Kermit Lynch's new Marin Country Mart outpost is a beautiful, boogie little addition to the North Bay wine scene. The space feels old world and elegant, like a European wine shop. I read it's his first expansion beyond his Berkeley HQ in 50 years, a milestone for a man who helped define Bay Area wine tastes.
Since 1972, Lynch championed wines with authenticity, character, and a sense of place, focusing on smaller European growers. His shop in Berkeley, considered one of the best wine shops in the U.S., has a particular bent towards Burgundies, Rhone reds, Loire Valley wines, Provencal roses, and small Italian wines, and that seems to be true here as well.
One thing worth mentioning, my service experience in the Berkeley location has been a more friendly one. I wasn't greeted or acknowledged during my Marin visit.
My love of AppleTV's Drops of God (well, definitely Season 1) has only added to the mystique of a place like this for me. I grabbed their brochure and the reverence for the artistry, history, and human stories behind smaller production wines stands out. This new shop feels extra fancy, but that's probably part of the charm. Despite appearances (and yes, many bottles are expensive) we found a few bottles at a lower ($13-$25) price point that encourages dabbling with new styles, without that cavernous, "left to your own devices" atmosphere at many of those corporate big box wine shops.
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