Carrie G.

You may have heard about Pastiche, the quaint little French inspired Bistro in the southeast corner of Bayview. But did you know they have a wine store, and a pretty fantastic one at that, right upstairs from the restaurant? This may be the hidden gem in the Milwaukee wine shop world. The unassuming little entrance door is just south of the restaurant door and just north of the neighboring Blackbird Bar. As you climb the stairs it feels as though you are entering one of the many upper flats in the bungalows so prevalent in the area. There's a narrow hallway. At one end is a fantastic little tasting room with 4 large round tables and an antique server. It could be your cool aunt's house ready for a holiday dinner. Explore down the hall and you'll find restrooms and just beyond the wine shop. There is also a small alcove with chairs where you may have a glass of wine while waiting for a table downstairs. But the wine shop, oh my! So many great selections of mid and upper range price points. And if you happen to need a gift for any wine lover in your life, this is your place. So very many cool wines and accessories I haven't seen anywhere else in the city. But the true draw here is their occasional tastings. It appears they try to do them monthly and I cannot wait until the next one. A friend and I ventured in for a Thursday Night Open House Tasting. I like that you could stop by any time between 6 and 8pm. The advertised cost was $7 so we were expecting 2-3 tasting samples. We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived and were told there was a wine sales representative pouring six wines at a table, and another four at the wine counter, and all were included in the tasting. The salesrep was from Rootstock Wines, which specializes in the more eclectic varietals. And he had carefully done his homework expertly choosing six wines that could be paired with Thanksgiving dinner. We were advised to start at the table with the rep. Another welcome surprise was how engaging and informative the rep was. My experience at tastings like this has been reps that will pour and maybe throw out a few condescending tidbits but not really engage about taste and grapes and styles and vineyards. Not the case here at all. As we progressed through the six samples, wandering the store or grabbing a seat in the tasting room in between, we were treated to a mini wine class with an abundance of great information. It was so casual and laid back and you could pick and choose what you wanted to taste, which made for a fun evening. There were light apps of cheese and crackers and nuts and fruits in the tasting room but they were pretty picked over and we only arrived about 45 minutes after things started. But the wines and the value certainly made up for that. We only tried 2 of the wines at the counter and the servers there weren't as engaged or knowledgable and the wines weren't as good, but the Rootstock Rep did set the bar rather high. Now that I've experienced one of these I certainly plan to watch for their schedule and invite others to join me for future tastings. And I've also scanned (wine apps are the best) in many wines in their inventory and will make a point to return here for retail shopping as well. Just one more reason to absolutely love living in this neighborhood!