At The Urban Grape, we use a 1-10 weighting system that measures the body of the wine. 1 is the lightest-bodied wine we carry, our “skim milk.” Things progressively build in body to 5, our “whole milk.” We cap everything off at 10, our “heavy cream.” We do this twice: 1W to 10W for white wines, and 1R to 10R for red wines.
We can’t take credit for that one! The milk analogy was developed by world-renowned wine educator Kevin Zraly. All of us know the difference between skim milk, whole milk, and heavy cream, so using this reference point makes it easier for our customers to understand differing wine weights as well.
In a world filled with generic wine clubs, we proudly cultivate monthly wine boxes that celebrate diverse winemakers, regions, varietals, and themes. Members enjoy not only being introduced to new wines each month but also exclusive discounts and easy reordering of favorite wines.
TJ’s “Aha” bottle of wine was Sassicia, and while that first sip ignited a life-long love of wine, for years, he struggled to understand the wine world’s vast catalog of varietals and regions. One concept in Kevin Zraly’s famous wine education book “Windows on the World” changed his path forever - to think of wine by its body (skim milk, whole milk, or heavy cream) and acid level (lemonade or hot chocolate). The seeds for the Progressive Scale were planted, and TJ never looked back. After years of organizing restaurant wine lists progressively - lightest-bodied wines to fullest-bodied wines - TJ developed a way to bring this concept into retail for the first time. His system of rating wines by their body on a scale of 1-10 revolutionized how wine was sold, creating ease and access for the store’s customers.
TJ is credited as being one of the pioneers who brought customer-focused hospitality back to wine retail. He is a frequent panelist and keynote speaker at wine industry conferences, judge at industry events and tastings, and presenter at business conferences focused on entrepreneurship and creative business development.
A Bold New Way to Pair Wine with Food!
Written by Urban Grape Founders, TJ and Hadley Douglas, Drink Progressively is a best-selling wine education and food pairing book that has revolutionized the way people think about, buy, and enjoy wine.
In twenty sections, Drink Progressively lays out our proprietary Progressive Scale, a system of organizing wine by its body instead of varietal or region. Each section includes typicalities, suggested bottles to try, and food pairings - including recipes from renowned chef Gabriel Frasca and the Douglas' home kitchen.
This book is appropriate for both wine novices and wine experts who want to reinvigorate the way they consider their wine buying and pairing.
