Wine Gal & Whiskey Guy to the rescue as Fourth Street location springs back to life

QUINCY — “With great power, comes great … wine!”

No … “With great wine, comes great responsibility!”

Wait, it’s … “With great whiskey, comes great power! With great wine, comes great whiskey?”

For the love of Peter Parker, it’s something like that … (Hat tip to Spider-Man and his creator Stan Lee for the intro.)

Anyhoo, a new wine and whiskey bar is opening its doors to the public for the first time this today at 119-121 N. Fourth Street in downtown Quincy. Owned by husband and wife duo Dwight and Christy Heubner, it’s appropriately named Wine Gal Meets Whiskey Guy and they’ll be there from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday … and Friday … and Saturday.

Similarly to the origin story of Z!Eats, the door to this business opened upon seeing a Muddy River News article on the closing of Revelry in January. This time, it was the upscale-on-one-side-sports-bar-on-the-other anomaly of Revelry that was coming to an end after eight years in the spot.

With its exposed brick and large, park-facing windows, the space has been beloved in whatever form its taken shape as; 119 N. Fourth was the home of the ever-so-quaint and amiable Park Bench, with fresh baked pastries and homemade chicken salad, and 121 N. Fourth which housed a pair of wine bars, Brix and then the cozy and laid-back Cellar 21, until the 121 address became Revelry and 119 eventually became a version of Revelry with fluorescent lights, gambling machines and video games. 

“I think people have loved coming here through the years, and hopefully they continue to love coming here,” Christy said. 

The Huebners took over the spaces on August 1 and they’re treating them as two sides of the same coin by utilizing a sophisticated, but not stuffy, and upscale, but not unapproachable, style throughout. Matching tufted loveseats and industrial finishes are featured on the Whiskey Guy side, while the Wine Gal side is brighter, with crystal chandeliers and a few spots to take photos.

The Heubners hope to keep things fresh by hosting a few pop-ups and special events throughout the year. Plans for the holiday season are already underway, and while they’re only set to be open Thursday through Saturday, Sunday morning mimosas are indeed on the table. 

Christy had wanted to open a wine bar for the past six years, but to hold her over in the meantime, she sold clean-crafted, organic wine and held wine and whiskey tasting parties. She also worked with various liquor distributors in her role as executive director of the boat races at The Lake of the Ozarks. Heubner said that, although she’d never owned a bar, she learned a lot from being in the industry. A trip to Italy two years ago enhanced her knowledge and passion for wine.

“There’s nothing better than Italian wine,” she said.

Christy’s favorite grape varietal is the Sangiovese grape, the most commonly grown varietal in Italy known for its versatility and complexity. It’s a medium-bodied red with savory notes, especially tomato, with a light fruity character that often presents as tart cherry. Pizza and meaty pasta dishes are among the most recommended pairings.

If someone’s looking for something like a “sweet red,” Sangiovese is unlikely to satisfy their palette. But not to worry — Christy has wine for every preference of sweetness. There’s even an apple pie wine by the glass. 

It’s one of 20 wines currently being sold by the glass, ranging in price from $6 to $15.50. Several more are available to purchase by bottle. The bar will be featuring a specialty wine and whiskey every month that will be available for cash and carry sales.

As for whiskey, aside from the classics like Jack Daniels and Crown Royal, guests can expect to see favorites like Knob Creek and Wild Turkey as well as “ultra-premium” brands like WhistlePig and Bhakta. There will also be a limited selection of other spirits behind the bar along with domestic and craft beers and seltzer options.

The starting lineup also features Quincy-based Ghost Hollow Distillery whiskey and Cardinal Sin Vodka produced by St. Louis Distillery, a craft distillery owned in part by Quincy native, Greg Deters. 

“I try to support local as much as I can,” Christy said. “If I can source something locally, I’m going to pick that before I’m going to pick something else… trying to support the people who are in our backyard.”

An amateur’s guide to tasting

Before one can taste, one must observe — starting with color. Color can give away a wine’s age, with red becoming lighter and white becoming darker as more time passes; the intensity of the color can give clues on the wine’s body. Viscosity is another thing to look for, which can be analyzed by looking at the “legs” that remain on the side of a glass once it’s been twirled around; a wine with slower moving legs will typically have a higher sugar content, oftentimes translating as a higher alcohol content.

Time to swirl. Now, there’s lots of ways one can do this, but no matter the style, always hold the glass from the stem — it’ll get too warm otherwise — and swirl it around — not enough to spill any out but enough to make anyone wearing white just a little bit nervous. Essentially, the point is to enhance the aromas and the flavors of the wine and thus, the experience.

Next comes the sniff. This can be as simple or as complicated as the taster makes it, but be that as it may, scent plays a significant role in formulating flavors on the taste buds — after all, there are only five tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami) but there are thousands of flavors — so do take the time to sniff with intention and analyze what’s being picked up on.

And finally, the taste.

There are traditional flavor descriptors, like honeysuckle, plum, vanilla, pear, berries, butterscotch and toffee. Then there are ones that are slightly less traditional, like tobacco, oak, oregano, violets and cola. Then there are ones that seem completely off the wall but somehow make complete sense, like barnyard, tar and petroleum. In addition to the taste notes, make note of the acidity, body and sweetness.

Or, simply pick up the glass by the bowl, throw a few ice cubes in and slurp it down. 

“Everybody says, ‘Oh, you know, you’re supposed to like dry, you’re supposed to like sweet,’” Christy said. “No, you’re supposed to like what you like. And if you like (wine) cold — fine. If you like it warm — fine. You want ice in it? I don’t care… There’s no right or wrong answer.”

Photos by Aspen Gengenbacher and Ellen Duffy-Gough