This story has been updated.

Decatur, GA — A new boutique wine shop will celebrate its soft opening on April 3 at 335 W. Ponce de Leon Ave., suite B, in Decatur.

Vine Fine Wine will offer a variety of wines, with several options from France, Italy, California, and New York, among others. They will also focus on sparkling wines. The shop will celebrate its grand opening on April 19.

Owners Sam Pilch and Madeline Long have received an alcoholic beverage license from the city of Decatur. The shop is not a wine bar, and wine will not be available by the glass but by the bottle for purchase.

Vine Fine Wine grew from the husband and wife duo’s love and curiosity for wine.

Pilch has a background in cafés, restaurants, and coffee. He previously worked in a cafe in Berkeley, Calif., next to a famous importer. He got to know the people who worked for the importer, and they started teaching Pilch about wine.

“When COVID started, I missed wine bars and I missed the engagement I was having with people in the wine community. I started making my own wine bar lists for fun and started doing an Instagram account that paired music and wine called Chablis Knees,” Pilch said.

The idea of a wine shop grew from there. Pilch has also worked in wine retail in Atlanta and wondered why there wasn’t a dedicated shop in Decatur.

In college, Long worked in restaurants and gained an overview and basic background on wine so that she could sell it to customers. She became more interested in wine as Pilch became interested in it as well.

“My background’s more in data, and it fit nicely once I got more into it,” Long said. “I definitely have, in that process, developed my own tastes and my own interests.”

Long and Pilch also aim to build a community space where people can learn more about wine, see all the options and ask questions.

“I really value the idea of creating a community space that can be directed at something and serve as a conduit for greater engagement with the community and each other,” Long said.

“Wine has a way to engage with people,” Pilch added. “I think we want to try to do not only events with winemakers here but also try to incorporate other conversations that can happen in a space that maybe benefits from having a little bit more flexibility like this will have.”

The open layout, with shelves on the perimeter and a large table in the middle, would give customers a chance to take in Vine Fine Wine’s selection and talk with the staff.

“The idea for this type of space is more of a hand-selling environment from our end. Instead of leaving the customer to their owner devices, it’s easier for everybody, not to be pushy, to help guide people through. There are stories to these wines. They’re not just big production, so being able to tell those stories is kind of what we’re hoping to do,” Long said.

As a wine shop with a more curated selection, Long and Pilch are also being intentional about the distributors and producers they work with.

“I want to believe fully in every wine we sell. I want to have a strong belief that they’re representing the same values that we have personally,” Pilch said.

For Long and Pilch, that means sustainable agriculture, not adding unnecessary ingredients to the wine, and making sure producers have good and ethical farming practices.

“It’s really important because not every company is good,” Long said. “Some of the wines we’re going to sell, maybe I don’t like them because they’re not my taste, but I know I can still stand behind them and what they represent.”

There is parking available on a nearby deck and on the street. The parking deck is between 335 W. Ponce de Leon Ave., suite G, and Sherman-Williams Paints.

Vine Fine Wine will be open on Tuesday-Thursday from 12 p.m.  to 8 p.m., Friday-Saturday from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The shop will be closed on Mondays.

“Hospitality matters to us because it’s a way of connecting with people in a crazy world and that’s what we’re here for,” Long said.

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