GenuWine Arizona [November 2020]

So I know that a wine friend initially told me about this wine bar, a place where you can pour your own wine tasting, but I am not 100% sure exactly who that was. I think it was another traveler I was working with at Banner Thunderbird, Jenny Moran, but both of our contracts were getting ready to end so we didn't have time to go. Plus, Shawn and I were getting ready to leave for the summer and there just wasn’t enough time to go check it out. When we got back into Phoenix, [Jenny took an assignment somewhere else] I felt duty bound to check it out so I could let her know about it!! Hahaha!!

I dragged Shawn downtown with me [to Roosevelt Row] and we went to see what this place was all about. I absolutely loved the concept!! GenuWine was opened in January of 2018 by Emily Rieve and Lindsey Schoenemann. Emily and Lindsey met in Gilbert, Arizona where they were both Junior High School teachers. They taught 7^th grade math and science, respectively. They started hanging out and eventually became best friends. They discovered that they worked well together and thought why not pursue the dream of owning and operating a unique type of wine bar.

It wasn't long after Emily came back from a trip to France, [where she first came across the self-pour technology] that they started to make their big plans for GenuWine. The way they came up with the name is really kind of simple; they have a “genuine” love for “wine” so they just combined the two words into GenuWine!! They wanted to support local companies and local wines so they connected with more then a few winemakers in the area and began to showcase these wines in the self-serve machines. It’s actually pretty easy, as you can see in the self explanatory directions pictured above.

I soon returned, taking my work daughter, Hayley with me. We thought it was such a novel idea… the wine bottles are on display so you are able to see all of the options. They write little tasting notes by each bottle so you can get an idea of what of what it will taste like. You then serve yourself a 1oz or 3oz pour or a full glass, then you repeat!! I will say that it can be quit dangerous to have this kind of power [literally] at your fingertips. LOL The pours add up pretty quickly and it’s kind of addictive and it's most definitely a lot of fun!! They also have really good food here and customizable charcuterie options.

GenuWine is a great place to meet fiends and co-workers for a little unwinding. Went back to meet my gals [pictured above] from Banner Thunderbird swing shift for wine [of course] and dinner. It ended up being Trivia Night so we thought wine not!? I believe we placed 3rd... whoop whoop!! [out of three teams.. JK think there were 11 teams!! LOL] They have an array of board games, live music on the weekends, or something else always going on; like participation in a downtown wine walk, [which is a lot of fun] paint and wine, [been there... done that] and special wine pairings. I think they are getting ready to do a Halloween candy and wine pairing night!!

You can also purchase bottles of the wine that you tasted and they have a surprising large variety of gift items, with no shortage of cute and funny signage. [the bathroom is a lot of fun to read!! Haha!!] Needless to say that since opening GenuWine, with managing its daily operations, and promoting it through interviews and social media, the girls no longer have time for teaching. In one interview, Emily mentioned that she and Lindsey "hustled" to get it off the ground with no prior business experience. All I can say is well done ladies... well done!!

Next week Wine with Wixy will be heading into 2021!! Oddly enough we will be going to another winery that offers self-serve wine pours. However, they did not fair as well since they have gone out of business. Come on back next year to hear the details!!

Cheers to you my wine loving friends, and TTFN!!