Garces Trading Company is collaborating with PLCB to offer a liquor store inside the restaurant, which they are calling a BYOB. Controversy aside, from the consumer point of view this is just fantastic. From within the restaurant you can just waltz over to the store (the glassed in area in the picture), buy something, and bring it back to your table.
The selection leans old world, and there seem to be wines here that are not available elsewhere in the state system. For example there is a decent section of rosé which is unusual for a PLCB store. Note the elegant way the wines are displayed.
Another nice feature is the number of half bottles available at reasonable prices. We don't usually drink champagne, but this was a special occasion so we started off with a half bottle of Veuve Clicquot (5078) for $24.99. When we purchased it they exchanged the bottle for one that was chilling in a refrigerator. A fine bead of bubbles shot up from the bottom of our glasses!
Next we selected a half bottle of Montecillo Rioja Crianza (15662) for, get this...$4.99! You can get about 2.5 glasses out of these 375ml bottles. Other half bottles available included Chianti and Beaujolais. As you can see, the stemware provided by Garces was perfect and added to the enjoyment of the wine. This velvety smooth Rioja went well with our food, which was just incredible.
On the way out we stopped back in the store and picked up some Domaine Hetszolo Dry Furmint (22390) and some Willm Gewurtztraminer (22359). Garces Trading Company is our new favorite place! Every restaurant should have a liquor store attached to it! Thank you Garces and PLCB!
