VinoVenue

By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com

DUNWOODY, Ga. — For the past decade, Vino Venue has been a onestop shop for all things wine related in Metro Atlanta. As a retail space, restaurant, wine school, private event space and travel hub, the store aims to educate everyone interested in wine.

Michael and Lelia Bryan went on their first trip as a couple to Napa Valley, California in 2001. Lelia was a wine lover, but Michael Bryan was new to the spirit.

“He absolutely fell in love with it,” Lelia said.

Michael returned and decided to start teaching wine classes. In the early 2000s, Lelia moved from Brookhaven to join Michael in Dunwoody and the pair opened the Atlanta Wine School on Holcomb Bridge Road. The school was a success, but the couple wanted to expand.

“We had so many people who would taste wine during their classes and want to buy them, want to learn more about them, want to be able to sample different wines,” Lelia said. “It really just made sense to have a place like Vino Venue.”

In October 2012, they opened the doors to Vino Venue, a so-called “wine emporium” with a retail store, cooking classes, tastings and a tapas-style restaurant. One month later, Michael Bryan was diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. He passed away five years later, in 2017.

Those five years were challenging for Lelia and the couple’s daughter, Willa.

“When he did pass, it was my goal to really just keep the vision he had alive,” Lelia said.

Vino Venue now sees 3,000 visitors annually for wine and cooking classes and conducts about 300 private wine events a year. The emporium also hosts a variety of guided wine trips throughout the year to destinations like Portugal and Piedmont, Italy.

The establishment has grown since it opened 10 years ago, but Lelia said she tries to maintain Vino Venue’s initial goal.

“We want to educate people who wanted to know more about the passion around wine,” Lelia said. “Not in a snotty or uptight way, but in a fun way, where people can really experience and try new things and broaden their horizons.”

Vino Venue offers more than 100 types of wine for sale. About 10 percent of the selection costs more than $75. Lelia said the goal is to make wine approachable for everyone.

“We pride ourselves in finding unique wines that aren’t going to break the bank, are very enjoyable and are between $10 and $20,” Lelia said.

The selections aren’t what a customer may find at a typical grocery store, because the Vino Venue staff takes time to find “unique gems.” Lelia said her team tastes about 100 wines a week to find the best bottles.

“It’s a labor of love, it’s actually a lot of work,” she said.

Across the years, Vino Venue has opened its wine classes to people with all levels of experience and interest. Atlanta Wine School, now housed in Vino Venue, offers Wine and Spirit Education Trust certifications.

The establishment also offers casual classes during the week that span across wine regions, like “taste of Italy” or “taste of Greece.” Wine professionals teach attendees about the flavors of the region, as well as the best pairings for different foods.

Every few months, Vino Venue puts on a “discover” festival, like the upcoming “Discover France Festival” on March 26. Attendees can buy a ticket and sample around 80 wines and foods centered around France. Events like the discover series draw hundreds of customers, but Lelia said the business is “relationshipbased.” Her goal is to bring customers in on any level of their wine education and keep the relationship growing.

“Michael was passionate about making people feel comfortable in whatever wine knowledge they have, but also in their preferences,” Lelia said.

As the managing partner of Vino Venue, Lelia is an avid wine drinker. She said picking a favorite wine is like “picking a favorite child.” She takes particular pride, though, in a wine that honors her husband.

Lelia had a close friend and winemaker in Italy scatter Michael’s ashes in a vineyard, and the winemaker dedicated the vineyard to Michael. The white wine created from the vineyards is sold at Vino Venue, and all profits go to sarcoma research.

“It’s a beautiful white wine, it’s very unique,” Lelia said.