Let's connect!
Enjoy Mill Valley
  • HOME
  • EVENTS & GUIDES
    • 2020-21 EMV Guide
    • 2021 Mill Valley Wine, Beer & Gourmet Food Tasting
    • Winterfest >
      • About Winterfest
    • Calendar
    • Special Events
  • EAT
  • Stay
  • VISIT
    • Muir Woods
    • PLAY
    • Tour
    • Map
    • PRESS
  • SHOP
    • Enjoy Mill Valley Store
    • Shopping Areas
    • Apparel and Jewelry
    • Automotive
    • Banking & Financial Services
    • Biz, Consumer & Professional Services
    • Beauty & Grooming
    • Fitness & Sports
    • Food & Wine
    • Home & Garden
    • Kids & Pets
    • Health & Wellness
    • Nonprofit Organizations
    • Real Estate
    • Specialty Shops
  • A&E
  • EMV Films
  • BLOG
  • Mill Valley Chamber
  • City of Mill Valley
  • CONTACT US
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise on Enjoy Mill Valley
  • ShopMV

Chris and Lindsey Wanner Open Second Location of West Coast Wine • Cheese Shop on Sunnyside – Nov. 30

11/28/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Lindsey & Chris Wanner, owners of West Coast Wine • Cheese, which opens Nov. 30 at 31 Sunnyside Avenue in downtown Mill Valley. Courtesy images.
Chris Wanner has been in the wine industry for nearly 20 years.

​And while the wine business is as global as it comes, with nary a vineyard-free landscape – wines from Ethiopia, anyone? – Wanner makes no bones about his favorite wine region and the vineyards he chooses to highlight at his West Coast Wine • Cheese shop, which opens its second Bay Area location on Friday, Nov. 30 at 31 Sunnyside Ave. in downtown Mill Valley.

“I’m kind of a homer, for sure – it’s all about California, Oregon and Washington,” he says of his Pinot Noir-heavy bottle list of approximately 330 wines. “That’s where my expertise lies, and I really love repping these brands and telling the stories of these winemakers and vineyard owners.”

“And I see us as not being just a place that sells wine, but a space that builds community around our wine and around those stories,” he adds.

The Wanners have planned an extensive opening weekend celebration, where they’ll showcase their inventory and their space, including a chalk-styled mural of the North Bay from ShipsCo. Studio. They’ve already got tasting events on the calendar with Birichino, Carlisle and Law Estate.

The 700-square-foot space is the former home of the Weathered Nest vintage home accessories space adjacent to Kitchen Sunnyside restaurant. It’s set to bring even more liveliness to a street that also boasts Prabh Indian Kitchen, Salvage, The Makery and Alexander’s Artisan Rugs.
Picture
​“Mill Valley has always had a downtown that is such a gem,” Wanner says. “This is what every other community in Marin aspires to.”

Wanner and his wife Lindsey, a patent attorney, opened their first West Coast Wine • Cheese shop and gathering spot in San Francisco’s Cow Hollow neighborhood in October 2014. The shop built momentum quickly, and garnered a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in each of the past three years. The Wanners serve mostly wine from small-production winemakers and a rotating list of wines by the glass. They also serve both draft and bottled beers from the West Coast and an array of cheese and charcuterie plates as well as sandwiches, salads, snacks and appetizers.

“When we opened, no one in San Francisco was focused entirely on domestic wines, it was mostly imports, which was a big disconnect for me since so many of those places were so focused on local and organic sourcing for their food program,” Wanner says. “It frustrated me – people are making fantastic wine here and aren’t getting the representation that they’re due,” he adds. “So while some people might think our focus is unimaginative, this was a very deliberate choice about who we want to be.”

Wanner, who grew up in Stockton, got his start in the business at Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, the largest wine and spirits distributor in the U.S., and later moved on to work in the tasting room at David Bruce Winery in Los Gatos.  

“That’s where I first learned that sales was for me,” Wanner says. “Once I got behind the bar and got to talking with people about wine, I knew what I wanted to do. And that’s where I fell in love with pinot. It’s the grape that has true elegance and structure and it has chameleon-like qualities that can take it in so many different directions. That’s what makes it so unique and why you never get tired of it because it’s always changing with soil and climate.”

Wanner also worked for Jim Beam’s wine division for a stretch, as well as Geyser Peak in Healdsburg and Wild Horse near Paso Robles. Wanner moved up the food chain into management, developing far-reaching relationships that began giving him the sense that he and Lindsey could launch their own venture.

The couple has a two-year-old son and is moving to San Rafael from their longtime home in San Francisco’s Marina district.
“We’re just really thrilled to be opening here,” Wanner says.

The 411: West Coast Wine • Cheese shop opens its second Bay Area location on Friday, Nov. 30 at 31 Sunnyside Ave. in downtown Mill Valley. Hours are Mon.-Wed., 5-11pm, Thu.-Fri., 4-11pm, Sat., 3-11pm and Sun. 3-10pm. MORE INFO.

​Want to know what's happening around town? Click here to subscribe to the Enjoy Mill Valley Blog by Email!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Subscribe to the free Enjoy Mill Valley Blog

    * required
    Click here to subscribe to the free Enjoy Mill Valley Blog by Email!

    RSS Feed

    Blog Archives

    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

    Categories

    All
    142 Throckmorton
    Art
    Arts & Entertainment
    City Council
    City Of Mill Valley
    County Of Marin
    Depot Plaza
    Downtown Mill Valley
    Emergency Preparedness
    First Tuesday Artwalk
    Food & Drink
    Holidays
    Kiddo!
    Live Music
    Local Laws
    Marin Mommies
    Marin Theatre Company
    Miller Avenue
    Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival
    Mill Valley Film Festival
    Mill Valley History
    Mill-valley-in-the-news
    Mill Valley Library
    Mill Valley Market
    Mill Valley School District
    Mount Tamalpais
    MV Chamber Biz Buzz
    Parks & Recreation
    Philanthropy
    Public Restrooms
    Restaurants
    Shopping
    Strawberry Village
    Sweetwater Music Hall
    Tam High
    Tam Junction
    Tam Valley
    The Redwoods
    Volunteerism

Picture
   
85 Throckmorton Avenue
Mill Valley, Callifornia 94941
415.388.9700
info@millvalley.org



Copyright 2018 Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center
All images used with permission and/or source attribution.
Site Design by Linda Rosso Marketing and Communications