A Wine Bar? In Redwood City?

Sure, they're popping up all over San Francisco, but I was a little surprised to learn that downtown RWC now has its own wine bar: Savvy Cellars. It opened in early December, near the Fox Theatre.

Here's some background info on the place, from a San Jose Mercury News column:

[Jennifer] Ayre, a Bay Area native, was laid off from her tech job in 2003 and decided to hit the reset button. She wanted to find a successful business plan in an industry she was interested in.

"I learned more and more about the wine industry, and I thought, 'This is good,'" Ayre said. Having previously lived in Seattle, she moved back to Washington state, where she spent two years learning about wine and achieving sommelier status from the International Sommelier Guild.

Then it was back to the Bay Area, where she hunted for the right spot for Savvy Cellar. Redwood City, she discovered, was searching for a business like hers that could bring pedestrian traffic to an emerging dining-and-entertainment district.

Savvy Cellar is geared toward casual wine drinkers who aren't expert tasters and might be skittish about making expensive mistakes. All the wines are rated 90 points or higher (which means someone with some sort of credential thinks they're good) and cost $39 or less per bottle.

In addition to offering wine tastings, Savvy Cellars hosts artists receptions and features live jazz on Sunday nights.

Savvy Cellars
2048 Broadway Street
(650) 363-8737