Gem Wine Cellar

Stopped by this tiny wine shop recently. The owner, Gene McBee, is very nice, and quite knowledgable on wines from all over the world. He’s been in the business since the early 70s. Fridays they have wine tasting, usually 5 or 6 different wines with a common thread (last week was Malbec wines). The cost is $ 10 and you get complimentary bread, crackers, cheese and pâté with your wine tastes. On Saturdays, if there is any wine left over from the night before, you can taste them for free (no food though). I enjoyed chatting with Gene over an hour, while tasting the wine from the night before, and browsing the shop. Of note, he’s one of the few shops in Portland to carry Leonetti Cellar wines. Expensive, but very very good, and hard to find.