Wine Store
Seven years ago, this beloved little wine store nestled on the corner of Manhattan Avenue and the 10th Street walk street was about to close shop due to a family crisis. Meanwhile, a customer named Paddy Delepine faced her own crisis. Paddy was a Wall Street veteran who’d moved to California with a large mortgage institution and found herself abruptly laid off after 15 years as a single-minded, hard-driving finance professional. She wasn’t the type to quake, however, and so she stopped by Bacchus — where her sister, Barbara, happened to work — to pick up some bubbly for a friend’s birthday. Standing in the little shop, she had an epiphany. “I thought, ‘I could do this!’” Paddy said, recalling a bit of wisdom her grandmother frequently passed on: “When one door closes, another opens.” A third sister, Maureen, was also enlisted, and soon the Delepine sisters had remade Bacchus into an even more treasured local spot, a homey village hub of the sort that usually only exists in Europe. Paddy, who is a sommelier, has focused on finding small California winery gems and little-known imports that are not only beautiful wines but come at unexpectedly low price points. “Not everyone who lives in Manhattan Beach has a million dollars,” she said. A lot of the store’s customers live within walking distance, and Bacchus’ wine club offers three levels $30, $50, or $100 month — and informal tastings whenever a member is able to come to the shop and share a sunset sip from the storefront tasting area. Barbara, who has now been at the shop for more than a decade, keeps its easygoing ethos flowing like wine. “Wine is supposed to be friendly and fun,” she said. “So that’s what we do.”
Bacchus Wine Made Simple, 1000 B Manhattan Avenue, Manhattan Beach, 310-372-2021, bacchuswinesla.com.
Runner Up: Uncorked, 302 Pier Avenue, Hermosa Beach, 424-247-7117, Uncorked.com.
