The Concept

Table Wine opened in August 2010, and quickly established itself as the premiere wine retailer in South Asheville. We focus on “wines for the people” and our tagline is “artisanal wines at affordable prices.  Whether it be vin de table in France, vino da tavola in Italy, vina de mesa in Spain or just table wine in the U.S., every country has its own designation
for honest, affordable and delicious wines that are consumed on a daily basis at the dinner table.  Although we stock plenty of premium offerings, the average bottle price  is about $15, and there are over 100 wines available for $15 or less.  In total, we stock about 600 different wines.

One of the other things that makes our work unique is that we focus specifically on what we like to call “farmercentric” wines.  Put simply, almost all of our wines come from producers who farm their own grapes or from those who purchase grapes from small, family grape farmers.  These are the producers that subscribe to the notion that great wine is made in the vineyard with good, healthy, carefully grown grapes.  In a sense, we offer a “farmer’s wine market”, and if you’ve every shopped for your vegetables at one of Asheville’s many farmers’ markets, we think you’ll agree that the tomato purchased there far surpasses the quality, freshness and deliciousness of the one purchased at the grocery store.  This same premise applies to wine!

We also feature Asheville’s largest and most focused selection of organic, sustainably produced and natural wines, but very few of the wines in the store are labelled as such.  Many producers have been farming their vineyards this way for many years, but prefer not to spend the thousands of dollars it takes to get this designation printed on their labels.  To them, organics is a necessity, a philosophy and a way of life, not a grand marketing scheme.  We could go on an on, but the best way to learn more about these types of wines is to stop by the store and ask for Josh…………..make sure you’ve got extra time on your hands!

In many ways, Table Wine is an extension of a local farmer’s market with philosophies very much in common with Slow Foods.  No matter where the wine is from and regardless of whether it’s organic, biodynamic, or common-sense sustainable, Table Wine supports small farmers striving to make the best wines of their appellations while protecting a traditional way of life.  If that sounds like something you’d like to be a part of, we’d love to have you as a customer.

The Owner

I must be honest.  I got into this business by accident while I was enjoying my post-college sabbatical in Aspen, Colorado……aka goofing off before I had to join the real world.  I took a job at a wine shop/pharmacy called Sundance Drug and Liquor in Snowmass Village because the job provided me with a free ski pass.  From there, store owner Barbara Wickes became my early mentor in the business.  She gave me my first copy of Wine for Dummies, and I started shifting from a beer drinker to a wine drinker.  These were blissful, heady days and it was in Aspen that I met Lynn, who is now my wife.

After we got married, we moved to Washington DC where I managed a small wine store in Dupont Circle, eventually landing a sales position with a major distributor in the area. After two years, the call to Asheville grew too loud to ignore. Lynn and I headed south to our new and permanent home. I found a place at the Asheville Wine Market, continually learning, tasting and experimenting as my dream of owning my own store percolated. For the past few years, my time has been divided between retail and distribution sales, until this winter, when I finally pulled the trigger on starting my own business – a small, local wine shop, focusing on family estates and farms.

I love wine, I love food, I love the art of pairing them and I love communicating this knowledge to others. My gift is selecting the perfect wine for specific palates and meals in any price range. I look forward to sharing this with you. Come in to Table Wine, sit down, have a taste, and let’s have a conversation about wine!