Wine, Beer and Sake Too

Artisan Wine Depot

October 2011:
"Drink quality, and pay less" is the motto of Artisan Wine Depot. At the conclusion of this article you will be compelled to immediately start planning your holiday 2011 beverage purchases and gift-giving while supplies are ample. Artisan Wine Depot is a San Francisco Bay Area local secret and connoisseurs' gem located in Mountain View. The nearby High-Tech global companies such as Google and LinkedIn are regular corporate clients. This is no ordinary wine shop (click). First of all the storefront is a roll-top door next to a body shop in an industrial neighborhood in downtown Mountain View. It opened in spring of 2009 and offer not only excellent domestic and international wines from boutique wineries and notable large vineyards, Champagne and sparkling wines; but they also carry a wide range of craft beers and Sakes.
Christine Tran and her brother James work with you to learn your palate and make personalized recommendations. This is absolutely the secret to their grand success. Their following of paying customers now number in the thousands.  They can also assist you with proper food pairings to make your romantic dinner for two or party of 50 a complete success.

Christine Tran (click) is a certified Sommelier. She has professional experience in corporate beverage purchases, wine development for small wineries, strategic beverage development for restaurants such as "Straits Restaurant". She conducts wine and food classes for both professionals and the general public and to stock her shop she has tasted everything she sells. Christine is studying for her Master Sommelier designation of which in 2009 there exist 150 in the world and only 14 are women.

Papillon - Orin.Swift

Artisan Wine Depot offers weekly tastings on Fridays and Saturdays from their repertoire hosted by guest vineyards and craft brewers. No need to spend half a day driving for a single taste elsewhere. They will also cater private parties and are available online to answer your questions on their website www.artisanwinedepot.com (click) under "Ask The Sommelier" section. Their complete inventory matches the online listing to browse and make your selections. This shop is stacked to the gills so ladies a word of warning , if you please.  Leave the over-sized handbag hidden away in the trunk of the car, chances are good a bottle will accidentally be rocked and shattered on to the floor.  As a customer you can track your history of purchases in your private account, refer to each bottles' individual tasting notes and history. They will ship anywhere to you or your friends in the United States. Wines are currently priced from $3.99 for a 375 ml split up to $3,999.99 for the most rare.  Pricing alone is not indicative of quality. Christine does her homework. She and and James are on the pulse of industry leaders and cottage wineries. They travel all over the world to source wines from vineyards before they become widely known household names with an increased price to match.  Artisan Wine Depot carries collectible First Growth wines and has been known to sell the much storied Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon. Artisan Wine Depot is happy to chill you purchases before pick-up so you are off to your party ready to pop the cork and enjoy.
Full disclosure-Our family has been a client of Artisan Wine Depot since April 2009, our customer number is in the 2-digit range and extremely satisfied due mainly in part to their excellence in matching their recommendations to our taste interests. James and Christine really have a great set up, you do not need to be, or pretend to be a wine "snob". Start out with a couple of bottles and learn what you like.  The friendly and knowlegable staff is eager to help you with your selections and develop a new personal passion. 

During the holiday season they offer a few select gift packs that are truly unique. Last year we purchased some Veuve Cliquot Champagne accompanied by two champagne flutes encased in a floating maritime carrier and had them shipped long distance to some very happy friends. <hic>
I attended a Champagne tasting this week from the House of Henriot, one of the last remaining family-owned Champagne houses in France. We were lucky that on this night Hector (chef extrodiaire) was on hand with rock-my-world food pairings: smoked salmon toast points, cauliflower panna cotta and oysters in a mignonette sauce.

Promise me to get started now by browsing their online inventory, enter your email address for tasting event announcements (click) allowing you to also taste before you buy.

UPDATE:  Second location opening in November so you can sip away in glamorous surroundings.

"Drink Quality, Pay Less"