Shaker Wines

10/15/2026

An Afternoon at Masi W**ery

Join Us this Saturday for our weekly tasting An Afternoon at Masi W**ery I just returned from Verona, Italy where I spent time at the renowned Masi W**ery in the Valpolicella region. Today I would like to share some of their w**es with you, including their world famous Amarone What: a Tasting of the...

10/13/2026

Just landed: new arrivals

Join Us this Saturday for our weekly tasting An Afternoon at Masi W**ery I just returned from Verona, Italy where I spent time at the renowned Masi W**ery in the Valpolicella region. Today I would like to share some of their w**es with you, including their world famous Amarone What: a Tasting of the...

10/09/2026

Two stars in our Autumn sky…

1. Cuvées Des Vallees Sancerre
2. Morgan Twelve Clones Pinot Noir

Stop in and take home a taste of Fall. We are open Monday through Saturday from 11:00 - 7:00.

**e

10/09/2026

In addition to my unsolicited note two days ago this just popped up on the W**e Spectator's page....curiously corroborative.

The Social Benefits of W**e

An Oxford professor sheds light on the potential role of w**e in combatting America’s loneliness epidemic.

One of U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s last acts before leaving office in January of 2025 was to issue an advisory calling for cancer warning labels on all alcoholic beverages. It grabbed plenty of attention. But that came two years after another Murthy advisory declaring that America faced a loneliness epidemic. Ironically, light-to-moderate alcohol drinking could play an important role in combating that epidemic and improving people’s health in the process.

When people speak about a loneliness epidemic, what they’re referring to is social isolation. Polls by both Gallup and Harvard in 2024 found that approximately 20% of surveyed Americans reported feeling lonely in the past 24 hours. But the bigger problem was a lack of socialization with other people. One study found that in-person time with friends fell from about 60 minutes per day in 2003 to about 20 in 2020. For 15-to-24-year-olds, the drop was larger.

Many have pointed the finger at smartphones, and not without reason. The pandemic also triggered habits of staying home and filling our needs with remote work, social media and delivery app meals. One thing is clear—humans are having less face time with other humans.

The health impact is more than feeling sad. A 2010 paper collated data from 148 studies of heart attack patients and found that the best predictor of survival over the 12 months after a heart attack was how well-embedded the patient was in their social network. Another study found that older Americans’ risk of developing dementia correlated inversely with the size of their social circle.

For Robin Dunbar, professor emeritus of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford, this is not surprising. He has spent his lengthy career studying social interaction among primates, including humans. Primates are fundamentally social creatures; that brings all sorts of benefits, as groups work together for food and self-defense. But there’s the drawback of living on top of each other.

In order to maintain social harmony, primates have developed ways to build friendships and community. Clear hierarchies and social grooming do the trick for most primates, but humans don’t tend to pick bugs out of each other’s fur. Humans also have developed the largest social networks, which has allowed us to build societies. But that makes face-to-face socialization critical. Snarky comments at each other over social media don’t count.

“Community lies at the heart of our health and well-being,” Dunbar wrote in a 2016 study. “We are an intensely social species, and everything we do is bound up in our propensity to be social. Being socially engaged, and taking part in activities like laughing, singing and dancing that are part of that process of engagement, not only make us feel part of the community but directly and indirectly also enhance our sense of well-being and even our health.” All of these things release endorphins, which boost the immune system.

And that brings us back to drinking in moderation. While it’s not the only way to interact, Dunbar points out that a glass of w**e or a pint of ale can lead to laughing, singing and dancing. He argues that this may be why humans have consumed it for at least 8,000 years and why we have evolved the ability to safely metabolize it.

“Despite considerable research on the misuse of alcohol, no one has ever asked why it might have become universally adopted, although the conventional view assumes that its only benefit is hedonic,” he wrote. “In contrast, we suggest that alcohol consumption was adopted because it has social benefits that relate both to health and social bonding.”

In other words, that bottle of w**e on the table this Thanksgiving could be the catalyst for improving the bonds of friendship, family and better living.

10/09/2026

I couldn't help but notice this morning several headlines on the internet concerning a glut in Napa Valley w**es. So much so that well known producers are practically giving their w**es away, under different labels of course, to be sold at Costco, Walmart and the local grocery chains nationwide.

Navigator will sell a Napa Valley cabernet with a $149 retail price for $29.99.
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Grocery Outlet offers a Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon valued at $45 to $85 for $9.99 as Second Cheapest W**e.
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Costco dropped Kirkland Signature Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon to $19.99 from $22.99.

I hope you can read between the lines of this nonsense. Unknow products from supposedly well known regions ..."a Napa Valley cabernet" ? Which one ? Stags Leap Cabernet...is a region as well as actually TWO w**eries. Neither of which are dumping their w**e for $20 bucks.

My best analogy is when you go to the grocery store, and see, pork, beef, veal, chicken in the counters at $15-$25 a pound. Then you see a long counter of packages of pink stuff, labeled "Mystery Meat" $6.99 lb. Which one are you taking home for the family ?

Yes, some w**eries do lower their prices from time to time as vintages change. NOBODY sells their $200, highly coveted cabernet for $19.99 at Costco.

But you knew that. As always, Buyer Beware.
But there is always those people who like to brag about "the deal they got" My thoughts and prayers go out to them.

10/08/2026

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting a relative and superb w**e master, Sandro Boscaini, owner of Masi W**ery, outside of Verona Italy.
We spoke for nearly 2 hours, about culture, the future of quality w**es, and family.
Before lunch, we stumbled on a topic which opened up further discussions then, and during pranzo.
The curious discussion focused on the difference in American and Italian perception of w**e consumption.
W**e consumption in the US is down, while, in Italy and most of the developing world, is steady or growing. Why?
We arrived at the conclusion that it is based on how alcohol is used and marketed in America and in Italy.
In America, I believe, a lot of w**e, b**r, mixed drinks, are consumed in bars and restaurants, where the purpose is not to stimulate conversation or increase the enjoyment of food, but to get into an altered state of consciousness, i.e. get high.
Indeed, the demographics of America shows something like 21-30 year olds seem to lean more towards legalized drugs and b**r, the 30-40 somethings, more towards mixed drinks and some w**e.
The only demographic in the US which tends to increase consumption are the 40-65 plus age group, who are drinking a bit less, but better w**es.
This amazed Sandro. It was so foreign.
In Italy, w**e was not seen as only a stimulant, but as part of the food chain. You had w**e with your family, friends, new acquaintances, but rarely drank alone.
W**e (alcohol) was part of creating a convivial environment, for chit chat, laughter, recollections, some tears . The term convivial came up several times and I think he was on to something.
In a sense, he was pointing to a solitary culture versus a communal society, and how each experiences life.
Why do we eat? Why do we drink ? Why do we work ? To satiate ourselves and alter our conscious state for its own sake? Or is there something else ?
Sandro Boscaini and I felt the same...alcohol, especially w**e, should be a vehicle to transport us from our present condition to one which encourages gathering, talking, interacting, laughter, and is connected to the regrouping of family.
In today's two partner working family, have we forgotten this aspect of life? In the fast food mentality which predominates our culture, do we have time to stop, savor and enjoy ? Or Chit Chat ?
Or eat, drink, work and sleep ?
Italy is not perfect. But relying on several thousands of years of experience as a reference, perhaps they are closer to enjoying this life than what we have accepted as a normal lifestyle.
Lets have a glass of Masi Amarone and discuss that idea, shall we?

10/07/2026

Two New Stars in the Autumn Sky

Two New Stars in our Autumn Sky

09/25/2026

Featuring a taste of Tuscany with w**es from Tua Rita

Perlato del Bosco Vermentino
Rosso dei Notri Super Tuscan
Perlato del Bosco Sangiovese

Stop in Monday through Saturday from 11:00-7:00, and take home art in a bottle.

**e

09/24/2026

To our dear customers,

Our email was hacked. Thankfully, this issue has been resolved.

Please do not respond to any suspicious requests for sending money/gift cards, etc.

If you did purchase gift cards, etc., call your bank immediately to report the fraud.

This scam has been reported to the Shaker Police Department, the Ohio Attorney General's office, and the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Please email or call the shop at 216-283-6300 for any order requests. We are open Monday through Saturday from 11:00- 7:00.

Our apologies for any inconvenience.

Thank you,

Erika Stephens
Shaker W**es Manager

09/23/2026

Unfortunately, our email at [email protected] has been hacked. We are working on the breach, but advise that you do not respond to any suspicious emails from that account, especially ones asking for money/gift cards, etc.

Any inquiries about orders, deliveries, etc. can be made by calling Shaker W**es directly at 216-283-6300.

We are open Monday through Saturday from 11:00 - 7:00.

We apologize for any inconvenience, and thank you for your continued support.