Wine Bars Are Place To Sip, Be Hip

Ventura County Star

By Gretchen Macciarella

Published:  January 22, 2006

She discussed the flavors, origins and what everyone liked. After they sampled all three wines, each drinker was poured a full glass of their favorite.

Karen Castrillo said she is still learning about wine and enjoys having someone to bounce ideas off, but she doesn't take it too seriously.

"I think as long as you are enjoying it, that's fine," she said.

Ryan Bentley returned to the table from hunting the shelves of varietals, to sip and chat more.

"I like this setting because I can taste, and if I find something I like I am leaving with a bottle," he said.

With White's help, Bentley picked a bottle from Chile to take home.

The Zandl Group, a trend reporting company in New York, listed wine bars as one of the major trends for 2006. The report said that wine bars are replacing martini lounges for nightlife because young adults are not intimidated to ask for a taste and the atmosphere tends to be better than bars for conversation.

"With younger proprietors in the wine industry, stodgy and elitist is being replaced by contemporary and modern," Irma Zandl wrote.

With the combination of baby boomer interest with young adults, Zandl is predicting that the wine industry will grow faster than beer and hard liquor.

Ventura County, particularly downtown Ventura, has taken notice.

Weaver Wines on California Street is just six months old, and joins Alegria! en Polermo, Rincon Cellars in Natalie's Eclectibles, Westside Cellar Caf, Wine Lover and Ventura Wine Co. & Wine Bar, not to mention many restaurants and bars with extensive wine collections.

There also is Movino Wine Bar & Gallery in Ojai, Sheila's Place Wine Bar & Caf? in Camarillo and Bellavino Wine Bar in Thousand Oaks.

Edouard Giessinger, owner of Giessinger Winery in Fillmore, Thousand Oaks and Santa Barbara, teaches a popular wine tasting class through the University of California, Santa Barbara, Leisure Review.

He said the class has been growing, with 150 to 200 students this quarter. Others had to be turned away.

The class is not for credit and is open to the public, but is mostly college students. Giessinger said young drinkers are developing a taste for wine, but it's not binge drinking so often associated with first alcohol experiences.

"I think people are learning how to drink and socialize," he said.

He teaches that if the students drink fast and get drunk, they ruin the pleasure of the wine and the company.

The seats at wine bars that are growing in popularity are far from reserved for the under-35 crowd.

There are few cocktail lounges that would attract such a broad clientele.

Young hipsters ordering a glass of whatever they can pronounce might sit at a table next to

octogenarians with a bottle of well-researched Viognier, a dry white wine with a powerful flower and

fruit aroma.

On a recent weekday evening, Claudia Navarro, Angie Raigoza and Rocio Kuehl leaned back in their

chairs at Alegria as they chatted and sipped from large wine glasses, with a bottle chilling on a table.

"It's very soothing in here," Raigoza said.

The Oxnard and Camarillo residents found that the wine bar on Main Street in Ventura is their

favorite, and they visit it nearly once a week.

They all agreed that atmosphere and wine selection combine to make it the right choice for afterwork

relaxation.

The group is looking forward to the bar's expansion, which will provide a little more room to stretch

out.

For the past two years, Alegria has been at the back of Palermo, a collection of Italiano goodies from

coffee and gelato to bath products and pasta bowls.

But the wine bar, with its six tables and twenty some odd chairs, has become cramped because of its

growing popularity.

The bar and bottles will only have to move four doors down to get the needed space. Alegria, a

popular lunch spot, could have its own door as soon as next month.

Manager Blanca Esparza said the plan is to expand the deli and cheese offerings that pair so well

with wine.

Wine bars work, not just because of the growing base of winedrinkers, but because they provide a

social setting that many people feel is lacking in other nightspots.

A recent survey by the Wine Institute, an industry group for California wineries, showed that wine

consumers who are predominantly women Ñ prefer to have wine in "small, intimate gatherings

and choose it for reasons that speak to enhancing an experience."

In particular, the survey found that wine by the glass provides a "safe adventure." Of those who buy

wine at restaurants, bars or clubs, 74 percent said they do so by the glass. The ability to buy just one

glass gives many wine drinkers the opportunity to step away from what they know and experiment

without a big financial investment.

The average wine consumption among U.S. adults is 3.06 gallons per year, according to the Wine

Institute. That is 78 five-ounce glasses.

Despite the recent vogue, Giessinger said he is convinced that this is not going the way of neon Tshirts

and moon boots. "Wine will never become trendy because for most of society alcohol is part of

our life ... because we as people like to socialize," he said.

The wine bar or tasting room, such as he has in Fillmore, is just an extension of the experience that

so many people enjoy, he said.

He hopes that with the increased consumption of wine the price might even come down.

"It is still going to be something high class and nice to enjoy," he said.