By Susan Shinn Salisbury Post Going to Rose's place is like being in her living room. Folks help themselves to some snacks and sit down to enjoy a good glass of wine and good conversation. More often than not, she'll pop in a CD, and on the weekends, there's live jazz. Welcome to The Blue Vine, Salisbury's newest wine shop, music venue and hangout. The woman you'll find behind the bar is Rose Meeks Jones, a proprietor who works hard to create a cozy camaraderie for her customers. On May 12, she'll celebrate The Blue Vine's first anniversary. Owning a business of her own was something she never envisioned when she lost her job. Rose was transferred to Salisbury from Kingsport, Tenn. "All I did was work," she says. "I didn't even know where the Post Office was." She lost that job two weeks after Sept. 11, and found herself "at loose ends." She started exploring downtown and soon became friends with Wanda Paolino, who owned the Vintage Port. "Until that point," Rose confides, "I was an Arbor Mist gal." Rose started helping out her friend. "Before I knew it," she says, "I was working there." When the Vintage Port closed, Rose decided downtown still needed a wine shop, and began to think about opening one of her own. "I really felt that when the Vintage Port closed, we lost something," she says. "We needed a place where folks beyond their college years could come and listen to music." She took courses and visited wineries. "It's a fabulous, fascinating business," she says. She began to buy materials and equipment, and more importantly, to develop a business plan. Through working with Wanda, Rose discovered "what does and doesn't work for Salisbury. "We really thought things through." What Rose wanted was an intimate space for a quality music venue -- and a place to buy quality wine. "Salisbury typically buys wines for $25 a bottle and under," Rose says. That's what you'll find on her shelves. "I have some really fine wines you just can't find anywhere else," she says. "If you come to The Blue Vine with $7 to spend, I'm gonna have several of the very best $7 wines on the shelf. It's the same as if you have $25. Whatever you have to spend, I want you to find what you want." If you have a favorite wine, she'll be glad to order it for you. "It's kinda fun going on scavenger hunts for people," she says. Most of all, she wants people to feel comfortable when selecting wines. "I don't want that pretentiousness about wine to reside here," she says. "I knew nothing about wine when I came in to the Vintage Port." Rose has something special happening each night she's open. The Blue Vine has wine tastings each Tuesday night with heavy hors d'oeuvres. Representatives from area wine distributors conduct the tastings, and you can order directly from your handy-dandy comment sheet. Wednesdays are flight tastings from which you can sample three wines. Thursdays are Hangin' at the Vine night. According to Rose, you can "listen to our tunes, play one of our games, flip through The Wine Spectator, or devour a few chapters in that book you can't quite finish." Friday and Saturday nights offer live music -- mostly jazz but other genres are represented, too. Come early to get a good seat, the regulars recommend. "Rose makes things smooth," says Jean Owen, who comes in with husband Foster to hear jazz music. "There's a camaraderie among the people who come in. People don't want to miss their favorite group. It's just something we look forward to most every Friday night." "You can go there as a single and somebody's gonna put you up to their table," Foster Owen adds. "Rose introduces you to people. She's just a very congenial hostess." "I love Rose," says Ketti Overcash of China Grove, who with husband Davey often joins the Owens on Friday nights. "She's just so hospitable. It seems like she's just opening her door and inviting you into her home. She's always very pleasant." Rose's husband, Chris, has music contacts from his Blues Caf & eacute; which operated here in the early '90s. "We share a love of music," Rose says. "I saw what a positive aspect that was at the Vintage Port, and we want to expand on that." A $5 cover charge helps pay for quality music -- good music is not cheap, Rose points out. Her returning musicians include Brenda Morie and Herb Stephens, Martha Basset and Camel City and Russ Wilson and the Mighty Mighty Men. "It's a great problem to have people waiting to get in," Rose says. Rose doesn't do a lot of advertising. Instead, she sends out a weekly newsletter to a mailing list of 900. (Those of us who don't get out much look forward to them, living vicariously through Rose's chatty, friendly writing style.) The Blue Vine also sells snacks, bread from Nova's Bakery (special orders available) and gift baskets, and is available for private parties and meetings. Away from work, Rose enjoys reading and gardening. She has a simple rule for her customers: Be good or be gone. "I want everybody to come in and have a good time," Rose says. "Most of all, I care about my customers. I'm excited people feel comfortable, that they like coming here. I want to keep that going." For more information about The Blue Vine, call 704-797-0093 or visit www.thebluevine.com. Contact Susan Shinn at 704-797-4289 or sshinn@salisburypost.com.
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