Associated Press photo

I took a cheese eating tour to Portland and on my way, I stopped at Burgerville in Vancouver for an asparagus grilled cheese sandwich.

I did a double take when I noticed a wine counter adjacent to the order counter. It's the first for the chain that serves burgers, fries and shakes made with locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. With Burgerville looking to open a Tacoma location, I wonder if a Burgerville here might serve wine and beer.

Click "read more" to peruse an Associated Press story about wine and burgers served in unlikely places - fast casual restaurants, including Burgerville and Chipotle; as well as coffee chains like Starbucks, which opened its first wine-coffee concept restaurant in Seattle last month. In South Sound, some locations of the coffee house chain Forza are expanding to serve wine. I wrote about the Gig Harbor Forza in March after owners Chad Roy and Scott Teodoro opened the Harbor Greens Wine Bar inside the coffee house. They've created an interesting nosh menu paired with an impressive list of affordable wine options. The Puyallup South Hill Forza also has applied for a license to serve wine, as have other Forza locations. I'll report more on that soon. Have you seen wine served at fast casual restaurants or coffee chains? I'd be interested in hearing if you have. I'm curious how to pair up wine with burgers, too. Beer seems a no-brainer burger pairing, but what kind of wine would you sip with your burger?

=> Read more!