Looking for something to do on a Thursday evening or hoping to expand your wine palate? Little Vine artisan grocer on Grant Avenue between Union and Filbert streets offers free monthly wine tastings featuring small-batch, hard-to-find bottles.
The tastings run from 5–7pm the first Thursday of the month following the first Tuesday, so this month it will be on Thursday, April 9th. Stark Wine Company out of Healdsburg, which produces Rhône and Mediterranean-inspired wines, will be showcased this week.
The staff generally pours two to four two-ounce samples, and either representatives of the winery or the winemakers themselves are on hand to answer questions. "It's always just really mellow and really fun," said Zach Roz, Little Vine employee and cheesemonger. "We always have a good time."
Anywhere from 25 to 75 customers might file through during the two-hour tastings, Roz said. The event features the wines released the first Tuesday of the month for wine club members. The club costs $50 a month and includes two reds, two whites or one of each (there's a also a reserve club with higher-end selections for $125 for two bottles).
The shop also carries about 75 bottles of red and white wines priced at $20 or less. Cheese samples are offered during the wine tastings as well, though cheese sampling is free anytime. The selection includes a small but well-chosen international selection from California, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland and beyond.
"I've worked in cheese for years, so it's all things I like the most," Roz said. "Since it is so small, we stick to the good stuff. We don't have anything bad here."
In addition to wine and cheese, Little Vine has just about everything for the modern-day gourmand, from McClure's pickles to Mary's whole organic chickens to fresh Straus Family Creamery products and various mustards, vinegars, barbecue sauces, chocolates and more. Virtually every inch of the minuscule shop is jam-packed with goodies—so many that there's a rolling ladder to get to the top shelves.
A lot of patrons pack a picnic and take it to Washington Square Park, Roz said. Or they come in for the "sandwich of the day," which rotates frequently. The Wednesday ham and cheese might have Prosciutto cotto, French brie, buffalo butter, grain mustard and romaine on an Acme Bread roll, for instance, or it could have Prosciutto Cotto, raclette cheese, romaine, jalapeño jam and butter. (Keep up on offerings on the Little Vine Facebook page.)
Melissa Gugni and Jay Esopenko own the shop, which opened in August of 2011. They also own Union Larder at 1945 Hyde St., a 32-seat wine bar featuring European specialties.
"Jay lived in Barcelona a long time and I think that's where he got the inspiration for a neighborhood shop," Roz said, adding that Union Larder "was based on a cava bar he was in in Barcelona."
Little Vine is open 11am–7pm Tuesday through Saturday, and 11am-5pm Sunday. Union Larder is open 5pm–11pm Tuesday and Wednesday, noon–11pm Thursday through Saturday and 5–9pm Sunday.
