Still here, still alive: Winestop 
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I want to introduce to you all to a shop that has a special place in my heart, Winestop. I was introduced to this shop by a friend a few years back for wine tasting and it has been another home where I get to spend time and meet new people, all while sipping wines that have been brought over from Europe.
Spending time at this shop gave me a weekly wine tasting routine on Thursdays. However, the pandemic forced everyone in Los Angeles to put a pause on outings with friends, and most businesses temporarily closed their doors. Since Winestop was considered as a food vendor, they were able to stay open and they’ve opened their second location in Silverlake and have since been serving the community through the stressful year.

The person you may find behind the counter jumping between both shops is Alvaro, the owner of Winestop. Through him and his staff I grew to appreciate the experience of wine tasting, discovering new bottles and flavor profiles that make wines unique. While tastings have been put on pause, the discovery experience has not changed; the staff at Alvaro’s shop can paint a picture of the flavor profiles and recommended pairs from the desired bottle. I believe it is the experience they create and the knowledge they share about wine that have brought Winestop success, even in building a bigger clientele base during the pandemic.

Q1. Did you have to close your art district location temporarily during the first few months? Most business owners would shut down one of their brick and mortar stores if it wasn’t receiving enough business and concentrate on the ones that are able to bring revenue. One business that recently shut down in your neighborhood was art district wine. What kept you from shutting down your shop in the art district location? 

We remained open throughout the entire pandemic. During the first months we were only doing curbside pickup. No one was coming into the store. We continued to push forward with Wine Stop DTLA thanks to our loyal clientele. Having been in the area for over four years has allowed us to cultivate friendships and relationships with our customers, that’s the reason why Wine Stop DTLA continues to thrive in the Arts District.

Q2. Now that Los Angeles is slowly reopening, what are your plans for both of your locations for winestop? Will weekly winetasting be returning with limited capacity? 

As more and more people get vaccinated in LA County, our plans are to resume weekly wine tastings as soon as most people feel comfortable and confident going indoors. Our space in DTLA is small, so we want to make sure our customers are and feel safe. We can’t wait to see everyone’s faces and smiles!

The application process for our SVLK tasting license has already started, we are hopeful that we can start offering wine tasting at the Silver Lake location this fall.

We have been very lucky and blessed, as terrible and stressful this past year and a half have been, we were able to stay open and serve our customers. We are very sad to see so many wonderful businesses run by good people closing their doors. We are thankful to LA for the love and the support.