"We sell the highest quality wines from the best small producers," Chris explains, "mainly people who don't have their own tasting rooms." He and Annie taste through each and every selection that makes its way onto the Wine Country shelves. The criterion is price, performance, good value, and of course, good taste. "They don't all make the cut," he adds.

Wine buyers looking for Santa Ynez Valley wines are in good company at Wine Country, because 80% of the stock is truly local. And buyers also have the advantage of being able to do a little tasting before they make their selection.

Wine Country is the official tasting room for Santa Rita Hills winery Casa Cassara, for Consilience, for East Valley Vineyard, and for Santa Maria's White Hawk Vineyard.

Wine Country is a labor of love for the Sparnos'. "We looked at ways to present and demonstrate the best the area could offer in winemaking," Chris explains, "and a retail wine shop with a tasting room (as a showroom for the area's finest producers) seemed to be the best vehicle."

He and his wife are both natives of the East Coast-New York and Massachusetts respectively-and both lived in Goleta. Chris worked in the high tech industry, and Annie worked in graphic design in the print industry, before they made the move to the Valley, where they fell in love with the rural beauty-and the local wines.

Chris continued to commute to his job in Los Angeles after the couple moved to the Valley, and Annie sharpened her knowledge of wines working at Beckmen Vineyards. Both she and Chris took post graduate courses in oenology and viticulture at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, and Allan Hancock in Solvang, earning wine industry certificates.

When the opportunity came up last year to buy the wine boutique, "we jumped on it. It was a way to stay involved with and make an impact in an industry that we both loved," says Chris. "Being in the wine business was a dream we'd always aspired towards. We just went for it."

Wine Country offers a wide range of wine accessories that make ideal gifts for wine lovers, including wine openers and a full selection of Austrian Reidel crystal glasses. Arguably the premier wine glasses of the world, and available in different sizes for every known varietal, running $12 a stem. There are also picnic baskets, backpacks made to hold wine, wine racks, wine-related cards, and virtually everything else that goes with wine, except food.

Visitors have a choice of joining one of Wine Country's three wine clubs, which operate just like a wine club at a winery, but offer more diversity. Wine Country's Club sends wines monthly or bimonthly, customized to their members' personal tastes. "This is key," says Chris, "because we have so many wines. We go through a substantial interview process to make sure we know what the person likes in a wine, updating their selection as their tastes change."

The Premiers Club features quarterly new releases from Santa Ynez Valley's new winemakers, and The Adventurer's Club, also quarterly, offers "The Best of the Best" in exceptional wines that Annie and Chris pick during each quarter, which may come from anywhere in the world, "and which we think are truly extraordinary," says Chris. "Usually, these wines are rare and if they're imported, they're from a limited production, so reorders are usually limited."

All club members receive significant discounts on purchases, and free tastings. The public is invited to Wine Country's regular wine events, which include winemakers pouring their new releases. It's like having a friend in the business.