GRAPES GALORE

Talking and tasting at a new wine shop

By Tara Ryazansky

Photos by Max Ryazansky

It’s a cool scene on Washington Street. Folks are enjoying wine and cheese pairings as they socialize on the sidewalk. But this isn’t a trendy bar or bistro; it’s CoolVines Hoboken, a wine store that opened at the end of 2020.

“We’re a store where people really come in and talk to you,” says wine manager Evan White. “It’s not just a quick stop for a bottle of Pinot Grigio. People want to stop in and have a conversation about the types of wine we have.”

White’s mission is to pair each customer with the perfect bottle. “Usually we just start by asking what color wine they want, whether it’s rose, white, or red. Do you like a heavy wine? A rich, red wine? Do you like a light, crisp, white wine? Maybe they like Sauvignon Blanc, and I’ll show them a couple from New Zealand, maybe one from France. Then I’ll throw them a curveball and say, ‘well, in case you’re feeling adventurous, you could try this Sauvignon Blanc from Italy, or you could try this one from California.’ I try to open up people’s perspectives. At the end of the day, you just want to put the right wine into the hands of the right person.”

Mile Square Wine

“We’ve had a lot of people who have said this is the kind of place that Hoboken needed in a wine, spirits and beer store, in terms of selection,” White says.

CoolVines has other locations in Jersey City and Newark. “You can see that in Hoboken on any night of the week, especially the weekend, people are out and about, enjoying alcoholic beverages, but we’re there to do more than just get someone drunk,” White says. “Our wines, spirits and beers are more curated. We’re not moving any of the big brands. Our stuff is much more artisanal and small scale.”

The list includes Hudson County favorites like beers from NJ Brewing Company and Hoboken Brewing Company and spirits from Jersey City’s Corgi Distillery.

White is paring down CoolVine’s off erings and curating themed wine tastings, which started in April.

“We felt like the weather, the COVID situation, the vibe was all just ready to go,” White says. The free tastings are Fridays, 5 to 7 p.m. “They’ve been a huge hit. I think that people are just ready to go out and have fun again.”

Precautions include outdoor tables. “The key here is that we want to be respectful of people’s boundaries and concerns, because COVID does still exist,” White says.

Sipping Saké

In late May, the theme was saké. “We wanted to be sure that all four sakés were diff erent from each other, so people could be educated in the diff erent ways sakés could taste,” White says. During the tasting events, the sample bottles are on sale for 10 percent off .

“We want to expose people to something new,” White says. “Everybody has had Cabernet Sauvignon. Everybody has had Pinot Noir. We’re trying to show people some grapes and wine regions that they have never heard of or experienced. Letting people try these wines for free is a great way to open them up to these types of wines. If you point them toward a $30 bottle of wine they’ve never heard of, they might be hesitant,” White says. “But if you have them try it fi rst, then you will open up their palette to so many other kinds of things.”

Wine and What??

Today, White is hosting a wine and cheese tasting. “I love it because it’s so cliché, but it’s cliché because it’s so much fun, and it’s delicious,” White says. “For years and years and years they have proven to be delicious together.”

The event was appropriately titled “Wine + Cheese = Delicious!”

White poured a Lustau “Papirusa” Manzanilla Sherry from Spain paired with manchego cheese and Spanish olives. “It’s citrusy and very fresh, with notes of sea salt and almonds,” White says of the wine.

Next up is a 2017 Chateau La Rame Sainte-Croix-du-Mont from Bordeaux. “Located just across the river from the more famous region of Sauternes, this lusciously sweet wine is the perfect foil for a funky cheese,” White says. He serves it with a bloomy rind cheese from Vermont. “The wine’s notes of ginger, saff ron, and peaches will provide a delicious juxtaposition to the cheese’s salty, earthy fl avor.”

From the Santa Maria Valley, California, came the Clendenen Family Vineyards’ Pip Nebbiolo. It was paired with a truffle cheddar from Vermont. “The Pip Nebbiolo is a vehicle for the late Jim Clendenen’s fascination with, and mastery of, Italian grapes,” White says. “It is a medium-bodied, elegant expression of Piedmont’s calling card grape, featuring notes of brambly red strawberries, dried rose petals, and of course, truffle.”

Cheers!

A diverse crowd shows up. There are young people, older people, groups of friends, even a mom with her kids in tow (only cheese for them).

“It’s everybody,” White says. “There are newer people just getting into wine who have seen it on Instagram and just wanted to check it out. There are more experienced wine drinkers who I talk to in the store, and they come every week. Then there are just random people who see that we’re doing a tasting, and they stop by and say, ‘Hey, can we get some of that?’ and we say, ‘Sure!’”

White pours another glass.—07030