Wine bar meets wine store
Only those that adapt to change will survive, and restaurants are no different. Understanding what creatives want is key to figuring out what that means.
The want experiences, not just products and services. The want authentic and local. They want urban convenience, and they want multiple senses evoked.
While not targeting creatives per se, the Press Club in San Francisco looks to provide just that. Eight local vineyards each have their own dedicated tasting station in a wine bar setting, with representatives from each company as your server. Customers can choose any wine they prefer, as you’d expect at a bar, and bottles are for sale, as in a store.
How can such a place be more suited to creatives? For starters, by not being attached to the Four Seasons! Such a concept can be located anywhere there’s a concentration of wine lovers, and it doesn’t have to be eight stations – even one would work. The wine companies being represented should rotate to introduce people to new tastes, and to give them a firsthand account from the people who make them. Naturally, it’s an effective way for unknown wine producers to find new fans. Instead of art opening receptions, you could have wine release receptions.
How would you run such a business? Comment below!
Thanks to Springwise for the reference.
About The Author
I went to the Press Club this fall on my last trip to San Francisco. It’s great fun. The room is gorgeous, the tastes are a bit pricey, and there’s light food (mostly cheese boards and chacuterie) to order with your wine. I enjoyed the concept very much.
Closer to home, though, wer have some examples worth comparing: Talulla and Vero/Grape Juice in Arlington combine retail wine stores/tasting rooms with excellent food. If you’re dining you can buy any bottle in the store at list price for your dinner, or take some unopened bottles home. The synergy reduces costs, which is always good. And the new tasting equipment at places like Talulla mean there’s dozens of wines “on tap.” Downtown, the hottest restaurant in DC is Cork, the wine bar opened by two progressive lawyers. They targeted an underserved neighborhood populated by creatives and became a major hit. The wine bar/restaurant concept has taken off in the DC area.
I’m in San Francisco and never heard of this place. Very cool! I wonder if they currently have or would offer a membership (sort of like a wine club), where you get special access to different kinds of wine or can attend “pre-release” parties. What other venues could we see this idea expanded to?