Building a Wine City
It’s a new age of wine in Charleston and Savannah. Here’s what local sommeliers have to say about it.
Over the past two decades, there has been an undeniable surge in the flow of wine throughout Charleston and Savannah. Cities that were once limited by small-scale distribution and tourist-heavy clientele are now seeing a new generation of oenophiles.
Perhaps kickstarted by the Charleston Wine + Food Festival, diners now flock to these cities eager for quality food and beverage. Simultaneously, hospitality professionals seeking better work-life balance and more affordable living have set roots on the coast, both in restaurants and independent wine bars and shops (which luckily, in both Georgia and South Carolina, can be one and the same). Now, interested drinkers have options to expand their palates, wine distributors have more channels to fill, and restaurant wine lists have reason to compete with larger markets. We spoke with some of the cities’ sommelier-owners about how they have navigated the influx of attention and made efforts to keep pushing the bar higher.
Nayda Hutson of Renzo
Miles White and Femi Oyediran of Graft Wine Shop
What did you hope to bring to the community through your business?
Nayda Hutson of Renzo: We wanted to create a place that served thoughtful wines at a fair price point alongside craveable, everyday food. Serving pizza in a small neighborhood restaurant just outside of downtown allowed us to focus on catering to locals and industry friends.
Max Kuller of Estadio: In Charleston, we seemed to have found a place that was very hungry (and thirsty) for all of it! This inkling was driven by lots of time we were spending in Spain and Charleston, and was reaffirmed when we first participated in the Charleston Wine + Food Festival in 2017, where we saw infectious enthusiasm for what was going on in our heads. While there weren’t really any pintxo or tapas bars in Charleston at this point, we saw a real cultural overlap in how people engaged the city, and also how the local foodways were embraced and celebrated.
Femi Oyediran & Miles White of Graft Wine Shop & Wine Bar: For a tourist-driven town, we think it's easy for people to sometimes forget about the people that actually live here week by week. If we could create an outlet for the immediate surrounding neighborhoods, we figured the tourists would find us eventually—that's just the way it works. Luckily for us, wine is considered a great unifier, and it's really rewarding to see the local community and tourists interacting with one another in our little space.
How do you showcase your wine philosophy through your business?
Matthew Conway of The Tippling House: We aim to have a glass for both the novice and the expert. Our wine list is printed and dated every day and every bottle of still wine is available by the half bottle. This makes our list approachable for every budget.
Colin Breland & Madeline Ott of Late Air: We opened a place for people to share wine openly and speak freely about their likes and dislikes—there is no pretension or expectation. We stick to our beliefs when it comes to curating a list for the restaurant, being that we only buy wines from producers who we trust and whose wines we enjoy drinking. The list changes often and supports as many different people and places as possible. All we ask is that our guests are open to something that might surprise them or change their perspective.
Nayda: Our printed list is pretty small, which gives us space to include a short description of each wine to help guests make sense of a varietal or region with which they may not be familiar. The descriptions themselves are far from pedantic and are written in a very conversational, sometimes irreverent tone. The idea is to demystify wine and democratize the language around it so that guests are more at ease ordering and drinking it, whether they’re at Renzo or somewhere else.
Femi & Miles: There should be something for everyone in here, at every price point. Just because you don't want to spend more than $18 on a bottle of wine doesn't mean you should compromise. [We want to] present people with a comfortable space in a way that doesn't feel too stuffy, but also not too casual. Everyone that walks in the door should feel like a regular.
Purple Ribbon All Star: Heirloom Tomato, Trapanese Pesto, Fiore Sardo paired with Pinot Noir, Sylvain Pataille, Marsannay, Burgundy, France, 2021 at REnzo
North Carolina Blue Crab, Water Kimchi, Yang Yum, Purple Daikon Radishes, French Breakfast Radish, Apple, Toasted Sesame Oil, Grey Salt paired with Trepate, Partida Creus, TP, Catalonia, Spain, 2021 at late Air
How do you push customers outside of their comfort zones and encourage them to try new things?
Nayda: We often use our by-the-glass wines to highlight lesser-known varietals instead of the usual pinot, cabernet, and chardonnay that many people automatically assume would be available. We do offer sparkling, white, and red options at $10 a glass that are approachable and easy-drinking (and judgment-free—sometimes you just want something cold and cheap!). Outside of those selections, our by-the-glass offerings are a great vehicle for discovery for both the staff and our guests.
Max: In a lot of cases, people have incomplete understandings of a lot of the things we are cheerleading for, so we look to have conversations, open up some new windows, and maybe gently clear up some misconceptions. For example, if someone is showing an interest in complex, dry white wines, but has dismissed Sherry as a sweet option, that might be a great opportunity for us to ultimately pour a taste of some manzanilla.
Femi & Miles: We are telling our staff to continually push people into uncharted territory wine-wise, and one of the best ways to do that is by underselling them. We have a pretty extensive by-the-glass program for the bar, and it's so nice to have a variety of things in your back pocket that you can taste people on.
How has your model changed since you started?
Matt: We’re always listening to our guests and striving to be better. We now have a much more serious culinary program since we opened, and we offer flights for guests that want to try several different wines without breaking the bank.
Nayda: When we first opened, we had a massive 100+ bottle wine list. Not only did this make staff training extremely difficult, but it was overwhelming for many guests and, ultimately, wasn’t great for the restaurant’s bottom line.
Colin Breland & Madeline Ott of Late Air
Interior of Graft Wine Shop
What do you hope for the future of the Charleston-Savannah wine community?
Colin & Madeline: At the end of the day, the world is changing rapidly. Incredible producers and purveyors are passing away, and it will be up to young people opening up spots to ensure the ideologies live on for the next generation. It's not an easy thing to do. We are hopeful that there will be more and more folks in the South drinking these wines, but we have to focus on making it a necessity.
Max: We are lucky that vignerons and others love spending time here, which makes for a ton of neat events and pop-ups (this is a pop-up city!). As small a town as we are, it is truly amazing how vibrant the scene is. I hope it continues to grow slowly, and organically, and that there are opportunities for those who are coming up within our restaurants to lead new paths forward and open their own neighborhood joints that they are passionate about. I hope for even more collaborations and more fun. Why not!? I hope large development is kept at bay, and that there is a greater understanding of all that goes into our collective small and independent food and beverage world
Tips on building a wine list that works for everyone from Sommelier Thibaut Idenn of Alla Vita and Boka