannon made "sacramental wine" and stayed open. They had the first trained woman winemaker in the state (1950) and operate a certified sustainable winery and recently put its 200acre estate into a legal trust that prohibits urban development. The Livermore Valley is situated in the fastly growing San Francisco Bay area where many vineyards and ranches are being sold to residential and commercial builders. The Concannon Conservancy series of wines are all sourced from these vineyards which will preserve the characteristics for years to come. And those were the wines we tasted.

John Concannon is a charmer. He had been traveling from west to south to north and was headed back to California the next day. But despite the crazy schedule he was completely focused on enjoying conversation with us. And sampling his wines. Of those tasted the Chardonnay was brimming with tropical fruit, soft vanilla and subtle bacon notes. The petite syrah was tooth staining and superb and the Crimson and Clover-a blend of Petite Syrah and Cabernet was earthy, rich, black fruit. Great labels, heavy bottles, amazing values.

Then we got an extra treat. The new Concannon Irish Whiskey. The malt/grain blend is made at the Coolery Distillery in Ireland where it is aged for 4 years in old Concannon Petite Syrah barrels. The result is a warming smooth bourbon with fruity notes of caramel and vanilla.

We decided to celebrate the union by creating a cocktail "The Concannon Ball" which includes a healthy shot of the scrumptious Concannon Irish Whiskey blended with Q tonic ginger ale.

John presented us with a gorgeously produced coffee table book of the Concannon history featuring breath taking photographs by Andy Katz and a story line written by Tim Patterson who interviewed and brought to life the story of Jim Concannon, John's dad and the man that most of us know when it comes to those oh so tasty Concannon wines. Next time you're in the east end of Mass Ave be sure to stop by 878 Mass Ave and take a look at the book. The pictures and prose make for a stunning recollection of one of California's prominent wine families. And if you're thirsty, I highly recommend a Concannon Ball cocktail or at the very least, a bottle of the rich red Crimson and Clover. And oh yes, you can find Concannon wines in other area wine stores too.