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On the path to The Pour House

Paul Raymore
Sierra Sun
Photo by Paul Raymore/Sierra SunDean Schaecher, owner of The Pour House in Truckee, tries some of the wine in his tasting room.
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Perhaps you’ve always wanted your own personal sommelier to help you choose wines to go with home-cooked meals. Or maybe you’ve always been mystified by descriptions of wines such as, “an elegant layering of pie cherries, leather and a garden of herbs,” when all you’re really interested in is whether it will taste good.

Possibly you’re just looking for a nice spot to enjoy a glass of wine you’ve never tried before.

Whatever the reason, customers who find their way into The Pour House on Jibboom Street, Truckee’s newest wine shop, will likely be pleased with what they see ” and taste.



Owned and run by the husband and wife team of Dean Schaecher and Christa Finn, The Pour House evolved out of the duo’s 25 years in the food and beverage industry.

A self-described “wine guy,” Schaecher has managed the food and beverage operations of many local restaurants and resorts, including Glissandi at Squaw Creek and the restaurants at the Sienna Hotel and Casino in Reno.



According to Schaecher, it was while he was working for other people that he realized the need for a shop like The Pour House in Truckee.

“I see a need for this type of a wine shop where people can come in and talk to someone about what is on the shelf, what does a certain wine taste like, and how does it relate to [them],” he said. “Because everybody just wants to get a bottle of wine that they are going to like.”

With 200-plus bottles currently on the shelf and more to come, The Pour House’s inventory focuses on small, family-owned and organic wineries that many people probably haven’t heard much about.

And they are big into variety.

“My personal feeling is to never drink the same wine twice unless it was really, really good. Otherwise, try something new all the time,” Schaecher said.

The shop also offers discounts if wine is bought by the case, as can happen when somebody finds a wine that, as Schaecher says, “knocks their socks off.”

Like any good wine store, The Pour House will have its own wine club that will cost around $25 per month and will feature a bottle or two of interesting wine paired with a recipe from a local chef.

Schaecher and Finn are also happy to make arrangements for group tastings for wine clubs or other groups, and are always pouring samples of a variety of the wines they stock.

According to Schaecher, the samples and information he happily dispenses are all about making people comfortable finding a wine that is right for them.

“For the most basic of beverages, made for thousands and thousands of years, people can make it seem like it’s so complicated when it pretty much only comes down to: Do you like it or not?” he said.

Granted, the oftentimes cryptic descriptions found on wine bottles and in magazines can leave the average person scratching his or her head. But Schaecher hopes that a shop like The Pour House can help people overcome their confusion and get to the heart of the matter ” what tastes good.

“A wine shop isn’t about selection, it’s about information,” he said. “I think most people are intimidated about wine and that’s why they go to a place like Safeway, because they don’t think they can talk to somebody like me. When really I’m all about getting you into the right wine. This isn’t about what I like to drink, this is about what you like to drink.”

The Pour House is open Wednesday – Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and always has a couple of bottles open for tasting. For more information, give them a call at (530) 550-9664, check out http://www.thepourhousetruckee.com or just stop by 10075 Jibboom Street in downtown Truckee.


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