Grape vines are budding in the Delta, and so are opportunities to discover the region's wines. Clarksburg's landmark Husick Hardware & General Store, which stood idle for 18 years, is open again, but this time to cater to visitors meandering through the area in search of the appellation's growing number of wineries and wines.

Several of those wineries, however, are small and remote family operations without tasting rooms. That's where Husick Hardware comes into play. Business partners Dennis Sheya and Skip Seebeck have restored the massive structure, which dates from the late 1880s, and reopened it as a wine collective. Right now, it's open for wine sales only, with the releases of 10 Delta wineries stocked in bins. In two months or so they hope to have the licenses needed to also run it as a centralized tasting room. Not all the Delta's wines will be poured simultaneously, but the two expect to offer visitors themed flights.

By then, the store also is expected to be operating as a deli and coffee bar. The two want to be able to provide visitors with a glass of wine to go with a sandwich, but the menu will be limited to avoid conflicting with another Clarksburg landmark, Dinky Diner, which has opened for the season along the Sacramento River just a few paces north of Husick Hardware, which for now is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.