Merlot for Main Street

This post is by new DCist contributor Matt Pelkey.

It’s almost Friday and a drink or two may sound like a great way to decompress. But happy hour shouldn’t always be about forgetting a tough week, so tonight toast to local business and a thriving community instead.

Mount Pleasant Main Street, one of ten DC Main Streets programs, is sponsoring a wine tasting this evening from 7 to 9 p.m. at Dos Gringos restaurant, 3116 Mount Pleasant St., NW. The tasting, which costs $15 per person, will feature an assortment of wines -- a tempranillo and a garnacha from Spain, a chardonnay and a sauvignon blanc from Califonia, and a pinot grigio from Italy -- provided by Mount Pleasant’s Sportsman's Wine & Liquors.

The DC Main Streets initiative was established in 2002 to revitalize historic business districts. Mount Pleasant Main Street, a nonprofit group established in spring 2003, has been working to invigorate Mount Pleasant by supporting local businesses and beautifying the area. The group envisions a vibrant strip with independently owned businesses serving a diverse population. Other DC Main Streets programs work toward similar goals in neighborhoods like Adams Morgan, Shaw, and Anacostia.

The District provides some money to Mount Pleasant Main Street, but the group relies heavily on volunteer help to realize its vision. “We’re sort of at the mercy of the volunteers and the time they have to spare,” said Mount Pleasant Main Street Promotions Committee Chair Karen Bridgett, who also lives in the neighborhood. Past activities include a tree box cleaning and a mixer for local businesses, where owners discussed, among other things, rising property taxes.

Photo by Flickr user rodeomilano.