“buchette del vino”

John Marco, owner of Whired Wine at 410 L St., reports that last week Sacramento’s city planning commission gave him the go-ahead to open the Whired Wine Window at the Senator Building across the street from the Capitol. He’s about half-way through the process for receiving the Dept. of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s permission, and if all goes to plan, goblets will start going through the window and patrons will be able to sip from them while being comfortably seated on the Senator’s portico in late October. For the new business venture, Marco says he’s pulling from an old playbook. During the Renaissance period while Bubonic plague remained redolent, astute wine merchants in Florence, Italy plied their trade through a “buchette del vino,” which translates to “wine hole,” but later, Marco says, took on the colloquialism of “wine window.” Considering that we’re still in the grip of our own pandemic and that the Senator is a fine example of Renaissance revival architecture with its symmetrical towers rising above an arched colonnade, Marco says the Whired Wine Window can build from the notion of limited interpersonal contact and social distancing by serving wine through a window. Its menu will be similar to the one for his larger operation down the street: small bites to eat and a rotating wine list comprised of a third of California wines, a third from the Old World and a third from elsewhere, like Argentina or Australia. Common to both of his operations will be Marco’s relaxed approach to serving fine wines. Contact: Marco, john@whiredwine.com