My Wine Cellar taking over former DownUnder wine bar in Gilbert

Residents of The Islands in Gilbert won’t be marooned without a neighborhood wine bar much longer. Ahwatukee’s My Wine Cellar is taking over the former DownUnder Wines & Bistro space on the northeast corner of McQueen and Warner.

The new wine bar will be called MWC Bistro, according to owner Zoya Vora-Shah, a former wine rep for Quail Distributing who bought the Ahwatukee wine bar with her husband in 2011.

“I wasn’t looking to open a second place, but when I heard about the closing of DownUnder I thought it was a good location,” she says. “I think it has potential for a neighborhood wine bar.”

Vora-Shah (pictured) says the Gilbert wine bar will share “about 80 percent” of the decor, wine list, and food menu from My Wine Cellar. “If you’ve been to My Wine Cellar, you’ve seen the wooden boxes, the cork, etc.,” she says. “That’s exactly my vision for the bar area.”

The other 20 percent, she says, will cater to the specific tastes of the Gilbert clientele. “I don’t know what those are yet, but I’ll learn once we open,” she says.

My Wine Cellar chef Sara Baer, who will become executive chef overseeing both kitchens, will be tasked with developing the Gilbert menu. Like Ahwatukee, the Gilbert location will have a wine club, wine classes, and wine and craft beer dinners.

Although the Gilbert building will undergo extensive remodeling, Vora-Shah says there will be no new construction – which, she hopes, will streamline the transition. She’d like to open in March, but admits it’s an optimistic forecast.

“I want to have a place where you can have great wine, great ambiance, great food,” she says. “Every neighborhood should have a nice wine bar.”

Earlier: DownUnder Wines & Bistro closes its doors in Gilbert