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Business & Tech

Smyrna wine bar named top 10 in Atlanta

The Wine Cellars is Smyrna's award-winning wine shop located in Market Village.

was recently named one of the top 10 wine bars in Atlanta by Gayot.com and owner Renne Rowe couldn’t be more excited.

“I was thrilled,” she said. “I screamed, ‘Oh my God I made it!’”

Rowe said she was honored to be listed among some of the top wine bars in Metro Atlanta like Alon’s Bakery and Market and d’Vine Wine Bar and Shop.

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Rowe was surprised to learn she was being considered for the top 10 list. Jane Harvey, a restaurant editor for Gayot.com and a writer for Atlanta Wine School, called Rowe to say she was on the way to the shop.

“It was kind of sort like I didn’t know, but I knew she was coming,” Rowe said. “She sat at the bar and looked over our list and asked questions and things like that. She had been around town and she told me what she was doing and what they were working on.”

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Rowe said she was judged on the ambience of her shop as well as the quality of her wine list. She was proud to introudce Harvey to a wine she’d never tasted before. Overall she was pleased to see her hard work as a small business owner pay off.

“We work very hard,” she said. “I love my customers. I have awesome customers. It’s really cool to see the results of the marketing and all of the other stuff. A lot of people don’t realize that all this stuff I do. I have to because we’re a small business and we’re trying to keep going here. “

This isn’t the first honor Rowe’s received for her shop. She tops the nightlife list for Best of Yelp Smyrna and the Atlanta Tribune named The Wine Cellars the best wine shop in Smyrna and Vinings in 2011.

Rowe is always happy to make a personalized wine suggestion for her customers and holds weekly events at The Wine Cellars like $2 Tapas Tuesday and Friday Flight Night. She also offers a monthly Wine 101 class.

“It’s also not like a regular educational tasting where you just come up and someone is talking about wine,” she said. “It literally is a roundtable where we are growing through notes. We’re looking at maps. We’re tasting wine. We’re talking about the wine. It’s mainly just what portion of the segment that we’re doing that you want to learn most about. It’s very interactive.”

The next Wine 101 class is Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 6:30 p.m. and costs $25 per person.

Rowe is currently selling tickets for the Smyrna Wine Stroll 2012, which takes place May 19 and offers samples of more than 60 wines and food from Market Village restaurants. Advanced tickets are $35 and all the proceeds benefit MUST Ministries.

There are still spaces available in The Wine Cellars wine tasting tour of Tuscany. The 9-day trip includes a tour of one of the world’s oldest wineries. For more information contact Chuck Larsen at Burnt Pine Travel by calling 707-557-0407. 

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