Your Wine Questions Welcome at the Brecksville Bootlegger

Scott Sutton doesn’t want people to be intimidated by wine.

It’s a subject that people tend to shy away from if they don’t know a lot about it, he said, but that’s not necessary at his store. He wants people to ask questions, and he tries to keep the experience laid-back.

“I like to try and reduce the snob factor,” Sutton said.

Sutton owns the , a wine shop on Mill Road, with his high school friend Dale Krakora. The two moved the store into its current location from Independence this summer, and re-opened in August.

The Brecksville resident said the move to his hometown has been a good one. A number of their customers lived in the area, already, Sutton said, and people are still discovering the new location.

“It just takes time,” Sutton said.

Sutton said the inventory at the shop varies—it’s a pretty “fluid” business, no pun intended, he joked. He follows the trends and tries to keep an eclectic selection on the shelves.

For customers who want to get a literal taste of some of that inventory, Sutton offers a $10 wine tasting from 5 to 8:30 p.m. every Friday. Reservations aren’t necessary, and the selection varies each week. And Sutton said he works with area restaurants to provide appetizers.

This Friday, he’s featuring a white wine blend and a pinot noir from California, a cabernet franc and a field blend.

For non-wine drinkers, the store also carried a small selection of beer, and Sutton said he plans to expand that.