Mustard Seed Market & Café’s new 90<20 wine program promises the best of the best for less

By Laura Briedis

With thousands of vintages and numerous varietals of wine available around the world, Mustard Seed Market & Café is making the often-daunting task of picking out a good wine more effortless. Instead of randomly selecting a bottle based on the label design (which, admittedly, many of us do), highly rated wines are grouped together. And the best thing is they all are under $20.

“We have created a 90<20 wine section to take away the intimidation factor when buying wine,” says Bill Krauss, wine, beer and cheese category manager at Mustard Seed. “Oftentimes people walk into a wine store and stare at a wall of thousands of different bottles of wine, so here we try to help them so they are not overwhelmed.”

“We have organized a section of wine featuring bottles priced under $20 that are rated 90-plus points by wine magazines and reputable sources,” he says.

Each of the three Mustard Seed locations has a wine steward on staff, and every Monday morning they taste different wines, make tasting notes and give thumbs up or down to each wine.

“We taste all different varietals from red, white, rosé, sparkling and fortified wines,” says Bill, who has worked as a sommelier. “We don’t put any wines on our shelves that we have not tasted ourselves.”

“Our 90<20 wall features quality wine for a fair price,” he comments. “If a customer comes in who always buys her favorite cabernet that costs $17 and is only rated 85 points, I can show her 10 other cabs rated higher that cost less if she wants to try something new.”

The wine stewards also help you pair wines with foods.

“If someone comes in and tells us what they are cooking for dinner, it is our job to know which wines would pair nicely with the meal,” says Bill. “For example, salmon is a heavier fish with a higher fat content so it can stand up to a heavier wine, pairing nicely with red or white wines, such as pinot noir, sauvignon blanc or chardonnay.”

In addition to recommendations from the wine stewards, the stores have just started adding tags to each wine showing recommended food pairings. “We are doing everything we can to help consumers pick the perfect wine,” says Bill.

In addition to these 90< 20 wines, you will find super premium wines priced over $100. The stores sell wine from every corner of the world, along with a handful of local wines. They also special order more than 100 wines every week on average for customers looking for a specific wine that is not on their shelves.

“We also offer a large selection of organic, sustainable, biodynamic wines,” notes Bill. “The popularity of organic wine is growing every year as more consumers are looking for wine made from grapes grown with no fertilizer or pesticides. And being a health food store, our shoppers are often looking for organic wines.”

“We want to become a wine destination and feel that our 90<20 wine section is a concept that helps people find the perfect wine,” says Bill. “Though we carry up to 800 different bottles of wine, we want to make it easy to find one you will love.”

Mustard Seed Market & Café has three locations: 3885 W. Market Street in Akron (330-666-7333), 867 W. Market Street in Highland Square in Akron (330-434-7333), and 6025 Kruse Drive in Solon (440-519-3663). For more information, visit MustardSeedMarket.com.