The wine world of the 1970’s was a wild time. The rising cost of imported wine was affecting American consumers and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms import laws around specific labeling for French and Spanish wine was cost prohibitive for small vintners. In 1972, to help counter these frustrations, four Seattle friends decided to open their own wine business, lessening the damage done to their own bank accounts, and in return starting a legacy of knowledge, passion, and decades of experience tasting wine that continues to this day on Capitol Hill.

European Vine Selections opened for four hours a week during the first two years at its original Fremont location, and in 1974, expanded hours and according to part-owner Tarik Burney, “they started expanding their hours and running it like a proper business”. On Valentine’s Day 1987 they opened the Capitol Hill shop in the same location it is now.

What Seattle benefits from a tiny shop along 15th Ave E on Capitol Hill is 50 years of a carefully crafted selection of wines from around the globe.

HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.

Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for as little as $5 a month. 

The emphasis at EVS is Europe, so eighty percent of their wine selection is French, Spanish, or Italian. However, the selection of Pacific Northwest wines is expanding, with Oregon Pinot Noir being a favorite of Burney. “They’re very good, but some of them are very expensive. If you can, find one for $20-$30”.

That’s part of what makes EVS special, says Burney, “most of our wines are $20 or below. I would say sometimes it’s more of a blue collar wine shop, we’re very price sensitive, we are always looking for value.”

The neighborhood has, of course, changed over the years and so has the clientele and what they’re shopping for. Lately, there has been a massive rise in interest in rosé, “I would say in the last five to ten years, people were educated about really nice, dry European rosé.”

Burney says people are becoming more sophisticated about wine than when he became a partner 20 years ago. “It’s more accessible. I think there’s more and more people interested from all over. Maybe they seek out this shop because they know we’re not the typical shop that has the typical wine.”

It’s a “labor of love,” Burney tells CHS.

“Our mission is not necessarily to make the most money out of the shop, but we think of ourselves as a kind of public institution. We’ve been in business now for 50 years and we’re trying to give the most value to people.”

They also taste every wine that comes in, “so we’re very knowledgeable about our wines”, Burney says. “We go through dozens of distributors, and every wine is tasted by us. And if we don’t like something, or something’s gone way up in price, we, because we were very hands on about our inventory, can adjust very quickly.” The owners here are always more than happy to help recommend new varieties. “We search out good wine, and we’re able to talk to all our customers”

If you want to try the wines, part-owner Doug Nufer says, “We haven’t had regular tastings during covid times, but we’ll probably do something in the fall, to coincide with the opening of the shop fifty years ago. We used to have an annual party in December. This would be a good time to revive that, even if people have to drink through masks.”

If you want to visit, EVS is open seven days a week, noon to 7 PM at 522 15th Ave E. Learn more at evswines.com.

HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.

Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for as little as $5 a month.