Picnic is hosting another fundraiser wine tasting for ShelterBox from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday. Suggested donation is $20 per person.

ShelterBox is an international disaster relief organization that provides shelter and emergency supplies to areas hit by natural disasters. Contents of each box vary depending on the need, but generally include a tent for 10 people, thermal blankets, insulated grounds sheets, mosquito nets, water purification system, basic tool kit (hammer, axe, saw, shovel, pliers, wire cutters), wood-burning or multi-fuel stove, cooking supplies and eating utensils, and a children’s activity pack of coloring books and crayons.

We’ll be debuting five new Spanish wines brand new to market paired with some delicious treats to nibble on. All tasting fees will be donated to ShelterBoxUSA.org.

We last held an event for ShelterBox this past February after the massive earthquake in Haiti. Our event was a great success and, thanks to you, we raised enough money to send one whole box to Haiti ($1000, shipped). That’s shelter and the means to live for 10 people.

All too quickly we forget that ShelterBox is needed all over the world everyday. Their current deployments can be tracked on their website and include disasters you won’t hear much about on the evening news - flooding in Brazil and a landslide and flooding in Pakistan.

Thursday’s event is in collaboration with our good friends at BUILD. Next weekend they, along with other cycling enthusiasts, will be riding from Seattle to Vancouver, BC to raise money for this great cause. They started with the goal of raising $10,000 for ShelterBoxUSA.org - at $1000 per box that’s 10 boxes, or shelter for 100 people! (more info on their ride at the BUILDlls blog here). Please join us and help us blow them way past that $10,000 goal and help those who have just lost everything and truly need your help.

We’ve been remiss (and by “we,” I mean me) in keeping our Phinney Ridge and Greenwood Food & Drink guide up to date.

In an attempt to rectify that, you’ll now find Fatty’s Corner Pizzeria and In The Red Wine Bar & Cafe in the guide. Let us know if anything else is outdated or missing from the guide!

In the Red Wine Bar & Cafe at 6510 Phinney Ave. N. had hoped to open in mid-March, but inevitable construction and permitting delays pushed that back. Co-owner Chad Campbell told me this morning that they now hope to open in about two weeks.

“You’re always optimistic about getting through the permit process,” Campbell said. “We’ve done everything we can do, but unfortunately there’s a lot of hoops you have to go through.”

In the Red has received its liquor license, but is still waiting on the final construction sign-off and the health department inspection.

The wine bar will be family friendly and will serve coffee and pastries in the morning and small plates the rest of the day.

Stumbling Goat Bistro got a nice review recently from Seattle Magazine. The reviewer loved the champagne-curry mussels and the hangar steak, and was pleased that the new owners are sticking to the restaurant’s theme of local ingredients.

Picnic (a PhinneyWood sponsor) is starting up a monthly wine club. The club features six bottles per month: four of the best from Picnic’s weekly wine tastings, plus one favorite each from co-owners Jenny and Anson Klock. They’re working on creating different levels of the program for people who need fewer bottles per month. Club members also receive 10 percent discount on all wine purchases, 15 percent case discounts, and half-off the weekly wine tastings. Sign up here.

T.M. Dessert Works at 6116 Phinney Ave. N. offers a packed pastry case to the public from Thursday through Saturday. They’re generally in the kitchen creating cakes and specialty desserts for special occasions, but decided last spring to offer cookies and other individually portioned treats to the masses three days a week.

If you know other restaurants in the neighborhood that have recently received some good press or are doing something new and exciting, please put a comment below.

You’ve no doubt seen all the work happening at 6510 Phinney Ave. N. That space is turning into In the Red Wine Bar & Cafe, owned by Chad W. Campbell and Brian Folino. They hope to open sometime in March.

(Photo by artman1951.)

Campbell was laid off from a telecommunications industry job last summer and took that as a sign to switch careers. Even though his family lived in Queen Anne, they spent quite a bit of time in Phinney, particularly at El Chupacabra. He looked around at various potential sites in the neighborhood before settling on the building that also houses Davern Safe & Lock.

But Campbell and Folino didn’t want an upscale, slick wine bar. They wanted something that was reasonably priced, around $5 a glass, and, since Campbell has an almost 3-year-old, it needed to be family-friendly.

“We wanted something that was more affordable,” Campbell explained. “We didn’t want people to break the bank with double-digit glasses of wine.”

And they wanted them to have yummy, but not overproduced, food to go along with it.

“The food will be kind of simple,” he said. “We won’t have a hood so we can’t do open flame or deep frying. We’ll do some soups and bruschetta and small plate salads. Little bites if you will. And we’ll probably have a few vegan things on the menu as well.”

In the Red will also serve coffee in the mornings (Folino trained at Capitol Hill’s famed Espresso Vivace). Campbell said they’ll probably open at 6 or 6:30 a.m. Coffee and pastries will be available for sit down or take-out. Eventually they may serve simple breakfasts as well, and they’ll have free WiFi.

Furniture and dishes will be mismatched eclectic, with comfy couches and chairs, and hopefully a little fireplace. “We don’t want to come across as being too slick,” Campbell said.

They’re still working out the hours, but they will probably close at 11 p.m. weeknights and midnight on Friday and Saturday.

“Phinney is a fantastic neighborhood, plus there isn’t a wine bar per se in the neighborhood. We feel like it’s a good little neighborhood and a good little corner,” Campbell said. “I think that we’ve got a lot of factors that will make us successful. The neighborhood in itself is supportive of these kinds of places.”

Judson Greif is Greenwood’s new Milkman, and he’s just about ready to deliver beer and wine straight to your door.

We first told you about Milkman last month, when Greif got his liquor delivery license and was finalizing business details. Today he told us that he’s ready to start delivery in early October on a limited basis, and should be fully up and running in time for the holidays.

And for those who can’t wait to sign up for the membership-based delivery service, Greif has a special deal for you:

I’m inviting critical thinkers to join for the first month with no service charge in exchange for constructive feedback on how the business could be better and for putting up with the service while I work out the kinks. It will be very limited space for this pilot (which should last about a month) and I plan to go live to the rest of the public after the test runs. So essentially the first 30 or so that sign up will be invited to be the Milkman “guinea pigs”.