Wino#1 lives south of Seattle (heh, I am Southie...oh wait, that's Boston) so I don't have the luxury of the city's heaping servings of trendy nouveau cuisine, cafes & eateries on every corner, and the carrying-ons that you might find with Seattleites.

  But I do have the best tapas & wine (if you like that sort of thing) this side of Lake Washington. Yep, the Red House Beer & Wine Shoppe Tapas Bar located in downtown Renton (the up and coming burb neighboring the posh eastside of the Lake, Bellevue) serves it up just right with delicious tapas and a diverse wine menu. I'm not sure why beer comes first in the name (maybe it rolls off the tongue better).

  The Red House as we'll call it is literally a red house converted into a quaint, warm, cozy dine-in place to sip wine and eat my two favorite tapas: spicy shrimp with roasted red peppers on a sourdough baguette and pommes frites (french fries) with a yummy mayo seasoned dip.

  On any given night you may come across Gene & Huong Sens (owners). Gene has another restuarant in town called Blossom Asian Bistro so check it out also when you are south of the Lake. You also might find Daniel, a young free spirited staffie who knows a few things about Sake (which they also sell). On some nights he will bring a sample glass of wine or beer that caught his tastebuds, very generous of him.

  Okay, you want to know about the wine. I've sampled many glasses so here are the favorites:

 California - Windmill - Viognier (no surprise there) ($7/glass)
 New Zealand - Oyster Bay - Sauvignon Blanc ($6/glass)
 Washington - Stonecap - Syrah ($6/glass)
 Argentina - Septima - Malbec ($7/glass)
 Italy - Dogajolo - Cabernet/Sangiovese ($7/glass)
 Spain - Mad Dogs and Englishmen - Shiraz/Cabernet ($7/glass)

 The disappointment of the bunch was California - Rosenblum - Zinfandel ($7/glass). Not sure why because I do like Zinfandels but that night it was flat (may be a temperature issue for me) and not very inviting to my sensories.

 Lastly, I want to mention wine tasting on Wednesday nights (just find the stair case and walk up). There is always a wine theme and the pay to drink fee is $20. But there is food!

 I really can't say enough good things about this little gem in town so take my words and eat, drink, and be merry.