Over the last couple of years, we’ve heard people speak passionately about their love or disdain for dive bars. This week, we visited a place that may be the aesthetic opposite of a dive bar: a wine tasting room.
Your mental picture of a dive bar is probably dark and perhaps a bit dirty, with people of questionable repute at the bar and around the dimly lit tables. “Tasting room” conjures images of elegance and refinement (and maybe reminds you of episodes of Frasier rather than Cheers). Dive bars suggest “come as you are;” a tasting room might seem a little snooty.
“Snooty” would be the word to describe a number of winery tasting rooms I’ve visited, but it’s not the adjective to describe The Tasting Room in Fresno. It is a clean, well lighted place, but it’s also casual. Several groups of people were seated at high or low tables around the room, and there was room for us at the bar. Quotes on the wall celebrated wine, some of the decorations were made with corks, and lots of bottles (mostly full) were on shelves around the room and behind the bar. There was also a TV playing the last minutes of an NBA game (Sacramento Kings vs Miami Heat), and as in any good bar, the bartender was quick to take our order.
Recently we’ve been to a number of breweries (and as we’ve often mentioned, we are not beer fans) where we usually try to decide which brew sounds least unappealing rather than hoping to find something we actually like) must decide which brew sounds the least unappealing rather than hoping something we like. But at The Tasting Room, Mindy was happy with her options, because she actually likes wine.
Even more exciting, it was fondue night! Cheese fondue was an option, but we’d eaten dinner. Instead, we ordered chocolate fondue with marshmallows, shortbread, apples, bananas, grapes, and strawberries for dipping. Mindy said we should have had red wine with it, but we’d already ordered white wines -- a Pinot Grigio for me (it was the cheapest option) and a Riesling for Mindy.
While the bartender, Melissa, asked questions about our project of bar blogging, Mike, the man at the bar next to Mindy, joined in the conversation. We told about our year of traveling and highlights from visits to both bars and churches. Mike and Melissa told us about The Tasting Room (and Mike told some stories about his recent visit to bars in Alabama and Atlanta).
We learned that The Tasting Room is around eight years old, but has had several different owners. Mike had been friends with previous owners of the bar. In fact, he had tasted every wines they served, and he even had a key to the place. He said that If he wanted a bottle when The Tasting Room was closed, he’d let himself in, find the bottle he wanted, and leave money on the counter. When those friends sold the bar, Mike quit coming.
“When they sold, it was like I lost a part of me.” But the other day, he came across one of his friends' old business cards while cleaning his desk and decided to visit again. The place had been an important part of his life and memories rushed through his mind when he came through the doors. In the course of our conversation, we asked the questions we always try to ask at bars: what makes a good bar and whether you go or not, what makes a good church.
“Wine is my passion. I love what it represents,” Mike said. “Look at us. We’re sharing this experience over wine. We can talk.” As for what makes for a good church, he said, “Probably the same thing you find here. You find people you can connect with. At a bar or church, it’s the same thing.”
We asked Melissa the same two questions. She wanted to know if she should answer for a wine bar or a normal bar. As it turned out, her answers worked for either. “It’s about who’s your customer base. You get nice people.” She added that when you’re working with people who enjoy wine. “It makes life easier.”
She’s been a bartender for a number of years, and she likes this place better than some of her previous experiences. She worked the opening shift at a downtown bar (at 6:00 am). “People would get out of jail in the morning and come in for a drink.”
I asked about church, and she said she hadn’t been to church for a long time. She last went when she was eighteen, eight years ago. She left because she didn’t like the strict rules based on she wasn’t sure what. “Churches need to be welcoming,” she said, in opposition to what she had experienced. She said she’s still looking now for a religion to believe in. She has a small son, but doesn’t want to force a faith on him. She said she’d let him decide what to believe when he grows up, though she may allow him to be baptized, since that's what her family will probably want.
Once again, we found what we’re looking for in a bar: a chance to talk with pleasant people. If this involves drinks we genuinely like, all the better. Plus chocolate? Who could ask for anything more?
While the bartender, Melissa, asked questions about our project of bar blogging, Mike, the man at the bar next to Mindy, joined in the conversation. We told about our year of traveling and highlights from visits to both bars and churches. Mike and Melissa told us about The Tasting Room (and Mike told some stories about his recent visit to bars in Alabama and Atlanta).
We asked Melissa the same two questions. She wanted to know if she should answer for a wine bar or a normal bar. As it turned out, her answers worked for either. “It’s about who’s your customer base. You get nice people.” She added that when you’re working with people who enjoy wine. “It makes life easier.”
I asked about church, and she said she hadn’t been to church for a long time. She last went when she was eighteen, eight years ago. She left because she didn’t like the strict rules based on she wasn’t sure what. “Churches need to be welcoming,” she said, in opposition to what she had experienced. She said she’s still looking now for a religion to believe in. She has a small son, but doesn’t want to force a faith on him. She said she’d let him decide what to believe when he grows up, though she may allow him to be baptized, since that's what her family will probably want.
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