DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — It's been a long road for the highly-anticipated BottleRock wine bar, which first signed a lease on its space at 11th and Hope in 2006. The establishment's finally getting close to an opening, and on Thursday press was given a tour by the BottleRock team, who now say that the establishment will be opening in late January 2009. The afternoon included a very nice sampling of what promises to be great things to come.

Concept Chef Sherie Farah, graduate of the prestigious Johnson and Wales University Culinary Arts Program, fed the intimate gathering an assortment of finger sandwiches and artisan cheeses that were more than worth skipping lunch for. General Manager George Skorka, formerly of the Hotel Bel-Air, was quick to make sure no glass was dry. The sparkling wine from New Mexico was a pleasant surprise and the red from Malibu was still better.

BottleRock Downtown is a larger version of the first BottleRock, which opened in Culver City in 2006. Like its Culver City predecessor, BottleRock Downtown will offer more than 700 wines by both the bottle and glass. Founder Fred Hakin has spent the last thirty years succeeding in the wine business and seems to be just two months away from adding what he calls “an egalitarian approach to wine” to his admirable list of accomplishments.

There's still much to be done before the new space is ready to open to customers. As with all opening dates, inspections and signoffs could end up making BottleRock's January prediction a bit optimistic. Nevertheless, it's important to see the project moving closer to adding another piece to the South Park puzzle.