"It began with, 'Let's do something with wine.'"
Those are the words of Cathy Hand, and "something" turned out to be a restaurant, wine bar and boutique wine shop called Cellar & Scholar, which opened in late 2024 in Spokane Valley. Cellar & Scholar is owned by Hand and her daughter, Justine Recor, both of whom began pursuing sommelier accreditation (and studying together) about six years ago.
"Sometimes in life the timing is just right," observes Hand, who says that both she and her daughter were ready for a change and something they could do together.
Hand was working in the tech industry as a project manager, and that meant virtually every time she'd walk into a room of coworkers, she felt as if a flashing deadline sign was attached to her forehead.
"Nobody ever liked to see me," she says. "It was 100% negative interactions."
Meanwhile, Recor had been working in the hospitality industry, learning the ins and outs of the restaurant business in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where master sommelier programs support a community of wine-savvy managers and servers.
The mother-and-daughter foray into wine goes back much further, however, to when Hand was working at Caterina Winery's tasting room (which closed in late 2014) inside the historic Broadview Dairy building on Washington Street, near Riverfront Park.
"I started going to work with her sometimes when I was 11 or 12," Recor says. "It felt so cool being allowed in there, and I really loved the smell of it. I loved telling my friends that I helped make wine, even though I did not."
Later, while attending Eastern Washington University and majoring in psychology, Recor worked in restaurants and took a class called "Wines and Vines." It was her aha moment.
"When I learned you could make wine a career, I pivoted," she says. "I still got my degree in psychology but with a minor in French. I've lost most of it, but I can still read and pronounce it, which is useful in the wine world."
Today, both Recor and Hand are certified sommeliers. Recor also has a diploma from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, while Hand is a diploma candidate with the organization. In other words, they know their stuff.
Fast forward to the moment Hand and Recor decided to open a wine business together. Hand cashed out her 401k to finance the project, and the pair began considering various business models. Each required a specific amount of space, and finding the right one proved to be a challenge.
"We originally thought about Liberty Lake, and then we looked on the South Hill, but there are lots of good places there already," Hand says. "We were shocked at how hard it was to find a spot."
Their business plan "evolved organically" as the search ensued, and they decided to consider Spokane Valley.
"I grew up here," Hand says. "I went to West Valley High School. I love the people here."
The duo finally found a location that could accommodate classes for others in the hospitality industry, themed tasting events for the public, a retail wine area for bottle sales, and table and bar seating for serving plates of high-quality food to accompany wines served by the glass or in flights.
"The intention of flights is to get people curious about wine," Recor explains. "We have so many ideas for flights," each consisting of three 3-ounce pours.
The "You Can't Sit with Us Chardonnays" flight ($19) features selections from France, Oregon and New Zealand. The "Snap, Crackle, Pop Crisp Whites" flight ($19) includes a dry Riesling from Germany, a Sancerre caillottes from France and a rarely encountered txakolina from Spain.
Among the red flights are "La Vite e Bella Italian Favorites" ($28), spotlighting a Valpolicella, a nebbiolo and a Chianti riserva. The "Fresh Princes Carbonic Reds" ($19), meanwhile, features selections from France, Australia and Yakima.
Cellar & Scholar's debut wine bar list includes eight flights: three whites, four reds and one sparkling.
Recor says that naming one's favorite wine is "a little bit like picking a favorite child," but she admits that she leans toward Champagne — in particular, "grower Champagne," crafted by vintners who grow the grapes in addition to making the wine.
"I think they're much more interesting than the wines made by the big Champagne houses," she says.
Cellar & Scholar's debut sparkling wine flight, dubbed "All That Glitters" ($29), includes selections from Champagne, France, the Willamette Valley and Slovenia.
Truffle popcorn ($5) is a small-plate option that pairs perfectly with sparkling wine. The restaurant also offers a selection of medium plates, including a cheese board ($16) with three types of cheese, sliced apple and pear, accoutrement, and baguette. Among the seven big-plate options is whipped feta ($16) with spiced chickpeas, tomato, pita, lemon zest and herb oil.
Even the humble grilled cheese and tomato soup ($18) gets the royal treatment, made with gruyere, mozzarella and truffle oil. An ideal pairing: the 2021 Bergstrom Oregon pinot noir ($19/glass), part of the "Nature's Love Language Biodynamic Reds" wine flight ($23).
For non-imbibers and/or designated drivers, the drinks menu also includes tea service ($10) with loose-leaf tea, honey and lemon, as well as French press service ($10) with cream, raw sugar and chocolate-covered espresso beans.
Unlike most restaurants, Cellar & Scholar operates its wine shop with retail pricing. Rather than the standard markups charged by many restaurants, guests there pay what any bottle shop customer would but can also enjoy a bottle on site.
As Recor explains it: "We want people to enjoy good wine here and take it home." ♦
