Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Vinovore

Located on a yet-to-be-developed street in Virgil Village in Silverlake, Vinovore is a brand new specialty wine shop. The store is not very large, about the size of a comfortable living room, and is home to approximately 150 different wines, with plans to grow to 250 in time. But there are two unique elements to this wine store that set it apart from anything else in Los Angeles and that is why Vinovore is the Please The Palate pick of the week. Vinovore is co-owned by Coly Den Haan, a sommelier who previously owned The Must and Perch in downtown LA. With her partner Dean Harada, a developer, they own Hot Hot Food just up the street (and really the only other business currently on the street). The first thing that makes Vinovore unique is that 90 percent of the wine selection happens to be made by women winemakers. With a strong emphasis on female winemakers, there are wines from California, Washington, Oregon, Finger Lakes, Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, New Zealand and Australia. I think it is wonderful that there are so many female winemakers out there and at this store, I will be introduced to more than the ones I already know! While it is important to note that wine is not any better because it is made by a woman, I think it is wonderful to highlight female winemakers in an industry that is still rather male-dominated.