WINE FOR ALL TIME.

• Author: TITUS, STEPHEN
• Position: More wine specialty stores opening - Brief Article

EVEN AGE-OLD ACTIVITIES CAN BECOM EHOT NEW TRENDS.

Wine specialty stores are quietly sprouting up around Denver answering the call of neo-connoisseurs who see this biblical beverage as a healthy, hip alternative to other alcoholic drinks.

"Better wines are selling much better and a part of that is the economy," said Cheri Lopez, manager of The vineyard Wine Shop in cherry Creek. "Also the health issues have come to the forefornt. We're seeing more young people than in the past, but the older folks who were into whisky, their doctor may have said drinking isn't so good for you, but a glass of wine is OK."

Lopez and other vintners in Denver say wine's almost universal appeal has made it an increasingly popular gift, and not just one or two bottles.

The Vineyard Wine Shop, 261 Fillmore St., ships 2,300 bottles of wine monthly to members of it's Wine of the Month Club. Each month a different flavor -- with a description of the grape it's made from and the foods it goes with -- is shipped to club members.

"We were the original to do the wine of the month club," said Lopez, who has worked at the Vinyard for 20 of the store's 30 years in business. "Lots of people give them as gifts: Realtors, bankers, sales executives. They (memberships) start at $69 per year and go up.

Devany McNeill, owner of Wines Off Wynkoop at 1610 16th St. in Downtown Denver, said the theory of making a slightly mysterious beverage everyone's drink is the basis of her shop's customer service.

Wading through magazines filled with connoisseurs' ratings that describe Wines as smelling like tar, leather and berries is exactly what she's trying to avoid. "It's one of the things I hate because people says 'What the hell ...' when all they want to know is if it's good or bad," McNeill said.

"We get construction guys in here who are immediately embarrassed and apologetic because they don't know anything about wine - you can't even say sauvignon to them because they don't know. Those are exactly the people that we want to make feel comfortable."

McNeill's rustic shop features wines priced at just a few dollars and others that range up to several hundred. Of course, a three-figure wine may pass the lips of just a few connoisseurs...