Alyssa Morrisey
Special to the Sun
Valley Wine Shack looks like just another Sonoma wine vendor and tasting room at first glance, surely destined to play second fiddle to the shops listed in tourists’ guidebooks. At three weeks old, it is so new that owner Windee Smith is still applying the finishing touches.
But Smith’s business plan, which does not rely heavily on putting mostly Northern California wines on the rack, will undoubtedly set the Shack apart from the pack.
Of the 400 different wines on offer, approximately 80 percent are imported – from Italy, Argentina and other countries. Smith offers them at competitive prices and does not charge a corkage fee.
“[Plaza shops] are mostly for tourists, I wanted this to be a local place,” Smith said. “I wanted to put [it] where people do their other shopping, next to Sonoma Market and Safeway.”
The Valley Wine Shack occupies a converted mortgage broker’s office on West Napa Street. Its calming, modern European-style décor is not boastful. Pictures of some favorite local hangouts, like the old Cherry Tree on Highway 121, hang on its walls. Smith said she wanted her shop to be inviting and non-intimidating. “I always knew that I wanted to have a wine shop in a house, with different wine rooms for different regions. I came up with the name, and when I found the house on West Napa Street, that’s what I called it.”
The main room separates into two others. A sign next to one reads “Italy and France.” The next room is for wines from the U.S., the southern hemisphere and Spain.
Smith concentrates on bringing in European wines and those from U.S. wineries with small case productions. She mentions being one of the few to carry wines from De Ponte Cellars in Oregon. Only five or so bottles are priced at over $100, with many in the $10-and-under range.
“This is one of the only places you can get a very nice glass of wine for five bucks,” she said. “People can come in here and just pick a bottle up off the shelves and drink it here if they want to. We will pour it for them and not charge a corkage fee.”
Hidden away in the back of the Shack is a small staircase leading into an under-used lounge, where Smith said her customers go to play games and watch television while they drink their wines.
On Wednesday evenings, the Wine Shack offers a winemaker tasting for industry locals. While most of the tastings are given by importers of wines from outside California, Patz & Hall is on the books for Wednesday, Nov. 12, with a selection of wines from throughout Sonoma County. The shop also has a wine bar with eight rotating wines always on tap.
Asked if a place selling wine other than Sonoma’s own would resonate with the local population, Smith sounded positive.
“I used to have a store in [San Francisco] and I noticed how here in Sonoma, you couldn’t get imported wine,” she said. “I thought, someone else must like imports, I must not be the only one.”
Smith is already thinking about expansion. Plans for free delivery are in the works along with classes on European wine regions. She also said she would be happy to match wines for dinner parties if customers send menus. Her ideas could firmly place the Wine Shack on the map for years to come.
Valley Wine Shack,
535 W. Napa St., 707.938.7218;
thevalleywineshack@comcast.net. Open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. everyday.
