Benson's Wine Bar hosts tasting event

<span>CHESTER -- Benson's Wine Bar in Chester hosted a free wine tasting event on July 25, bringing Southern Wine and Spirits Consultant Ted Fuehne to the area to discuss the bar's selection.</span>

<span>"We've been open for eight or nine weeks now," said Benson's co-owner Micah Reiman. "The reason why we wanted to put this together is one, to help educate people on some of the wines, that's why we brought in our wine consultant.</span>

<span>"We're kind of at a dilemma here because some of the pricier wines, we can't serve by the glass and we can't offer a taste."</span>

<span>Reiman said events like the ones at Benson's allow the bar to open all the by-the-bottle wines for tasting so people won't be obligated to purchase the entire bottle.</span>

<span>Fuehne has been a wine consultant for nearly 20 years and was also an AT&T technician, according to his LinkedIn profile.</span>

<span>Before becoming involved with Southern Wine and Spirits, he worked for BoutiQue Wine Sales, conducting sales over the phone.</span>

<span>"We're trying to create something that the general public will enjoy," said Fuehne, who has been helping Reiman compile a wine list. "That's what it's all about."</span>

<span>Fuehne said the keys to a good wine list are variety and a good price point.</span>

<span>"(Benson's) can't please everybody, but a good wine list will be reasonably priced so that the public can enjoy it without going broke," Fuehne said. "Across the board from Pinot all the way up to a good Cabernet, you have to have a good number of wines to give people choices."</span>

<span>Fuehne said one of the trends industry experts are seeing is an increased preference for white and red blends.</span>

<span>"What you're seeing is a lot of wines being made for the under-30 crowd," Fuehne said. "They want the fruity wines and the fruity red (wines) are the most popular wines out there."</span>

<span>Benson's Wine Bar opened at the site of the former Benson's Men's Clothing Store in Chester's historic Swanwick District.</span>

<span>The location was also an auto parts store and a general store during the Civil War.</span>

<span>"Only time will tell and we'll see how it goes," Fuehne said on what the next step for Benson's is. "It depends on how popular it is and you've got to give this some time to work it's way.</span>

<span>"The next step is giving (the bar) some time and bringing people in and letting them taste their wines."</span>

<span>Reiman said the bar's turnout has been "overwhelmingly positive."</span>

<span>"We're getting people from Perryville, Steeleville, Red Bud, Sparta and everyone's starting to hear about it," he said. "It's just starting to grow as word of mouth gets out and advertising takes off a little bit.</span>

<span>"We're just amazed and in awe."</span>