Passionfish goes all in on wine boxes for a range of palates as a way to stay creative in a slow time.

When restaurants were forced to close indoor dining due to the pandemic, the team at Passionfish came up with the idea of creating a wine club. It would help them sell inventory that would otherwise just sit, and was an opportunity to keep staff involved.

“We thought, ‘how can we engage with people in a new format and still make working at Passionfish fun?’” General Manager Jannae Lizza says.

Thus came about the idea for a themed weekly wine box. It’s called a wine club, but customers don’t have to sign up for any sort of subscription. All they have to do is check out the Passionfish Instagram and Facebook pages each Sunday to find out what will be in that week’s box, then decide whether or not it’s for them. If it is, they can visit the restaurant and get the box or order online for pickup. If it’s not their favorite blend, they can wait a week and see what comes next.

The staff works together to assign a theme to each box and choose which wines to include. Lizza tries to come up with boxes that complement food from other restaurants in town and appeal to a variety of wine drinkers. “We might have a great takeout box that’s good with takeout food, or rarities that you might not find in a wine shop,” she says.

The boxes, which range from $99-$200, depending on the week, also come with “wine homework” as Lizza calls it. Sometimes that’s a haiku about wine with instructions on how to write your own, or an activity guide to writing a dating profile for each bottle.

“I try to set up a bunch of adventures in my wine packs,” Lizza says.

PASSIONFISH 701 Lighthouse Ave, Pacific Grove. 655-3311, passionfish.net