Red Carpet Wine:In Good Spirits

Red Carpet Wine and Spirits was one of the first, if not the first wine bar in southern California, established more than 40 years ago in 1964. Its present owner, H.K. Hedlund said: “Twenty years ago, Red Carpet used to sell a lot of liquor and beer, before the Napa Valley became renowned for its wine.” California wine ultimately harvested awards in international wine competitions, and wine enthusiasts began their trek to ground breaking Napa valley wineries.

Born, raised and still living in Arcadia, Hedlund added: “I think we were one of the original ones, but I can’t take too much credit for it. I’ve kind of taken the ball that was passed to me and tried to continue that. We developed and still have the reputation of pouring the finest wines. Others may pour what they want to move quickly or what they’re trying to promote. Well, we would never try to dump wine. We promote what we ourselves like. Our customers expect that.”

Hedlund thinks Red Carpet stands out, even in the sea of California wine bars, because of their vast selection of outstanding wines and spirits, as well as their exceptional service. They can access some of the best wines from the Napa Valley. “We find the guys who are just starting out, making something really good that not too many people may know about.  We meet these people when they’re new, and when they become big time wine makers and make it to magazine covers, they’re our friends.  And we’re always going to be those people who were there with them, from the start. It’s really a question of building relationships.”

They are also tasting the wine. Red Carpet visits the wineries and finds things that may not be on the radar, but will be soon and in a big way.   Hedlund explained: “We’re really slowly developing our own personality as purveyors of wine.” Along the way, Red Carpet takes risks, hoping and betting that the wine they choose will be crowd pleasers.  From all accounts, they have a pretty good batting average.

Wine can be intimidating so the staff of Red Carpet walk people through the store in a very personal way, making them comfortable, asking them what they like and what they want to know. They take the “myths” out of the wine. Basically, they say, it is all about finding something you enjoy.” “We let our customers talk about what they want the store to carry and, at the same time, we find things that we think they like, and between the two, we seem to have assembled a pretty nice selection.”

Red Carpet Wine is a full service wine and spirits shop that also has a fantastic cigar collection.  It has a website, www.redcarpetwine.com, that gives you updates on wine tastings and other wine-related events and celebrations, and is located at 400 Glenoaks Boulevard in Glendale. Their hours are Monday – Thursday, 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. and Sunday, 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. For more information call (800) 339-0609.