Wine Appreciation 101: Jonathan’s Wine Stewards Share Wine Knowledge

Are you curious about wine, but not sure how or where to find a comfortable, supportive setting to sample and learn about different wines?

A spot where you can also purchase your favorites to take home by the bottle or the case at competitive prices, or receive knowledgeable advice on pairing wines with your menu?

At , located at 7611 Fay Ave., you’ll discover some of the most congenial tastings in San Diego, accompanied by good food and convivial company, while savoring one of the best bargains – and secrets -- in town.

Every Friday and Saturday from 5 to about 7:30 p.m., Jonathan’s hosts wine tastings, no reservations required. On Thursday evening they’ve recently added another tasting, usually devoted to beers, primarily microbrews and interesting imports.

In a casual setting you’ll be able to explore and learn about different grape varietals, wine regions and styles, plus taste soon-to-be favorites, all the while meeting new people and making friends among Jonathan’s community of wine-lovers.

Key to the tastings’ success is the warm hospitality and friendly personalities of Jonathan’s two knowledgeable wine stewards, Darcy Bentley and David Silvia, who are generous in sharing their expertise and enthusiasm for wines. Both have a talent for customers’ names, faces and tastes, welcoming guests back by name after only a single previous visit.

Bentley, 48, joined Jonathan’s in August, 2010, and restarted the once-thriving program of wine tastings at the La Jolla store soon after his arrival. Previously Bentley spent 12 years with Ralphs as a store and wine department manager in Del Mar. The Merced native brings to his job sensitivity to customer service developed over 30 years in the food and beverage industry, where he started at the bottom as a busboy and dishwasher. He clearly loves his job and his customers.

“I just love people. I’ve always been good with people. I get a lot of pleasure just seeing them happy,” Bentley says.

Silvia came to Jonathan’s last December as Bentley’s assistant from a retail background and experience as a wine representative and district manager for Southern Wine & Spirits.

While you’ll find many well-known labels featured in Jonathan’s wine aisles, including Kendall-Jackson, Sonoma-Cutrer, Chateau Montelena, plus many prominent bubblies and apéritifs, the wine department’s strength is its deep selection of lesser-known boutique or small production wines, many limited to just a few hundred cases. Recently Bentley, with his management’s encouragement, has expanded the local selection to appeal to La Jolla customers’ specialized palates.

Educating potential buyers about lesser-known wines is a key element of the store’s approach to sales. In organizing the weekly events, Bentley focuses some tastings on wines of one particular importer or region, while others feature wines chosen from diverse regions and countries.

Bentley understands that customers are far more likely to purchase wines from wineries and regions they’ve grown to know and love and takes care in selecting his weekly wine tasting menus, which are emailed early in the week to his growing email list. Each email also contains a compilation of the previous week’s favorites.

La Jolla residents Danielle Williams and John Krause gathered outside by the coffee bar for a recent tasting of French wines conducted by Aline Thiébaut and Anita Busquets, partners in Aliane Wines, importers of French wines from small, independent vintners throughout France. Williams reports she discovered the tastings when she saw one in progress while she was shopping for groceries.

“I love cruising their wines. We love French wines and they have the best selection,” Krause commented during the Aliane tasting.

With the weather warming up, look for the tastings outside at Jonathan’s Fay Street coffee bar. If the night is chilly, the tastings move inside near the bakery.

To join in, just drop by and pay the cashier $10 per person for the regular or beer tasting, $15 for the premium tasting, and $20-25 for the occasional higher-end wine tasting. All feature a minimum of five or six wines, usually with one or two added “bonus” wines, all accompanied by a selection of complementary foods. The premium and special tastings include hot food, the regular tastings cold food.

To find out the schedule and the tasting menu, sign up for weekly emails in the wine department, or send an email to Bentley at Darcybentley47@yahoo.com, or call Jonathan’s at 858-459-2677.