MEEKER | Whether it’s a regular weeknight or a special occasion, deciding “what’s for dinner” can be an adventure—or an aggravation. And if you ask any foodie, no good meal is complete without the right beverage to complement the menu. Off the Olive Branch, Meeker’s small gourmet grocery, can help with the food side—and with the opening of On the Grapevine, pairing wine, beer, spirits and zero-proof options just got a little easier.
“We believe wholeheartedly that food is love,” said Alexis Stone, who owns and operates both stores with her husband Matt, daughter Aria, son Gabe, and father Lee. “You know a good meal when you have it. Part of what elevates a good meal into a great meal is the beverage. Part of what elevates a gathering of family and friends is the beverage. Part of what makes a rainy night on the porch a fantastic memory is the beverage.”
As Off the Olive Branch uplifts meals, snacks and pantries with specialty ingredients that are hard to find rurally, On the Grapevine is meant to elevate beverage selections and collections. Stone has brought in a solid array of “fun, unique and funky, special occasion, small-batch, small-vineyard, biodynamic, organic and more” options.
“The right beverage truly completes the food. The right food completes the beverage,” Stone said. While everyone’s palate is different, food and beverage pairings are about complementary flavors.
“If you’re serving a really bitter IPA as your beverage, you may want to lean somewhat away from an overly bitter food because you don’t want to intensify that too much. Instead, look for something that the bitter can help offset and make the experience more well-rounded,” she said. “A bacon cheeseburger, for example, has the fat of the burger, with the sweetness and acid of the tomato, and the sweet, salty and fatty flavors of the bacon. Combined with an IPA, it can bring the dish home and make it a cohesive unit.”
Stone is both passionate and knowledgeable about the subject and is planning events that will educate, inform and delight the palate.
“We’re always happy just to talk with people, provide recipe cards, talk about favorite content creators and our own cookbook/cocktail book nooks. I’m a recipe collector and we bring that into the in-store experience as well, since it’s so core to who we are personally.”
In other words, if the world of gourmet, home-cooked meals and ideal drink pairings is new to you, the Stones are ready and willing to assist, instruct and make suggestions.
“When I think about our expansion for On the Grapevine—any beautiful Italian red (hello, Brunello!) to go with your red-sauced pasta dishes or steak Florentine, a red Burgundy for your coq au vin, a lovely Côtes de Provence rosé for salmon, and definitely not least—a white Tempranillo for shrimp makes my day sing.”
Another specialty at On the Grapevine is its wide variety of zero-proof (nonalcoholic) wines, beers, seltzers and spirits. Nationwide, the number of people—particularly members of Gen Z—who are “sober curious” or choosing to abstain or reduce alcohol consumption has increased by double digits, according to multiple surveys. That trend has prompted producers to create new zero-proof options in every category and is part of the reason Stone has made them a key part of the new store.
“We have those incredibly close to us who are alcohol-free. With that, it ended up being a paramount, core piece of what we wanted to offer in our expansion,” Stone explained. “All in all, it doesn’t really matter why someone is alcohol-free. We want as many people as possible to have an exciting shopping experience at our stores.”
“The fact that the market has gotten ahold of this and offers everyone options is a wonderful thing,” she continued. “Flavors are such an incredible thing, and it doesn’t require alcohol to give you a complex, fascinating experience. If you can look at how to pair the experience, the ingredients or the meal to what you are doing, there’s absolutely no reason that a nonalcoholic option cannot be as interesting or unique as one with alcohol.”
“It’s our goal to ensure that we have a kick-butt selection for all desires—because we all deserve it.”
If you’ve been waiting to make that recipe you saved because you haven’t found the ingredients, or if your taste buds are hungry for variety and you’re ready to try something new, stop by and see what Off the Olive Branch and On the Grapevine have to offer.
