nosh

CHINESE PEOPLE

continued from page 37

EAT HERE

MIDTOWN
4710 Cass Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48201

UPTOWN
6407 Orchard Lake Road
(15 Mile & Orchard Lake)

313.974.7669

248.626.8585

DAILY DIM SUM &SUSHI

DAILY DIM SUM

912 S. Old Woodward Ave.
#100, Birmingham
(248) 792-5452
Monday-Thursday,
9 a.m.-8 p.m.
Friday & Saturday,
9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday, noon-6 p.m.

uptownshangri-la.com

2138630

Sphinx Competition Finals Concert

presented by

A special thank you to Lauren and Phillip Fisher for their additional support

Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center
$15 tickets at www.DSO.org
Sunday, February 12, 2017 at 2pm

Audience Choice Award Sponsor

Y Top young artists compete for

top prize of $50,000

Robert Frederick Smith Prize

Y Guest Conductor Thomas
Wilkins with Sphinx Symphony

Y “Seven Last Words of the
Unarmed” by Joel Thompson

Y University of Michigan Men’s
Glee Club with Prof. Eugene Rogers

Y Featured guest artists

Karen Clark Sheard and
jessica Care moore

the epicenter for artists and leaders in diversity

Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit
$100 registration / $145 hotel night
February 9 - 12, 2017
www.SphinxConnect.org

THE
ANDREW W.

MELLON

FOUNDATION

2156020

38

February 2 • 2017

jn

feel. He hired Ron
& Roman LLC to
add even more
vibrancy to the shop
with beautiful light
fixtures and wood-
paneled ceilings.
To ensure the
wines aren’t dam-
aged by harsh lighting, Apone uses
strictly LED bulbs throughout the
store. The glass windows and doors
also have a thick UV coating to mini-
mize the likelihood of wine damage.
Apone keeps the thermostat set to a
brisk 63 degrees, so don’t be surprised
to find him and the rest of the staff
sporting multiple layers year-round.
Due to the temperature-controlled
environment, the thousands of bottles
resting on the eye-catching racks are
in perfect condition. Apone catego-
rizes them by region and marks each
with a visible price tag. Bottles range
from a modest $15 up to $15,000 for
some of the high-end, rare wines.
While Apone primarily features
wines hailing from California, Italy
and France, he also carries some
unique bottles from smaller regions
in Spain, Portugal, Germany and even
Lebanon.
The O.W.C. team pride themselves
on sampling every bottle and making
sure it can be priced aggressively. “If it
doesn’t taste good or if it’s not priced
right, you won’t find it on the shelves,”
he says.
When O.W.C. initially opened,
Apone ran statistics on the top 50
wines sold by their distributors to
popular Birmingham restaurants. He
then placed a range of those familiar
bottles on the four main wine tables
throughout the store.
“When people walk in the door,
they can feel comfortable — they don’t
feel intimated,” Apone says.
The casual atmosphere at O.W.C.
is apparent while sipping wine in the

tasting room. Apone
loves music and
decided to feature
song bites on the
walls, which all refer-
ence to wine. Many
customers will rec-
ognize these famous
clips sung by an
eclectic group of artists that includes
the Eagles and Elton John.
While anyone is welcome inside,
the vibrant tasting room is reserved
for wine seminars geared toward busi-
nesses looking to add a splash of vino
to a meeting.
O.W.C. also offers tasting opportuni-
ties and notifications about unique
bottle arrivals for members of its very
own wine club. Wine lovers can sign
up for a free membership any time by
submitting their email address.
If a membership doesn’t appeal,
O.W.C. customers can easily try before
they buy. To maintain the freshness of
the 80 bottles kept open for sampling,
Apone uses a wine preservation tool
called the Coravin, which allows pour-
ing while the cork remains intact.
Once customers make their selec-
tion, they can take advantage of home
delivery within 5 miles of the store or
curbside pick-up, and they have the
option to keep a credit card on file.
At O.W.C., patrons not only receive
quality service, but also can rest
assured that staff members are very
knowledgeable.
Apone especially enjoys engaging in
wine-related research in his free time.
In his opinion, it can be challenging to
keep up on the latest happenings in
the wine industry. “It’s like technolo-
gy,” he says. “Once you think you’ve got
it, the next new phone is already out.”
If you’re eager to learn a bit about
wine or are in search of a serious
yet approachable wine shop, Old
Woodward Cellar has it all. •

