Three years ago, while working on an article about wine collecting, I was introduced to the young wino you see here. His name is Craig Perman, and at the time he was a seasoned wine collector who was working at Sam’s. But buried at the end of the story was a line about how he was actually selling his $20,000 wine collection to open his own business.

Well, time flies, and Perman Wine Selections has been open for months now. (Interestingly, Perman bought the space from another one of my subjects, Liesel Bennett. Should I have been cut in on this deal somehow? Yeah, I think so, too.)

I visited Perman’s shop a while ago and found it to be exactly like the kind of wine shop I like: Small, with a varied selection, a good range of prices and an opinionated merchant. Much like Liesel’s store, actually, only the space has been given a somewhat mod makeover and Perman isn’t a magnificently tall German lady in her 70s.

But there is a key difference to the way Perman does business: He sends out a weekly newsletter to his clients describing what wines he’s found that week, and his clients email back orders. When the orders arrive, they come pick them up. So Perman isn’t so much running a shop as he is running a personal wine buying business.

Of course, he does keep a good amount of inventory in his shop for walk-ins (including a particular bottle of rose that I’m going mildly insane at the prospect of trying. [And if you’re looking for the name of that bottle in this post, you’re crazy—Perman buys in limited quantities, so you—or, in this case, I— have to act quickly and stealthily about these things.])  And every last Friday of the month he puts together an irresistible package: Six bottles of wine for $60. I’ll list what he’s tentatively planning to put in his case this Friday below, but like I said, don’t get too attached—supplies are limited, and this secret is bound to get out there eventually. Actually, I think it just did.

Perman Wine Selections, 802 W Washington Blvd, 312-666-4417

2007 Primo Estate “La Biondina” - $12.50 Btl. - A blend of mainly Colomard and a splash of Sauv. Blanc from Adelaide Hills winemaker Joe Grilli.  A perfect summer white.

2005 Domaine de Regusse Pinot Noir - $9.00 – That’s right a little VDP Pinot Noir from Haute Provence.  Not the second coming of DRC, but a juicy little summer Pinot.

2007 Jane Ventura Blanc - $10.00 – One of the important small artisan producers of the Penedes region of Spain.  A crisp white made with Xarel-lo and Muscat. 

2005 Aveleda “Follies” Chardonnay / Maria Gomes - $10.00 – A really good example of a riper style white, with just a kiss of oak from Portuguese producer Aveleda.

2006 Vinos Sin Ley M1, Valencia - $8.00 – A nice example of Monastrell from the DO of Valencia.  Good for the grill, or gasp, a base for a sangria recipe.  Hate to use tasty wine like this, but its inexpensive enough. 

2006 Laurel Glen Reds - $10.50 – With 4th of July coming up it would be un-American of me not to have something from the United States in the sampler, right?  Seriously this has always been one of the great “everyday” type reds from California, and Laurel Glens winemaker Patrick Campbell.