Although it has been selling wine for several weeks, the Cork Dork wine store, co-subject of this week's Liquid Assets Column, is celebrating its opening with festivities today and Saturday. That makes it a good time to check out this ultimate "little guy" endeavor, although it might be a little tough to get some one-on-one time with proprietor Russell Fay.

But if you're interested in some of Fay's thoughts, here are his answers to a few questions that I emailed him this week:

What has been your overall approach in choosing wines for the store?
My approach to choosing wines basically comes down to a very simple concept of taste, taste, taste and taste some more. I do taste 99% of all wines that come into my shop. I look for quality as well as value. I currently deal with about 10 different distributors; most of the sales people have dealt with me in the past 12-plus years when I was purchasing wine for different restaurants where I have worked.

Where do you think the "sweet spot" price point is when it comes to quality-price ratio?
Spain has some amazing values in the market currently. I have an excellent tempranillo selling for $6, an old-vine grenache with big fruit, earth and spice flavors for $10, and a beautiful and elegant cabernet blend that morphs into a candied claret style for $16. The "sweet spot" price point is absolutley different from one region to the next; $15 can get you a fantastic Spanish wine, while California wines may need at least $25 from your wallet to get into that fantastic catagory. However, there are always exceptions, and I am always on the hunt for those exceptions.

What surprises have you found as you've sampled what's out there (varietals, countries/regions, whatever)?
I unfotunately do not get surprised by very much, I have been around the block maybe a few too many times.
I did, however, recently get a surprise from a Languedoc red that I have in my shop, a seamless, voluptious, supple nectar that I fell in love with.