Du Jour with Bill Hounshell, Matherne’s wine guru

Along with a neighborhood vibe and personal service, locally-owned Matherne’s Supermarket is known for its wine department, the brainchild of store manager Bill Hounshell. Fourteen years ago when the grocery first opened (then as Kenilworth Supermarket), a wine salesman harassed Hounshell to add wines, an idea that first fell on deaf ears. Later, Hounshell acquiesced, devoting about 40 linear feet to mostly prosaic bottles. Wine took awhile to catch on, but eventually, shoppers responded. Hounshell immersed himself in relentless self-education, and over the years, added a couple of thousand more linear feet chock full of boutique and international selections. He also developed a reputation for finding good value.

“Anyone can buy a $30 bottle of wine, and most of them will be good,” he says. “Finding those $10 to $15 bottles that taste like they’re $30, that’s the quest.”

About 10 years ago, Hounshell launched Matherne’s wine dinners, in which complementary wines join an original menu prepared by Hounshell and his wife. Today, the wildly popular events occur up to four times a month and are always wait-listed.

Hounshell says perfecting your palate doesn’t depend on studying the wine wheel, or tasting what earns high marks in magazines. Instead, he says, “start with what you like, and find someone you trust.” As a chronic taster, Hounshell has made the journey common to many wine buffs. It began with inexpensive whites, evolved to huge, chewy reds (“the kind that climb out of the glass and grab you by the throat”), and is now firmly in the camp that prefers food friendly wines with some age and history on them. On his list this week are a nice little non-vintage Zinfandel by Candor, and a red blend produced by the Spanish winery, Casa de la Ermita Crianza.

To read previous Du Jour features on local chefs and other culinary experts, click here.