Wine tasting in Riverside
The Riverside Red X draws hundreds each month wanting to sample its spirits
If you head over to the Riverside Red X in Riverside, Mo, on the third Thursday of the month, be prepared for a crowd. The store’s monthly wine tastings draw wine lovers from all over to sample wines, spirits and a buffet table — for free.
“It’s a circus,” says wine consultant Ron Paradise. “... You’re offering free food, free wine, free liquor and free beer, you’re going to get a lot of people in the store.”
The next Red X wine tasting will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on May 21. The wine tasting offers as many as 18 different tables of wine, with anywhere from 100 to 150 different types of wine available to taste. Customers also can talk to those who are connected with the wine to find out more about what they’re sampling.
“We’ll have anybody from the wine maker to the vineyard owner to the sales representative, and they’re there to answer the customers questions,” says Mr. Paradise.
The Red X has been hosting wine tastings for about 10 years, according to liquor department manager Bonnie Mason. What started out as a trend has become at tradition for wine lovers.
“Wine had started really flourishing, becoming more and more popular all the time, so we decided to have the wine tasting,” she says. “The very first one, we had about 100 people. Now we have anywhere from 300 to 400 to 500 people.”
But don’t let the size of the crowd scare you off. Even though you might have to park in the grass or down the street, the Red X store is 95,000 square feet — plenty of room to hold a crowd. After hosting wine tastings for almost a decade, the people at Red X know how to run the show.
“The flow runs pretty good,” Mr. Paradise says. “We’ve got it down to a science.”
Customers are asked for identification when they enter. Those under 27 can get a wristband so they’re not asked for ID at every table. As customers go around and sample wines, they can keep track of what wines they like by looking at the tasting sheets at each table. Every sheet is a different color, which coordinates with colored arrows on the wine racks. All you have to do is match the sheet color with the arrow color.
Ms. Mason says the wine tastings are always busy, but offer a relaxed and casual atmosphere to mingle in.
“It’s just a fun time,” she says. “If you’ve ever been once, you’ll certainly want to come back.”
And while you’re at the Red-X, be sure to check out the general store. Mixed in among the 99-cent items, hardware and lawn care items and grocery aisles are antiques and collectibles from the store’s original owner, Edward Young.
“That’s why we call it the store to explore,” says current owner Zeke Young, Edward’s son.
Among the unusual things you’ll see at the Red-X are fake eyeballs and false teeth, a wash basin from the sister ship of the Titanic, a saddle for a two-humped camel, a stuffed mongoose fighting a stuffed cobra, a collection of antique bells and a collection of Remington statues.
I like to kind of say we’re the most unique store in the United States,” Mr. Young says. “There’s not another one like it.”