Discount Tobacco and Beverage is Vancouver’s best kept secret. They host wine tasting events on most Friday nights from 6-9 p.m for the past several years. It looks like a convenience store on the outside and it looks like a convenience store on the inside and I’m telling you, after you walk through the steel swinging doors that have the traditional “Authorized Personnel Only” sign in big red print into the back room it looks like wine tasting. The lights are dimmed in the back room that normally hosts cases of beer and beef jerky and is tastefully decorated in warm chocolate and saffron with candle sconces on the wall. There is a rich spread of appetizers and always a representation of wine that rivals the wines that are offered throughout the greater Vancouver/Portland, Willamette Valley, and Yakima areas. They always offer a large pour, which both invites and encourages their patrons.
The Franklins, who own the establishment, are glad to welcome the crowd on Friday nights. Although last season remarked that they had to turn the lights on to remind wine tasters it is nine o’clock and wine tasting is over. They’ve had an increasingly popular crowd and have chosen to promote through word of mouth, e-mail and the bulletin in front of their store.
Wine purchases have increased and the Franklins have found they have a loyal clientele that directly influence the wines they carry on their shelves.
They don’t have website which is why I have only offered it under the ‘check it out’ section on the blog. But please, check it out! It is well worth your time. I, and several friends have been enjoying their wine tasting events for several seasons.