The first of three prospective wine bars in downtown/midtown Sacramento opened quietly over Memorial Day weekend.

The expansive 58 Degrees & Holding Co., which also includes a wine shop, restaurant, and lockers for private wine storage, debuted in quarters previously occupied by the furniture store Slater/Marinoff & Co. next to the Mexican restaurant Zocalo along 18th Street near Capitol Avenue.

Already, a dozen of the shop’s 100 private wine lockers have been rented, reports Ian G. Smith, a partner in the enterprise. They can hold from eight cases to about 40 cases each, with rent ranging from $40 to $170 per month.
The lockers are intended to safeguard wines by keeping temperature and humidity steady, lighting low, security tight and vibration to a minimum.

Though not all the shop’s inventory has been stocked, 58 Degrees is expected to carry around 500 wines, focusing largely on small-production boutique labels with limited production, says Smith. They will not be necessarily expensive, however, with prices starting at around $8.

The international wine list of the wine bar - Bar 58 - offers 58 wines by a 3-ounce taste, a 6-ounce glass or a full bottle, with wines by the glass generally in the $6 to $9 range.

The menu, developed by David Feldman, who has put in stints at Enotria Restaurant & Wine Bar, Twenty Eight and Savoy 614, will be based in large part on locally produced seasonal ingredients. The opening menu runs largely to small plates of lighter fare, such as a country pate with apricot and fig chutney ($8), ahi tartare with avocado relish ($12), a spring vegetable risotto ($12) and a grilled steak sandwich with Brie, watercress and roasted-garlic aioli ($9).

Jeff Back, most recently of Seattle, and formerly of the Napa Valley resort Meadowood, is the shop’s resident sommelier.

58 Degrees & Holding Co., 1217 18th St., Sacramento, is open daily but Sunday, with the hours for the shop 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, for the bar and restaurant 3-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 3 p.m.-midnight Fridays and Saturdays.