Neighborhood wine shops offer weekly tastings and great bargains

Seattle is chock-full of wine shops that regularly offer in-store tastings, allowing you to sample unfamiliar wines before you buy them and saving you the expense of a wine you might not like.

Below are three such wine stores near my north-end neighborhood, all of which offer weekly tastings, a great selection, some truly crazy bargains and loads of hospitality. When I visited, I didn't find a single wine snob -- just great wine and happy customers.

I'm always on the lookout for other great wine stores beyond my community, so please tell me about your favorites in the comments below.

City Cellars Fine Wines
Now in its 20th year, laid-back City Cellars Fine Wines in Wallingford gets big points for their "100 buys for under $10." Owner Michael Herndon says these mostly European wines make the cut because they outperform their price point and should cost a lot more than they do. Herndon, a calm and conversant guide to what's in stock, is a proponent of "wine for everyday living, eating and toasting." Neatly stacked on tall wooden shelves, vintages from around the globe make for leisurely browsing. Although there's an emphasis on European wines, the Northwest is amply represented. Tastings are held Fridays from 5 to 7 p.m.

Jack Cellars
Jack Cellars, just off Lake City Way in Maple Leaf, is more funhouse than clubhouse, likely due to owner Jack Ewer's irreverent, affable personality. A separate tasting section in the back of the spacious store is complemented by round wooden tables, wrought iron chairs and an antique wooden bar. Ewer routinely turns over his inventory. "Right now, the store is more heavily tilted toward South American wines and Portugal, because that's where some of the best bargains are coming from," he says. Wines are organized by country or state, and reds and whites are mixed together within those categories. A quick check of a dozen-plus French wines revealed that more than half were less than $20. Sign up for the e-mail list to learn about tasting events (Saturdays, 4 to 6:30 p.m.), such as the recent "Tacos and Tuscany," for which Ewers brought in an actual taco truck to provide complimentary eats.

McCarthy & Schiering
For almost three decades, Ravenna has been home to McCarthy & Schiering, one of the city's most respected wine merchants with a well-deserved reputation for beautiful wine and great service. When I dropped by the weekly tasting (Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.), the bustling store resembled a rustic clubhouse, albeit one packed top to bottom with wine and chatty customers. The vast majority of wines cost between $20 and $50, with plenty under $20, like those featured in the "European value section" ($15 and under). Wines are split between "New World" (Northwest, Australia and New Zealand) and "Old World" (Europe, mostly France and Italy). McCarthy & Schiering also specializes in Northwest boutique wineries, such as Woodinville's award-winning Betz Family Winery.

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