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When you’ve collected over 3,000 bottles of wine before your thirtieth birthday, it’s safe to say that you are passionate about wine. Ryan Allison has met wonderful people while traveling and collecting and loves the business of wine. "I knew I didn’t want to own a winery," he says, "but I had to do something with all this wine!"

Photo: A portion of the retail stock

He met the owner of Awinestore.com in 1995, purchased the site in 2001, brought inventory into and sold wines out of his house for six years, turning it into the top online spot for finding premium Northwest wines. "I’ve been an entrepreneur all my life," Ryan explains. "I’ve started internet companies, data mining companies and property management companies. I took over the family real estate business in 1999." (He owns and operates Wood River Inn and Tamarack Lodge in Sun Valley, Idaho.)

As Ryan planned his wine future, he knew he wanted to offer something different than other wine bars and stores. "The wine store is a way to show the unique wines I’ve collected. There are wines that people haven’t seen in years," he says. "But the plan kept growing. If I sell wine to drink on the premises, I need to have food and places to sit and relax. Music plays a big part in that, so I need to add that. I took two bays in the building, then added a third, then a fourth. I wanted the wine bar to be an extension of peoples’ living rooms."

Cellar 46° opened on March 23, 2007, with approximately 28 wines by the glass, a full-time chef and free wireless Internet access. Cellar 46° draws its name from Washington state’s primary grape growing region located on Latitude 46° N, the same as France’s famed Bordeaux and Burgundy wine regions. The retail shop specializes in Washington, Oregon and California wines and has a premium room filled with hard-to-find bottles from the Northwest and around the world. There’s a division between the wine bar/restaurant and the shop, but people can stroll through the shop and pick a wine to have in the wine bar or with their meal.

"Education is a big part of what we want to do," explains Ryan. "That’s why we created our wine flights. You get to taste several wines this way and compare. For instance, our ‘Tour of Syrahs’ includes wines from France, Washington, South Africa and Western Australia." Wines by the glass and flights rotate frequently. Guests can also learn about wines from the staff and visiting winemakers, authors and educators. In addition, the wine bar offers tastings and live entertainment.

The menu plan has morphed from wine bar-style offerings to a casual restaurant. Mixed nuts, olive tapenade and a meat and cheese plate are available, but they also offer panini and light entrees like The Cellar 46° chop salad, a Brie and pear quesadilla and a healthy children’s menu. Their chef, Nalani Dias, comes from the catering world and has put together a wine-friendly menu. She’s involved in staff tastings and trainings, helping her evolve the menu to match the wines.

Ryan, a Mercer Island native, his wife and his brother-in-law Chris Heller co-own and operate Cellar 46°.

Photo: Chris (left) and Ryan at wine bar

"We really want people to feel a sense of ownership about Cellar 46°," says Ryan. "Eventually we’ll have four or five different wine clubs, maybe a Washington market price wine club, an international wine club, etc. We’ll offer wine tasting notes for club members and recipe card boxes. We have private storage lockers that are temperature and humidity controlled. People who have lockers will be entitled to discounts on corkage fees, allowing them to take a bottle from their locker and enjoy it in the wine bar/restaurant. Call ahead and we’ll decant the bottle before your arrival."

Additional locker member perks include receiving early notification of special events like bottle signings. They can have their wine orders from wineries and other wine clubs sent to Cellar 46°. Staff will call to let members know of the arrival and even store the wine in the member’s locker with their permission. Buying wine on vacation? Locker members can have it shipped directly to Cellar 46°. For members heading off to a vacation home, Cellar 46° is happy to ship wine from their locker to that address.

Photo above: wine bar (foreground), restaurant (center), retail shop (background)

Anyone who orders wine from Awinestore.com is welcome to pick up their order at Cellar 46° free of charge.

With their large selection of wines and hard-to-find wines, attention to detail and customer service and a restaurant menu in the wine bar, Cellar 46° offers a full-service experience. Take advantage of one or all of their offerings.

Connie Adams/July 2007

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