Artisan Wine Depot opened on Villa Street about 6 months ago. This place is amazing and even if you’re not in the market to purchase your holiday beverages just yet, you will be soon enough and you’ll be happy that we pointed you in the right direction.

 The first thing we noticed is how homey the place feels. It was like walking into a friend’s house, well… a friend with thousands of bottles of wine in their living room! And all of the bottles are labeled with an extra label that has the taste profile, the region of the wine, the varietal of the grape and a few ideas about what foods go well with the wine.

 Most of the wines offered at Artisan Wine Depot are from wineries that have a smaller production, or they are newer wine makers, or it might be a small allocation of a specialty wine. Christine Tran, a certified sommelier, is focused on offering good wine at a great value. She has an extensive wine background and loves to offer suggestions about what to pair with your favorite Thanksgiving recipes. But she also said that she wants wine to be “for everyday meals like pizza and Chinese take-out and not just special occasions.” We love that idea! And Christine actually knows many of the winemakers. Can you say that about other wine stores? Probably not.

 Artisan Wine Depot  offers all kinds of educational seminars and tasting events or you can reserve the place for a private event. Wouldn’t it be fun to have a private beer tasting party and have pizza delivered from your favorite place downtown? Yup! That sounds like fun. Go visit them and tell them that you heard about the place from www.ilovemv.org.  Just another reason to love Mountain View; we have outstanding wines right here in our neighborhood!

Order a bottle of Chianti that has a black rooster on it. Your waiter will know what you’re talking about, even if you don’t have a clue how to order Italian wine. You’ll have dessert later in the evening; it’s time to head over to the theater after dinner. The Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts has amazing performances with everything from drama, to world-famous ballet, to premiere musicals. Purchase tickets online and pick them up at will-call. Most people have a little sweet-treat at the Bean Scene Cafe during intermission. Or you can stroll one block up Castro Street after the performance to Sweet Corner for some ice cream. After all, according to the famous words of Tony Montana in Scarface, “Girls like ice cream.” She’ll be so impressed with your classy act–there’s no reason to tell her it’s a line from your favorite movie.