A Dallas food & beverage veteran with loads of wine savvy is opening a sweet new boutique. Called Terroir – A Place For Wine, it's a neighborhood boutique retail wine shop near Casa Linda Plaza in East Dallas, specializing in unique and uncommon labels.

It's located at 9225 Garland Rd. #2120, on the ground floor of the Reserve at White Rock Apartments, in the space that was most recently White Rock Yoga.

According to owner/founder Andrew Wilt, it'll open in mid-August.

Wilt is a former president of the Greater Dallas Restaurant Association who's leveraging the decades of experience and relationships he amassed at chic restaurants such as Steel, Abacus, the Melrose, and Hotel Crescent Court.

"I've always run restaurants and been in charge of wine programs, and felt like a wine shop would focus on the part I was passionate about," he says. "I'm hoping people will enjoy talking and learning about wine."

It will be personal but not stuffy.

"I want to feature the cool little appellations," he says. "I'll be skipping the mass produced wines and not focusing as much on high-end stuff. That will certainly be available, but it's my goal to do fun interesting wines that most people can approach, that are a little less expensive."

Wilt is a native of the state of Washington, and that's one region whose wines he'll definitely sell.

"I'm from Seattle, so I do lean towards the Pacific Northwest, and I'll also have wines from California and the major European regions," he says. "But also wines from places like Portugal and Greece that you won't find at a grocery store, and maybe serve as fun ways to discover new wines with names you might not know."

He'll have a few craft beer options, in case residents from the nearby apartments want to pop in for a six-pack.

"I live in the neighborhood," he says. "Once the area went wet a few years ago, you could see this pent-up demand. Places like Good Friend, and restaurants that can sell wine or alcohol are doing well."

The shop is less than a mile from the Dallas Aboretum and White Rock Lake, for those afternoon picnic excursions. It's also in the same center as another wine-centric spot, Urban Vines Wine Bistro, but he says they'll be doing different things.

"I won't be competing with Urban Vines — their license does allow them to sell retail, but they're the place you stop in for a glass of wine and some food," he says. "I can't sell you a glass."

There'll be tastings and educational events as well, led by industry experts and winery folk. "I have a lot of friends in the industry I can invite to do some fun stuff," he says.

The shop will have wine barrels and tasting tables made from wooden wine crates, plus a little interactive sensory area, with apothecary jars where you can smell the different aromas in woods and grapes, he says.

"The idea is to create a relaxed space to chat about wine," he says.