Full Pull Paul

 

My introduction to Paul Zitarelli, owner of Full Pull Wines, was through my colleague Sean Sullivan who publishes  the Washington Wine Report, a well-written on-line review (see my blog of 20 December, 2009 - scroll down to the bottom of this page and then back to previous posts). One day, I received notification of a new (paid) subscriber, Paul Zitarelli. I suspected Sean instigated the sign-up which was confirmed by an exchange of emails.

 

Then I made an appointment to meet Paul. His store is located in a small warehouse space on Utah Avenue South in Seattle's SODO district and is stocked with remnants from previous Full Pull offerings. It was a Thursday, which is Paul's only full day there while open for order pick-ups. On these days, there usually is a "guess the wine" blind tasting. To see how I did, go to Paul's "Full Pull Rand" offering of 1 April 2010.

 

So I signed up to receive Full Pull's offerings, usually two or three times a week. I placed a few trial orders on line. Then I got confirmation of the receipt of the orders, followed by notification of my allocations (most wines have limited availability and need to be divided up among customers), Once the wines are in the warehouse, the orders are invoiced and charged, and then notifications of arrival are emailed out to customers. Pick-ups are on Thursdays (other days are by appointment only) or the wines can be shipped. The day I picked up my order happened to be "Merlot Celebration Night" with a tasting of several Washington Merlots.

 

This system of ordering wines requires some patience. Full Pull is not a destination walk-in store like Esquin (which I owned for 27 years, until 1997). At Full Pull, you wait for your wines to come in before you pick them up. But the wait is well worth it, as the wines are first-rate, well selected and competitively priced. I found there to be a high correlation between the wines Paul offers and the kinds of wines I recommend in my Review of Washington Wines. In recent and future Full Pull offerings, you will find some of my reviews quoted.

 

For the kind of service it provides, I recommend Full Pull Wines highly. Go check it out at the website (you may click on the link back at the May issue of the Review of Washington Wines).

 

Next Week: Walla Walla Spring Release Weekend - A Report