Local wines star in a downtown SLO shop
Monterey Street Wines features limited-production, top-quality selections
By Kathy Marcks Hardesty[{
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Last year, the Monterey Street Wine Company was offered for sale, another great local shop beaten down by the struggling economy. Fortunately it was purchased by Patrick Faverty and Kris Johnson; a couple who saw potential in this comfortable little wine store. It had always specialized in fine wines, artisanal cheeses, and other gourmet goods, along with value-priced imported wines. Faverty made some changes to improve it. “I didn’t want it to be [just another] wine shop,” explained Faverty, who resides in Arroyo Grande. “We focus on unique, small-production, high-quality wines from our talented local winemakers. And we like to bring in a special wine or two from Napa.”
As the new wine bar approaches its first anniversary, I visited for the first time since the ownership change and liked the changes they made. The wine racks were moved to the south side of the room because there are fewer wines to choose from, and the bargain-priced imports are gone. The wines they offer now are well chosen from popular American winemakers, most of them based on the Central Coast: Clarissa Nagy, highly regarded as a Bonaccorsi winemaker in Santa Barbara County, makes a Pinot Noir of her own, labeled Nagy 2; and Kathy Turner, assistant winemaker at Four Vines in Paso Robles, makes a Syrah Rose under her label: Tint--Beyond the Pale ($18). Both wines are currently available in the shop.
Nagy dropped off another order for her Pinot while I was there. The 2006 Pinot Noir is $38 if you enjoy it at Monterey Street Wines, or discounted to $32 if you’re buying it to drink elsewhere. Faverty said they discount all wines by 15 percent if taken out the door. He chose Nagy’s wines for several reasons he quickly pointed out: “I love this wine and I’m not a big Pinot Noir fan. This Pinot is such an elegant Santa Maria Valley style, a nice balance of old and new world winemaking.”
Domestic and international artisanal cheeses are still a mainstay. Many people come by just to buy cheese, and some stop by strictly for the delicious Hush Harbor baguettes that are delivered fresh daily from the bakery in Atascadero. Faverty is planning to bring in Buona Tavola’s housemade salami to offer with the cheeses. They also offer a nice selection of appetizers on their menu with such choices as: two cheeses with Hush Harbor bread ($15); two cheeses with prosciutto ($25); and toasted baguette topped with melted gruyere, olives and tomato, or artichoke tapenade ($12); there is also a plate of wine-flavored chocolate truffles ($8).
Check out their weekly list of wines available for tasting and upcoming educational tastings on their website montereystreetwines.com. You’re sure to find a special tasting, like the fresh oysters and white wine pairing, that will make learning a lesson tasty and fun.
You can reach New Times’ Cuisine columnist at [email protected]
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