The Rumrunner and The Dish are working to keep the spirit of summer wine deals going beyond Labor Day.
A celebration of the anniversary of last year's move across the street to 3131 E. First St. has led to free, or nearly free, wine tastings every Saturday.
"We used to do little impromptu wine tastings across the street," said Tom Smith, 45, who co-owns The Rumrunner and The Dish with Jennifer Elchuck. They bought the property in 1993 and added The Dish in 1997.
About 110 people attended an Aug. 23 tasting that was an open house to mark the new location. That prompted the idea for an ongoing event from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays that features three to five wines and deli snacks.
"We're letting people try some new wines," said Jon Dins, 24, who has worked at The Rumrunner and The Dish several years.
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The free tastings will be poured by distributors, and the owners' "almost free" tastings will cost $3 to $5. Distributors are allowed to pour wines for free, but it's against Arizona law for restaurant owners to give away alcohol.
Most of the wines will retail for $10 to $20 a bottle, Dins said. Any of the featured bottles will be 15 percent off if bought during the tasting.
"We just want people to try some really good wines for cheap," he said. "It will be unusual stuff they haven't tried before. Most people haven't had a Dolcetto d'Aqui or a prosecco."
"It's not going to be exclusively wine," said Dins, who also majors in engineering management at the University of Arizona. "There's a surprising amount of interest in beer tastings."
Sign up on rumrunner tucson.com to get advance notice of events. This Saturday's tasting will be free and will feature a selection of The Rumrunner's best buys.
