| My name is Michael Beard and I am the third person to become involved in the ownership of the wine store. Cornell Wine Company was established in 1994 by two Yorkshiremen, Morgan Atkinson and Martin Wright. Being a Yorkshireman myself, I sought out the store after reading that two fellows from "God's Country" had a wine store. I discovered Martin was not only a Yorkshireman, but was born in the same town as I was. At the time I did not live close to the shop, but in 1995 I moved to the west side of town and became a regular customer. After a while, Morgan became the sole owner and was well known for his passion for Bordeaux, Port and...Manchester United. If one had interest in Soccer - or those other great teams games, Rugby and Cricket - it was easy to forget about wine when talking to Morgan! In July 2003 Morgan had a desire to return to the distribution side of the wine business and I purchased the store from him. The passion for Bordeaux, Port and Soccer continues! |
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Until I purchased the store, my wine involvement was mainly as a consumer, plus working in the tasting rooms of several Oregon wineries. For my whole career my "day job" has been in aviation. However the turmoil in the airline business after 9-11 removed much of the pleasure I had in the business, and airport hassles have removed the fun from flying. It was time to make a business out of my passion for wine, and enjoy the finer things of life - good wine and food! |
 Mick contemplating what to drink with lunch! |
| My introduction to great wine was over dinner - and I have to thank the Royal Air Force for this! In the 1960s I was mainly a beer drinker as at the time the tax structure in England made wine expensive. When we drank wine it was cheap Spanish plonk and off-dry Riesling from the old Yugoslavia. However I flew with the RAF Volunteer Reserve while I was at University and at my first formal dinner with the squadron the officers' mess served Château Pontet-Canet from Paulliac in France's Bordeaux region. I had discovered wine! Twenty months spent in Venezuela in the mid-1970s turned my wife and I into regular wine drinkers - the beer was not good and Scotch was very expensine...and Chilean and Argentinian wine was about $1.00! However it was our arrival in the USA in 1976 that confirmed to us that we were "winos". We were amazed at the wide selection of wines available and Leroy Package Store, a couple of blocks from where we first lived in Binghamton, NY was a treasure trove. A local restaurant introduced us to the pleasures of matching wine and food., and above all, we discovered wine was FUN! The modus operandi of Cornell Wine Company is to ensure its customers have fun (the word connoiseur is banned from the shop!), to encourage people to try different grape varietals from new places, and to find that great $10 bottle, but also to show that a $50+ bottle can also be great value. We will also remember Morgan's sage advice on choosing wine: "Does it taste good?" and "How much does it cost?". Is there anything else that matters? We are quite prepared to discuss winemaking and everything that goes towards making a good bottle of wine, but that has to be secondary to what is in the bottle. If you want to talk wine and food and we’re on the same page. It does not matter if it’s marmalade or mackerel we can find the wine for you. Whether you are looking for a wine for that special occasion or a Friday night take-out, stop in and see us. |
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