■ The owner of Epicurus, a wine shop on Montana Avenue, must pay Fairest Cape Beverage Co. $1,175 for two shipments of wine delivered earlier this year.
A representative from Fairest Cape, who showed the court invoices detailing the Jan. 7 and Feb. 1 transactions, said Epicurus owner Mary Ellen Picone had ordered and accepted delivery of the wine, but months later still had not paid.
Judge Pro Tem Stanley O. Epstein ruled against Picone, who did not appear in court. “They’re merlot and cab drinkers, obviously,” Epstein said. “Unless they’re chardonnay drinkers, they don’t know what they’re doing.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 17, 2002. Read the original PDF.