The Wine Racket

Michael Franzese is a former Colombo crime family caporegime who left organized crime and became (among other things) a wine entrepreneur. Normal Silicon Valley pivot. Some people leave Google to build soup-by-drone. He went from mob boss to Armenian wine founder. So, significantly less annoying.

Franzese Wine follows Armenia's very old winemaking tradition. Armenia has one of the oldest known wine histories on Earth, so these bottles show up with cultural depth and the facial expression of someone who knows exactly where the b…grape skins are buried.

The lineup includes Malbec, Areni, and a Dry White, plus NA versions (for anyone who wants the family drama without having to hire a getaway car). The Areni is the old-soul red from Vayots Dzor, Armenia's mountain wine country. Think Pinot-ish red fruit and lift, but with more stone, spice, and "my family has documents older than your startup." The Malbec is the smooth talker. The Kangun and Voskehat dry white is the fun one: Kangun is an Armenian grape developed during the Soviet era and often used for brandy, while Voskehat is the ancient "queen" white grape, floral and Chenin-adjacent. Together, they make a crisp white that can look you in the eye and say, "This conversation never happened."

Fruit Wine and Brandy: Protective Custody

The fruit wines are semi-sweet and come in Cherry, Strawberry, Blackberry, and Pomegranate. Serve them chilled with dessert, cheese, or the dinner guest who says "surprise me" and then cross-examines the surprise.

Pomegranate is tart and dramatic. Cherry is rich. Strawberry is friendly. Blackberry is surprisingly deep, so don't ever call it "funny".

Then there is the 20-year and 30-year Michael Franzese Armenian Brandy, which looks less like a bottle and more like evidence in a trial about good taste. Thirty years is a long time: pre-iPhone, pre-Google IPO, "Mountain View still had elbow room" old. Aged brandy loses volume to evaporation while the remaining spirit gets deeper, smoother, and more concentrated, which is why the 30-year bottle costs real money and why you sip it like it survived three recessions.

Cherries So Cheap They Need an Alibi

Fresh local cherries are in at Ava's, at $3.99/lb with no pesticides. That is the kind of price that makes people whisper, "did these fall off the back of a truck?" No. They fell off the height of cherry season. We couldn't refuse.

This is limited-supply behavior. Cherries don't hang around while you find inner peace. They arrive, look gorgeous, create a small household scandal, and disappear into a bowl of stems. Just make sure you clean up the evidence afterwards (you still have some red spots on your shirt… we're assuming that's cherry.)

Goldfish and Olipop: Small-Time Operators

The Goldfish crackers are also deeply discounted, including classic cheddar and Old Bay seasoned crackers. Some problems can be solved by having someone "sleep with the fishes", but we'd rather have you "snack on these fishes". Less tragic, and with significantly more cheddar dust.
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And Olipop is on sale too, including Blackberry Vanilla (yes, you read that right, and yes, you couldn't possibly describe the flavor until you try it), and Raspberry Sherbet (which, again, shouldn't exist as a soda flavor but somehow will become your new favorite go-to). It's soda with probiotics, which means you can stand in the beverage aisle and say "this is for wellness" while clearly buying fizzy contraband.

The Clearance Table: Nobody Saw Nothin'

The clearance table in the back is still making quiet little back-room deals: rotating oddball treasures, marked-down snacks, and products that seem like we'd say "I cannot discuss my supplier." Check it before you leave. If you find something at a price that you just can't refuse, that is not an accident. That is the table choosing you.

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