Best Wine & Liquor Store '97

Best Wine & Liquor Store

Rumrunner Wine & Cheese Co.
3200 E. Speedway

READERS' PICK: As Pablo Picasso once said, "I do not seek. I find." Given a few more decades he, too, would have eventually stumbled upon the Rumrunner Wine and Cheese Co. This gourmet market is nothing less than a fantastical, refined, cross-continental romp through the myriad ways the people of the world have applied themselves to converting perfectly good fruits and grains into lethal intoxicants.

Wines more well-traveled than the dinner guests for whom you shop crowd the racks. Under the generous tutelage of the Rumrunner's knowledgeable staff, you can tour the world at your leisure, or linger in some nostalgic, fermented enclave.

Of late, the Rumrunner has branched out to perch on the cutting edge of our most self-deprecating trends: labels like Rogue Beer, "for the rogue in all of us"; or Platte Valley Corn Whiskey (in a jug, of course); or at the other end of the spectrum, a $128 bottle of Remy Martin. And don't forget to check out the fine selection of delicate cold cuts, cheeses and pâtés.

READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: Plaza Liquors, 2642 N. Campbell Ave.

A REAL SCREAM: We don't need to tell you Trader Joe's is a great store; but not everybody knows about the treasure that is the Trader Joe's wine selection. Because Joe--whoever he is--enjoys procuring special deals with smaller distributors, his stores carry many wine labels you won't find anyplace else. When was the last time you washed down your focaccia bread with a smooth, savory Chianti from Chile, Australia, or Hungary? When was the last time you drank from a $3 bottle of fumé blanc that didn't taste like toxic vinegar? (Joe's wines adhere to the three-times rule: If it costs $3, it tastes like it's worth $9; if it costs $10, it tastes like $30, etc.) Our favorite hidden treasure is Bull's Blood of Eger, a Hungarian combination of merlot, cabernet and other grapes. With a name like Bull's Blood, you know it's good. (Two locations: 1101 N. Wilmot Road and 7912 N. Oracle Road.)

1998 Winner: Rumrunner Wine & Cheese Co.
1996 Winner: Rumrunner Wine & Cheese Co.
1995 Winner: Rumrunner Wine & Cheese Co.