Stem a hidden gem in east Cobb

Service: relaxed and playful

Best dishes: patatas bravas, bone marrow, salumi and cheese board

Vegetarian selections: few options beyond cheeses, olives and almonds

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Price range: $$-$$$

Credit cards: all major credit cards

Hours: 4-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 4-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays

Children: no

Parking: shared strip mall lot

Reservations: no

Wheelchair access: yes

Smoking: no

Noise level: moderate

Patio: no

Takeout: yes (but no retail license for wine)

Address, phone: 1311 Johnson Ferry Road, Marietta. 678-214-6888.

Website: www.stemwinebar.com

I’m a collector. I collect restaurants much like trading cards, choosing ones that resonate with me; ones that I long to have in my own local eating grounds. On a visit to Asheville, N.C., a few years back, a certain tapas bar became a permanent addition to my collection.

I’ve often wished to dislodge that restaurant lock, stock and kitchen and re-root it right here in our Southern capital. With each local wine or tapas bar opening, I hope to find a spot that re-creates the warm-tinged memories of my Asheville fave. None have come close. Until now.

The new Stem Wine Bar in east Cobb nails many of the essential features of a great wine and tapas bar. While the decor may feel a touch sterile, Stem excels at making the world of wine accessible with guidance from servers who don’t take themselves too seriously and affordable with extensive sampling options. Its European-inspired charcuterie, cheeses and true small plates play a supporting role, pairing well with a smart wine list designed to satisfy, educate and surprise both wine novices and oenophiles alike.

Concepted by chef/owner Doug Turbush to replicate wine bars in New York, Stem is nestled into a small space just off its sister restaurant Seed. There’s no door sign (but it’s coming), no hostess and no reservations. In theory, you’ll slip in and claim one of the three two-person, high-top bar tables or one of the 25 seats snaking around the U-shaped bar. Yet, many customers, flummoxed by the lack of sign, hostess and greeting, dash into the pass-through to Seed to seek out the hostess there.

Once you’re settled, one of the all-male staff dressed in jeans paired with dapper gray vests and silver ties will proffer a hand and initiate name introductions. This group of guys, former Seed employees, are all either working on their sommelier certification or already hold it. They attempt to keep things light by engaging customers in a 20-questions, let-me-pick-your-wine game and occasionally present glasses with a little dance. Their playfulness likely appeals to the 40-something female customer base that Turbush says Stem shares with Seed.

General manager and sommelier Jason Raymond’s well-written beverage menu will also help you zero in on the perfect vino from North America, France, Spain or Italy. The menu, with descriptors like “leather, spice and everything nice,” offers nearly 75 options, including some lesser-known varietals and nearly two-thirds of the selections sold by the glass.

Raymond has an eye on value, keeping most glasses in the $7-$13 range and stocking bottles that start at $27 and top out at $79. More expensive options are kept in the temperature-controlled Enomatic machines to allow customers 3- or 6-ounce pours of wines like the 2009 Bergstrom Cumberland Reserve nebbiolo.

Consider trying one of the flights to sample chardonnays ($13), pinot noirs ($18), Spanish reds ($11) or bubbles ($13). A recent California flight ($20) included three selections with a paper place-mat guide to each. We started with the limited-production Scribe 2012 pinot noir and moved on to the Hollis 2011 cabernet sauvignon, made in Napa Valley by Paul Hobbs. To end our Cali tour, we finished with the Arnot-Roberts 2012 syrah, a beauty made from the grapes of five different vineyards.

You’ll likely be so taken with the wine list that you’ll overlook the wine-based cocktails ($9.75), and that would be a shame. Start with the Spanish, a surprisingly light mixture of Spanish brandy, sherry and lemon with a brandied cherry. Sip it while nibbling on snacks of barely blistered padron peppers ($5) or sharing a salumi and cheese board ($12-$24).

For the boards, the Spotted Trotter and east Cobb’s own Heywood’s Provision Co. provide meats like thin rounds of chorizo, perfectly greasy half-moons of duck prosciutto and strips of bresaola. The local CalyRoad Creamery supplies cheeses like the salty and bold Red Top, a paprika-spiced goat cheese.

One of Stem’s strokes of genius was the decision to include wine pairings with each of its small plates. Why isn’t this common practice? Let’s allow customers to benefit from the sommelier’s expertise. (OK, dismounting soapbox.)

Stem suggests you try the 2010 Gran Familia tempranillo ($7 glass) with the patatas bravas ($7), small potatoes carved into miniature shot glasses containing a rich pimento sauce and a zippy garlic aioli. You could also pair that red with the chorizo-stuffed dates in a smoked tomato sauce, a lovely mingling of sweet, spicy, salty and smoky flavors.

Tempranillo is also recommended to accompany the tender skirt steak pimenton ($11), which comes with a vinegary chimichurri, roasted sunchokes and a mound of orange nduja (spreadable sausage). With the bone marrow, you’ll be advised to switch to a French red blend ($68 bottle) to accent the greasy goodness of the marrow with the bright and crisp parsley-caper salad.

Pace yourself. Return for another visit to work your way through that wine list because you’ll want to dip into the ports, sherries and Madeira. Will it be the Quinta do Portal 20-year tawny port ($12) or the Broadbent 10-year Malmsey Madeira ($9)? If you’re going with a dessert like the gooey sticky toffee date cake ($6), perhaps consider a lighter dessert wine like the Quady Elysium black muscat ($6).

If you’re a collector like me, you’ll want Stem in your stockpile. How lucky we are to have it in our own backyards. Hang on to this one. No trading.