HAPPY PLACES: Pike and Western
Try something new from one of Seattle’s oldest wine shops.
Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Aug 13, 2009 at 03:00PM
2 Comments
The Place Pike and Western
The Deal A well-curated collection of bottles at all prices, specializes in wines form Washington, France, and Italy.
Owner’s Picks Nebbiolo Langhe 2007, $21.99; 2008 Beresan Cabernet Sauvigon, $29; 2007 Rôtie Cellars Northern Blend, $35.
Our Picks 2007 Chinook cabernet franc rosé, $14.99; 2006 Domaine de la Rouletiere Vouvray ($14.99)
The Scoop Wednesday afternoons, sample high-end wines for $5, on Fridays the staff pours complimentary sips of cheaper wines to sip while you shop.
The first time I walked into Pike and Western, I knew I’d found a friend. All around me were my favorite value wines: Here was a bottle of Poet’s Leap riesling, there was the cab franc rosé from Chinook, in the back I some stacked cases of Domaine de La Rouletiere, a favorite affordable vouvray from the Loire that I had discovered at Voila Bistro but had given up on finding in any of the local wine shops.
Owner Michael Teer says he is always fighting the perception that small wine stores are somehow high end only and have a huge mark up. He shows me bottle after bottle under $20, all of them, he says, selected and tasted by his staff—obsessive food and wine people who specialize in finding pairing wines for special meals. “And you don’t even have to tip us like you do the barista” says Teer.
Teer bought Pike and Western in 1991 after working there for 11 years, and is a great lover of the Italian wines from the Piemonte—he introduces novices by way of a reasonable priced nebbiolo or dolcetto. “People will drop $60 for a cab, but not a Barbaressco” he laments. For the initiated, there are a number of high-end piemontese in stock.
Tags: Pike Place Market, Happy Places
sparking German wine! Yum! I want to try some!
Ask your wine store to order some. An alternative to prosecco.