How do you feel about getting a single, one-ounce squirt of wine through a vending machine? Think it might be a bit too sterile or impersonal? Afraid the quality of the wine might suffer in service? Well, life partners Mary Lynn Slattery and Nancy Rowland are banking otherwise. VinoVenue is their brainchild and, lying just a block away from San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art, it could be a bona-fide exhibit within the museum itself. But this is no ordinary tasting room - this is an automat of wine service which some predict could revolutionize wine tasting.
 

Upon entering this recently opened tasting bar, the eye is welcomed by a number of strategically placed mahogany - and - stainless steel tasting stations; some round and some square. Each station is comprised of eight or ten wine styles that include Italian, Rhone, Burgundy, Bordeaux, luxury whites, and more. You begin by purchasing a "smart card" which is available in increments from $10.00 to $100.00. In perusing the shop, a small digital display above each bottle indicates the per-ounce cost of a taste - anywhere from $1.00 for more affordable brands to the hefty-priced $28.00 for a single ounce of 1997 d'Yquem. After making the first, important choice, the customer inserts their card into a special slot in the dispenser, places a glass below the spout of the selected bottle, and pushes a small button. Magically, a single ounce is poured into the glass.

Okay, so maybe it isn't complete magic, but the effect certainly is. The wine, previously opened and tasted against defects, is forced out by compressed air. Within the tasting station, the remaining wine in the bottle is protected by Argon. One needn't be worried about spoilage - from the looks of the thriving business, it is inconceivable that any one of the hundred-plus bottles in the store are open for more than a few hours before being emptied and needing to be replaced with another full bottle.

There aren't just the automated serving stations for wine service either. On one end of the store stands a lovely, large, 14 - seat bar. From there, customers can taste hand-poured Champagnes, sparkling wines, ports, and other rare offerings. Scattered around the 3,500 square foot store are small diameter, heightened tables with bar chairs. Mary Lynn and Nancy graciously offer a wide array of complementary munchies including bread, olive oil, crackers, and nuts. But looking around, one would wonder if any wine is ever sold - no large displays of cases or bottles or obvious salesman-made shelf talkers entice tasters towards any special deals. Nope - if you taste a wine you like, you have to ask for it and it will be fetched from the back room.

The day I visited, I was fortunate to find Mary Lynn alone in the shop - a full hour before the scheduled opening - available for a private tour. She graciously explained how she and Nancy had been traveling around Europe, emotionally rebounding from a failed attempt to open a luxury dog kennel. Stumbling upon the wine dispensers overseas, these oenophiles knew what business they could open in their hometown. Wandering from station to station with Mary Lynn, it was very easy to get excited about the offerings as well as the business model. The smart cards, when inserted, will tell the customer the amount of funds still available. At the end of the visit, if there is money left over, the card can be kept until the next visit or have the amount applied towards the purchase.

Wanting their customers to think beyond the nearby Napa Valley, a good 75% of the wine available to taste is made outside northern California. It would be very easy to want to try everything - and spit buckets are located at every station to remind customers that swallowing is not mandatory (although I never saw anyone spit). Each station is also manned with paper for note-taking and clear signage on the theme of each station. Along with the various smaller themed stations, a huge draw is the "Velvet Room" of specially offered wines like Opus One, Château Margaux, Stag's Leap Cask 23, and d'Yqem. It is a room that is set aside from the throng with a more intimate setting.

Thrilled at the entire concept, I asked about the potential of franchising the concept. Mary Lynn was slightly vague, but indicated that more will definitely be opened in the future - but the exact planning is still being worked on and could be privately held or developed into the franchise model. Chatting with other customers visiting that day, it is easy to feel the sense of camaraderie that envelops those wandering around. Hearing complete strangers discuss what they thought of the wine just dispensed and tasted is not at all unusual. For the weak, it would be very, very easy to spend a lot of money but for those on a budget, a little bit of willpower can prove just as fun. Keeping to the $1.00-ish pours, a number of exceptional wines can present themselves. There is a great opportunity to taste wines that are otherwise hard to find if you are able to spend a little bit more.

Wanting to sample a little from every station, I began with Mary Lynn and some German Rieslings. Bringing along some friends, it was easy to share except that they drank their wine too quickly for me to keep up with taking notes for all. After four or five Riesling tastes, I started taking my own notes:

2001 Catena Malbec Mendoza ($1.80/$18.00) - Earthy with an ashy, plum hint of dirt. A bit dry and tannic with overtones of mushy berries.

2002 Kirralaa Bushvine Shiraz ($1.60/$14.99) - Pale and wussy for a shiraz. Muddy in color but with strong spice aromas up front. Bitter vegetal notes.

2000 Moulin de Duhart Pauillac, Barons de Rothschild Lafite ($2.60/$28.00) - Warm, lush berry and plum on the nose. A bit green on the tongue but showing potential. Full and round in the mouth.

1994 Château Musar ($3.50/$34.99) - Full, almost ripe strawberry on the nose with a hint of mint. Aromas turn medicinal after slight airing. Acidic and wanting on the tongue.

2000 Cascina Adelaide Dolcetto d'Alba ($1.30/$13.99) - Hugh, fake floral smell, overtly sweet. I honestly wasn't sure if I was smelling a nearby woman's hideous perfume, but it was the wine. Completely lost in the mouth with wimpy fruit.

2001 Lafleur Gazin Pomerol ($3.00/$29.00) - Rich, full with deep, complex berry fruit. Mellow with a long finish.

For me, the Pomeral was the clear winner - through other friends' glasses, I also tasted a Margaux and Stag's Leap Cask 23, neither of which impressed as much as the Lafleur Gazin. Personally, I can't wait to go back.