Decatur Wine Shop Now Stocks Locally Made Georgia Wines
Decatur, GA – There is now a place to find locally made Georgia wine right in the city. Vine Fine Wine in Decatur has become the first independently owned wine shop to stock wine from the state. Earlier this February, conversations in the wine community were sparked about why Atlanta restaurants don’t serve Georgia wine. Since then, Cloudland Vineyards and Winery in Buford, Georgia, has brought three of its wines to the Decatur shop, including a Marsanne skin-contact white wine, a pet-nat bubbly made from chardonnay, and a red wine made with a local hybrid called lomanto. All of these wines are priced around $30.
“It seemed like a no-brainer for us,” says Madeline Long, co-owner of Vine Fine Wine.
Long and her husband Sam Pilch, who opened the Decatur shop in April, have seen significant interest in local wine. “We have local sourdough crackers, local honey, local ceramics…it only seemed natural to extend that to wine,” Long added. The shop focuses on organic and sustainable farming wines, something hard to come by in Georgia. Cloudland Vineyards stands out by making unfined and unfiltered, natural wines using some organic farming practices, thus modernizing Georgia’s winemaking.
Several factors explain why local wines don’t frequently appear in Atlanta. Quality and consumer demand are primary reasons, but an information gap on distribution also plays a crucial role. According to the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, winemakers with a Georgia Farm Winery License can sell their wines directly to restaurants. A wholesaler license allows them to self-distribute in the state, removing the need for a distributor. This crucial piece of information remains unknown to many restaurant sommeliers and wine shop owners, who mistakenly think they need a distributor to stock Georgia wines.
North Georgia as an Agritourism Destination
North Georgia has long been an agritourism hotspot, attracting visitors with pumpkin patches, orchards, and vineyards. Most farm sales occur through direct-to-consumer business, with visitors buying straight from the farms. Wineries with a wholesaler license can sell to Atlanta shops and restaurants, though this requires accepting a profit hit on wholesale pricing. However, there are other advantages.
“Wholesale is a really good way of getting people interested in our product,” says Blessy Devasia, general manager and assistant winemaker at Cloudland Vineyards and Winery, which opened in 2020. “There aren’t enough Georgia wines on wine lists because there weren’t a lot of good Georgia wines out there that were worth being on the list.” Devasia believes that is now changing.
Sean Wilburn, Cloudland’s owner and winemaker, has previously worked at Chateau Elan and Biltmore. Devasia and Wilburn employ a minimal intervention and organic approach to winemaking in Georgia. For example, the vineyard plots for the lomanto and villard blanc grapes are organically managed, involving minimal use of an organic spray to control disease during the growing season. They aim to gain regenerative organic certification next year.
Trying New Local Wines
Though many people are hesitant due to past experiences with Georgia wines, Devasia is optimistic. “People see Georgia wine and they run away,” she said. “People say, ‘I tried a Georgia cab in the ’80s and it was terrible.’ And they never try a local wine again. We’ve come a long way from that. I want to create enough confidence where people can say, ‘Wow, they’re making some great wine.’”
As for the taste profiles, Cloudland’s skin-contact Marsanne is described as unique with a golden color and flavors of orange peel, cantaloupe, nutmeg, honey, grilled apricots, and herbs. The pet-nat offers a more easy-going and refreshing experience with hints of green apples, pears, and lemons.
Long concludes, “People are interested in trying new things and I think people want Georgia wine to succeed.” If locals are up for it, she encourages them to give it a try.
