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| Northwest Wine Fan Visits Bend Wine Cellar |
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| Ambience: Located behind La Rosa and Zucca Italian Kitchen at the College Way roundabout, Bend Wine Cellar truly is the "Funkiest Wine Shop in Bend"! The ambience consists of concrete floors and a tiny wine sales and display area. The beauty of Bend Wine Cellar though is the wine selection and the temperature and humidity controlled wine storage lockers that take up a large amount of the facility. The lockers can hold anywhere from 18 cases and up and are available for rental on a monthly or yearly basis. The Scene: The highlight at Bend Wine Cellar is the Saturday wine tasting. Dennis and Diane usually have 3-4 wines of good to great quality available to try. At a recent Saturday event Carolyn and I tasted two highly sought after wines from The Long Shadows Group, "Sequel" by winemaker John Duval (of Penfolds Grange fame) and "Chester Kidder" by Gilles Nicault (former winemaker at Woodward Canyon). There was a nominal fee $2 each to try these wines, but how often do you get to try a $50 wine before buying it. Most tastings are free and a good opportunity to try new types of wine that you might not buy to try out on your own. We have found many new wines and varietals this way. Thursday is a shopping day and an opportunity to bring wine to your cellar locker or to pick up wine. Of course you can always call and make an appointment to access your wine or to purchase a bottle for that special occasion on days that they are not open. The Wine: With a modest selection of about 75 items Bend Wine Cellar's inventory might not be vast, but they pack a lot of punch. Northwest offerings such as Andrew Will, Va Piano, Domaine Serene and other highly sought after wines show their dedication to offering wines you'll be proud to take over to your friends house for dinner. They also offer a selection of California, French and world wines. Pricing can start as low as $10 a bottle and go up to over $100 (I purchased a magnum of La Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf Du Pape for $100, a great price). Bend Wine Cellar has recently gone into the winemaking business also. Their first wine is a Merlot made Napa grapes. It is from the 2005 vintage and is called "Madeleine Merlot" . Be sure to ask about it. Overall Impression: Now the oldest true wine shop in Bend, Bend Wine Cellar has friendly, knowledgeable staff and a good wine selection. Check them out. |
| Bend Wine Cellar 1444 College Way, Suite 8 Bend, OR 97701 (541)385-9258 Open Saturday 2-5 PM Thursday 3-5 PM and by appointment Proprietors: Dennis & Diane Sienko Reviewed by Tim and Carolyn Sinniger April, 2007 |
| Talk To The Cellarmaster: |
| Name: |
| Tim Sinniger |
| Email: |
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