BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT:

For Wine Cave owner Scott Starkey, selling wine is more than just pulling the cork out of the bottle and pouring.

His philosophy: “Finding wines that you’re not going to get at Trader Joe’s or Costco.” At Wine Cave, buyers will find wines that may not be available anywhere else, “that are good, some excellent, some phenomenal, and at really good pricing,” he said.

Starkey will focus on selling wines from South America, in particular wines from Chile and Argentina. As far as selling wines from California, Starkey will offer bottles from wineries in Paso Robles in central California, a region overlooked by the wine industry, he said. A $20 or $30 bottle of wine from Paso Robles can easily stand up to a more expensive bottle from Napa in terms of quality, he contended.

“There is so much Napa; there is so much Sonoma,” Starkey said. “These guys [from Paso Robles] produce about 7,000 cases a year. The next one I’m bringing in — Adelaida — they do 15,000 cases a year. These are small boutique guys, but they don’t charge the boutique prices. You can start getting into the stratosphere with these guys in terms of the price of wines.”

Some of the wine makers slated for the Wine Cave include Ted Plemons, owner of Cass Wines in Paso Robles, and wine broker Doug Simons.

With Simons, Starkey plans on hosting a wine tasting world tour, where he will feature wines from Australia, South America and other countries. Other events planned include monthly wine tastings with wine makers, something that Starkey said is unique to the Montrose Shopping Park.

“This is something we would definitely like to do,” said Brandon Lyons, tasting room manager at Adelaida Cellars in Paso Robles.

Starkey has also made deals with nearby restaurateurs who will wave the house corkage fee to customers who bring in their own wines purchased from the Wine Cave.

According to Starkey, there are more than 700 wineries in Napa and Paso Robles alone. Starkey estimates that out of this number, most people are familiar with about 50 to 100. Wine Cave will seek to expand customers’ horizons in terms of what wines are available, he said. The Wine Cave, at 2427 Honolulu Ave. in Montrose, had its “pre-grand opening” on Oct. 3 for family and friends. Its grand opening date is yet to be determined, as Starkey is still sorting out the necessary licenses and permits. Opening the Wine Cave has been a year in the making, including efforts to find a suitable space and negotiating the lease, he said.

“You go into it with nothing but the best intentions,” said Starkey, who managed the bar at Milano’s Italian Kitchen in Glendale for 16 years before the restaurant closed in 2007. “[Montrose] is a great area. It’s family friendly, it’s pedestrian friendly, it’s just a really nice area.”