Adel's Wine Cellar/17th and Cole Market

During the week I pass by Adel’s Wine Cellar/17th and Cole Market at least 6 times a day on our travels between work and school. I know when Adel comes in the morning, when he’s putting out the flowers, taking a smoke break, talking to a wine rep outside. I feel like a spy. I can see from the boxes piled outside by the front door what he has been buying and because I am also a wine buyer I sometimes get the inside scoop on what’s happening with Adel from wine reps. Sometimes I try and get a sense of what people are interested in from what he buys for his shop. I know that he takes wine much more seriously than I do and buys expensive wines. I can never buy a wine that retails for more than twenty bucks, a restriction that Adel certainly does not have. The stock in the store has always seemed outrageously large based on the huge stacks of wine boxes taking up two thirds of the floor space in the store. It doesn’t leave much room for groceries and reach in coolers and freezers. Even though we drive by constantly we don’t shop there very often. The only real reason for me to stop is to make a convenient beer run since there is almost always parking in front.

Vida has suddenly become obsessed with China Cola and the other night she wanted me to stop at my store to get some. I really didn’t want to go back in there after having left for the day and she was not happy. She was willing to compromise and buy some kind of juicy soda somewhere else but wasn’t asking very nicely so I wasn’t inclined to stop. Vic loves to drive his sister crazy. When we are driving he usually has some kind of authoritative commentary on whatever Vida and I are talking about. When Vida and I were having the argument about not stopping for China Cola he would copy me saying, “we can’t stop, Vida” and “maybe you can have some another day”. They often bicker about the music—when he’s tired he just wants to hear “Fireflies” and “Papparazi” instead of whatever song Vida wants to listen to on the radio.

Things were going so poorly that I decided that if I were going to stop at a store it was going to be about me—I needed a beer to help me through what seemed like was going to be a long evening of whining and kvetching. I pulled over to Adel’s thinking there was a chance they had China Cola and we could recover the evening but their soda selection was terrible, poor stock and selection. The few grocery shelves had some staples and some European cookies—Victor picked out some goldfish and Vida had to live with an Aranciata in a can. They have a good beer selection but the 22 oz Sierra Christmas beer from last year scared me a bit. I picked out a Fosters in the usual blue and gold can.

When we went to pay I started looking a little more closely at the wine displays. I realized that almost the entire display area was made up of empty wine boxes in various stages of dirt and disrepair. I had assumed that they were full boxes since I rarely use false bottoms to prop up my displays. He laid the wines down flat in the European style instead of straight up in the case stacks. There were some fancy things that you obviously would have to know something about before you invested big money in them. This store is obviously built on the relationship between Adel and the real wine customers rather than the casual corner store shoppers.

Vic’s Snack—Cheddar Goldfish Vida’s snack—Aranciata—Beer of the Day—Fosters Lager.