It is painful to visit one of my favorite cities in Oregon and see so many local places close. The recession hit hard in this part of the state over the past couple of years. So I was greatly relieved to discover that Cork Cellars didn't close, but just relocated a few blocks away in late 2011.
It is now part of a combined business. The other half is Melvin's Fir Street Market. So you can enjoy the wine bar or just pick up a bottle of wine (or two) along with your groceries.
After making multiple visits to the original location, I do have to express my preference for that location. But, I hope that combining forces will mean that this local favorite will thrive for many more years. I've always experienced very nice service from the staff.
The space is relatively open with only a partial wall divider, so when you sit at a table in the wine bar, you are looking at the aisles of a market. So the overall atmosphere has suffered a bit. However, they still have their staff picks of reasonably priced wines in addition to a rather nice selection of wines at various price points.
While I'm still very inclined to shop here, I'm less likely to stay and drink on site.
**New address is 160 S. Fir Street. Update submitted to Yelp.
FYI Update fellow yelpsters...Cork Cellars has moved to a new location (just a block south) and has married with another sweet new business.
You will find Melvin's Fir St. Market & Cork Cellars sharing the same recently remodeled diggs, located in the old downtown Sisters Post Office building.
(left/right@Sisters Drug, accross from Eurosports Bike shop)
I will return with a full review when time allows, but I gotta say? Good things are happening here for vino and foodie peeps alike. Check it out :-)
Cheers & Chow for now~
It occurred to us that the chanteuse crooning the Sweet Charity show tune from the sound system, "Hey big spender, spend a little time with me", had it wrong as applied to Cork Cellars. So many good things to say about this little gem. And one of them is you do not have to be a big  spender to spend some time there. Delightfully inexpensive place to drink good "school night" wine and enjoy a small bite.
Another good thing is the afore mentioned music mix...jazz standards, contemporary singer - songwriter selections, show tunes, Spanish guitar...wine drinking music dialed down in volume to encourage conversation too. Just right. The staff says some nights there is a DJ or live performance.
Still another good thing is the delightful ambiance inside and outdoor seating on the raised porch.
Another good thing is friendly owners and staff who are also knowledgeable about the product they sell. No pretension here. This is an "every body knows your name" kind of place.
All good. Very good. In fact in the context of Sisters it is 4 "plus" stars good.
Nice selection of wines for sale in the wine cellar room to drink in or take away and in prices ranging from bargains to investments.
Wines by the glass are several and change weekly. This week offered a French Blanc de Blanc champagne (only $5 for a generous pour in a Riedel glass), about six whites - domestic and foreign, as many or more reds and a domestic port. The most expensive pour was one of the reds at $9 and the remainder were around $5 to $7.
Wine sampler can be purchased at 4 samples (2 oz each) for only $6. You cannot beat that deal in Central Oregon and the wines we tried were all new to us and we enjoyed each one.
A few beers, sparkling water and soft drinks rounded out the beverage menu.
Food is small plates from marcona almonds to bruschetta to salads to pannini to antipasti plates, cheese plates and Mediterranean plates with prices from $3 to $14 (Mediterranean plate). We had bruschetta with fig jam, melted brie and fresh apples. It was just right to feed both of us and a bargain at $5. (Bread is sandwich loaf style from a local Bend bakery. If we could wave a magic wand, we'd upgrade that bread to one of the artisan options from Sparrow Bakery or Village Baker.)
I'm sure you won't tell anyone if we tell you that on Tuesdays you get a discount on purchases of three or more bottles of wine and $1 off a glass of wine and pannini and desserts (two to chose from). That will be just our little secret. :-)
Every hour is Happy Hour with wine. Â While visiting Sisters we stumbled into this place and we were delighted to fine such a cute lil' establishment. Â We were expecting more of OR wines, but found more of CA and WA wines. Â Hey, I'm not complaining as long as it's good wines.
Our sommerlier, Nadine (?), knows her stuff and I'm loving her selections of wines. Â We tasted 8 of 12 offerings, $6 for 4 tastings each. Â Since my hubby and I shared all our food and drinks, it gave us the joy to max our wine excursion. Â Nadine is spot-on with each character of the wines which really impressed us. Â We also ordered her apple brie fig rosemary brushetta. Â It went will with our mix of whites and reds. Â I checked out her wine cellar and noticed that she have a very attractive price points for your budget.
We are glad that we stopped by and made it our first stop before venturing our day. Â You will love Nadine, the shop, and her insight of the city she clearly loves. Â We love you Nadine and hope to see you again!
For all the wine lovers, this is a Must.
A cute little wine shop where you can just sit back and sip of the wonderful wines of Oregon. I came here with the Marine looking to relax a bit before hitting up dinner. We were able to sample some wines, which were fantastic, before settling on our favorite.
The woman working there was nice and just a pleasure to talk to. I loved that she was playing Jack Johnson and other good music as we unwinded with some fabulous reds and a trio of appetizers.
I wish I could have stayed longer, but the Marine felt uncomfortable with the locals eavesdropping on us. I am definitely coming back to try their paninis the next time I head up there.
Awesome spot for unique wines!
Cork Cellars is the type of wine place you would expect to see in a large city, but they are wonderfully located in the quaint town in Sisters (what a gem).
During a day of shopping and playing in Sisters, we ran across this store and wanted to check out the selection of wines for sale by the bottle. Upon gazing in their cellar, we found about a dozen wines we would have liked to of purchased - but only needed a couple at the time. The prices of full bottles for purchase range from $8 to over $100. Fantastic selection, friendly staff. Certainly a place we would return to when we go to Sisters/Bend area!
This is the best panini and hang-out spot in town... it's a wine shop (so you can buy bottles of wine from $5-$hundreds) and it's also a bar. You can have a glass of wine, a beer, and you can choose from a couple different sandwiches, salads, and large cheese plates and antipasta plate.
There are owners/wine makers of local wineries (from OR, WA and CA) that come to the shop on occasion (typically throughout the summer) and then there is a holiday wine tasting series that starts the first week of November and goes through the end of December. All the series are outlined on the website.
Because it's the only non-smoking bar in town, it's the only place that I'd go to hang out and have a drink. It's starting to get insane on Friday evenings... so if you're looking for something a little quieter - try a Saturday night!
The owner is also very fun and knowledgeable - makes buying and drinking wine a real treat... as if it weren't anyway! :)
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