We just wanted to share our latest WIN! We were featured on the front page of the "LOCAL" section of Press Enterprise Newspaper! Thank you to Mike and Lupe Nava for making this happen!!!
It Takes a Village......
Wine-tasting lounge reflects development of Eastvale
Video: WineStyles signals shift in Eastvale
After more than half a century as Eastvale's only watering hole, Al's Corner has a rival.
But while Al's is a rustic throwback to the dairy farmer days of this unincorporated area of northwestern Riverside County, the upstart WineStyles is a toast to this fledgling community of 35,000 on the cusp of cityhood.
"It's upscale but unpretentious," Mary Beth Mitchell, 38, said of her new favorite hangout. "It's a bar for grownups."
But WineStyles isn't a traditional bar, patrons insist. Part lounge, part wine store with a Tuscan motif is more accurate, say its owners. Former sales associates Priscilla Cerda, 37, and Victor Cerda, 33, opened their 1,850-square-foot boutique in the Eastvale Gateway.
"I fell in love with good food and good wine," Victor said.
The timing seemed perfect. Ten years ago, when housing tracts began swallowing dairy land in Eastvale, developers scrambled to build malls for the residents who previously had to drive elsewhere to shop.
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Terry Pierson / The Press-Enterprise
WineStyles proprietors Victor Cerda, 37 and wife Priscilla Cerda, 34, both of Eastvale, have created a more upscale store/bar in Eastvale.
Gas stations, big box stores, chain supermarkets, pizza parlors, restaurants, movie theatres, clothing stores and fitness centers have now pushed out the cow pastures.
"They're a godsend," resident Deanne DeGrandpre, 46, said.
So why not a wine store with a twist? "I know that many of the people in Eastvale that came from Orange County looked forward to places like this," DeGrandpre said.
The Cerdas' store is among more than 150 WineStyles in 26 states that are run by a franchiser out of Margate, Fla. And since the couple uncorked their business a year ago May, eager oenophiles have poured in for weekend wine tastings, holiday parties, a bus trip to Paso Robles, monthly meet-ups and nightclub events.
The point is to make wine shopping and drinking a "sensory, social" experience, devoid of intimidation and snobbery, said Bob Florio, COO of WineStyles. Each store is designed as an Old World wine cellar with alcoves for 150 changing selections.
With names such as Cakebread, Toad Hollow and Silver Oaks, these are international and small vineyard wines typically priced between $10 and $25 a bottle. To simplify and demystify the contents, they're organized by taste profiles: crisp, silky, rich and bubbly for whites, and fruity, mellow, bold and nectar for reds.
'down to earth'
Customers say they don't care whether this is wine-buying for dummies. Eastvale residents Andreau Wesson-Smoots, 51 and her friend, Wanda Louis, 44, hail WineStyles as long overdue for the area.
After school, when they drop their teenagers off at the Edwards Cinema in the Gateway, the two moms unwind with wine. Wesson-Smoots sips syrah. Louis, a former white zin drinker, now lingers over a cabernet.
"It's like a neighborhood place, posh, but down to earth," Wesson-Smoots said on a recent weekday.
Louis praises Victor Cerda for educating her palate about each wine's pedigree and how to sniff the bouquet and taste the berries.
Robin Hanson, 41, of Corona, credits Victor for introducing her to Malbec, a full-bodied red Argentinean wine. She happened to pop into WineStyles several months ago before a scuba diving class at Sports Chalet in the town center.
"I'm not a bar person," Hanson said. "This is more laid back, a place to relax with nice, easy conversation."
Dan and Lynn Pacho, of Mira Loma, are among the 100 members of the Cerda's wine club.
"It means we've spent a bundle on wine," Lynn, 54, said with a laugh. "I've graduated from white zin to reds."
For $32.99 a month, they receive two bottles of wine, which are accompanied by tasting notes and suggested food pairings, discounts, invitations to private tastings and special events, such as cigar rolling, fundraisers and vintners' talks. They pay $10 apiece to taste a flight of six wines, versus $15 for nonmembers.
Mitchell, a divorcee, considers WineStyles a refreshing alternative to "Saturday night meat-market bars." Recently, she nibbled on cheese spread and crackers and drank wine at table with the Pachos.
"Never before have I met anyone in a bar who became my friend," Mitchell said. "This place is intimate. It isn't crazy and there are no fights."
The lounge seats 32. Sometimes, after WineStyles' 10 p.m. closing, a group of 15 will head over to Denny's or a midnight movie.
"These are dear friends for life," Lynn Pacho said.
Reach Laurie Lucas at 951-3688-9569 or llucas@PE.com
WINESTYLES
Address: 12411 Limonite Ave., Suite #600, Eastvale Gateway, Eastvale
Phone: 951-360-6905
Web site: www.winestyles.net/eastvale
