Vancouver Would Be Cooler If It Had This Shop Stocked With Wines by Women Winemakers
![The interior of Silver Lake’s Vinovore in Los Angeles | Photo: Thalia Stopa](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59b837929f8dce38ac94354f/t/5afc623a70a6ad8db0a9bea7/1528219249593/IMG-0108.jpg)
The interior of Silver Lake’s Vinovore in Los Angeles | Photo: Thalia Stopa
On a recent visit to Los Angeles, a friendly (if not strikingly familiar) storefront caught my attention. Tucked away among the modest character homes and leafy streets of Silver Lake is Vinovore, an airily cozy wine shop that has its shelves stocked with specially selected bottles that highlight the female winemakers who are crushing the grape-crushing game around the world. What that amounts to is hundreds of bottles, everything from from bubbles to robust reds, plus a small selection of some notable offerings from the beer and cider realms. The ‘labour of love’ aspect of the business outdoes itself when you hone in on each individual bottle to read the detailed, handwritten tags explaining each wine’s story.
![Vinovore Silver Lake's front window from the outside showing the huge hand-made pink wine bottle sculpture with the wolf head and store info on it](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59b837929f8dce38ac94354f/t/5afc6339f950b7630a1acf30/1528219255488/Screen+Shot+2018-05-16+at+9.50.42+AM.png)
What could be an overwhelming experience is made playful and simple by consulting the species-specific legend to guide sippers through their wine purchases — depending on your mood and flavour preferences, you figure out “What Kind of Vinovore Are You?” The only trouble with this system that I can foresee is a digression from helpful and novel tool to minor humiliation or – worst case scenario – some serious self-reflection and wine therapy! Otherwise, it’s the perfect shop assistant for indecisive folks like me.
The clever concept is executed elegantly in a homey, pressure-free atmosphere that includes a settee centrepiece for reclining on while pondering whether you’re feeling more mammal than reptile. Since Silver Lake is virtually a mirrored sisterhood of Mount Pleasant, Vinovore could be airlifted from its Hoover Street address to one of the more retail-heavy stretches of Main Street. Take a closer look:
![Wine chart showing some wine animals and tasting notes above pre-made wine gift boxes on a shelf](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59b837929f8dce38ac94354f/t/5afc63b7aa4a9998782857e4/1528219269515/Screen+Shot+2018-05-16+at+9.51.08+AM.png)
![Wine chart showing some wine animals and tasting notes above pre-made wine gift boxes on a shelf](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59b837929f8dce38ac94354f/t/5afc6863562fa7ac1e7d4595/1528219276763/Screen+Shot+2018-05-16+at+9.51.26+AM.png)
![Wall of wine bottles with tasting notes next to a tiger painting. Couch in the front](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59b837929f8dce38ac94354f/t/5afc68c86d2a73294480a3e4/1528219283330/Screen+Shot+2018-05-16+at+9.51.35+AM.png)
![Closeup of wine bottles and hand written tasting notes](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59b837929f8dce38ac94354f/t/5afc69231ae6cf3092ef5881/1528219296306/Screen+Shot+2018-05-16+at+9.51.43+AM.png)
![Closeup of wine bottles and hand written tasting notes](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59b837929f8dce38ac94354f/t/5afc738b2b6a28cfdb7ae998/1528219302877/Screen+Shot+2018-05-16+at+9.51.52+AM.png)
![Closeup of wine bottles and hand written tasting notes](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59b837929f8dce38ac94354f/t/5afc73e2575d1fee69cec1c3/1528219308236/Screen+Shot+2018-05-16+at+9.52.00+AM.png)
![Zoltar fortune telling machine](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59b837929f8dce38ac94354f/t/5afc762e03ce64ed5cfa2718/1528219315196/Screen+Shot+2018-05-16+at+9.52.09+AM.png)
![Closeup of wine](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59b837929f8dce38ac94354f/t/5afc76da2b6a28cfdb7bc7fb/1528219322714/Screen+Shot+2018-05-16+at+9.52.20+AM.png)
![Looking out through Vinovore Silver Lake's front windows with a bicycle hanging up above the door](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59b837929f8dce38ac94354f/t/5afc772988251b023abba205/1528219329553/Screen+Shot+2018-05-16+at+9.52.28+AM.png)
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