"Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance." ~Benjamin Franklin
The Golden Isles is a community of oenophiles, wine connoisseurs, and even some sensational sommeliers. We have numerous restaurants with stellar wine collections, fabulous wine bars that host regular tastings, and various venues offering special pairing dinners that showcase excellent food and wine selections carefully curated by our local grape gurus. Popular perennial fundraisers include ladies’ sip and shop favorite, Wine, Women & Shoes, and the always spectacular Taste of the Vine.
With wine as our strong common root, we’re following the twisting vines through a variety of topics, events, and locations to bring you The Wine Issue. First, we’re sounding a herald for the inaugural St. Simons Island Wine Festival in October. This highly anticipated event is a newly founded fundraiser presented by and benefiting Glynn Visual Arts and Elegant Island Living is excited to be a sponsor. The Festival’s Sherieen Pretorius shares the details and what we can expect during opening VIP Wine Tasting and Auction at The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort and the following day’s Grand Tasting Event in the Posh Carts Hangar at St. Simons Island Airport. We hope to see you there.
In this month's feature, we’re also delving into the world of muscadines and Georgia wines, tannins and terroir, swirling, savoring, and more. You’ll also find helpful information about local offerings and wine selections from the experts. Whether you fancy white, red, or rose, and buy by the case, bottle, or box, we invite you to join us in celebrating the vines, vintages, and vino we love.
Cheers! Santé! Salute! Salud!
Annaliese Kondo, Studio Pixel Pop
Chateau Elan is just one of the Georgia wine offerings at Golden Isles Olive Oil
Sip & Savor
There are so many opportunities to sip and savor, expand your palate and your wine knowledge in and around the Golden Isles. We encourage everyone to get out and explore the offerings at our local restaurants and wine bars. The selections from their cellars are mind-boggling!
Golden Isles Olive Oil (goldenislesoliveoil.com) hosts complimentary wine tastings, as well as other spirit tastings, on Tuesday evenings so you can sample and see what you like. Keep an eye on their calendar and social media for special events like Sip & Paint and Sip & Stretch evenings where you can enjoy your wine and work your creativity or your body.
Uncle Don’s Local Market & Wine Bar also offers complimentary tastings in the wine bar at the Frederica Road location on occasional Thursday evenings, so make sure you’re following their social media accounts to see when they pop up. If you haven’t been to the wine bar at Uncle Don’s, you should check it out because their smart card operated WineStation machines allow you to enjoy a taste, a 1/2 glass, or a full glass of up to 16 different wines.
Fridays are more fun when you drop by JP’s Wine & Spirits (jpswineandspirits.com) in Brunswick between 2:00-5:00 p.m. for their complimentary tastings with Certified Sommelier Brian Henderson. To see what they’re spotlighting (and to get a good laugh) each week, follow their social media accounts.
The Bubble Bar at Two Friends (tfbubblebar.com) in Redfern Village is a Sommelier-curated boutique wine shop and champagne bar that offers over 300 selections from all over the world. They also offer a wine club and host special education tastings and fun events in their beautiful space, so keep an eye out! It’s a great place to wind down after work with some girlfriends!
Certified Sommelier Brandon Boudreau at Newcastle Wine Merchant (newcastlewine.com) in Brunswick hosts some incredible sit-down guided wine tasting experiences where attendees learn more about various wine regions or types of wine. He also provides expert advice, offers a wine club, and also curates the wines for the fantastic monthly wine dinners at Oaks on the River Resort in Darien. Be sure to check out their calendar at oaksontheriverresort.com to find out when they’ve having their next one so you can enjoy an unforgettable evening in this elegant riverside setting.
Owner/Chef Tanya Sergey is a master at pairing delectable dishes with exceptional wines with the monthly themed wine dinners she hosts at A Moveable Feast (amfrestaurant.com) in Brunswick. These dinners generally feature five or six courses and wines from around the globe to match. Details and menu can be found on the restaurant’s website under the Events tab. On October 26, her Fall Fundraiser Wine Dinner will benefit World Central Kitchen, a charity that provides much-needed meals to food challenged people living in humanitarian crises.
You'll find special wine dinners and events at Jekyll Island Club Resort (jekyllclub.com) and its family of restaurants. It won’t be long before they turn the holiday lights on there and what a magical experience that could be! The fabulous wine dinners they host at Halyards (halyardsrestaurant.com) and Tramici (tramicirestaurant.com) are also tasting opportunities you won’t want to sleep on! The fall and holiday seasons are sure to bring some wine-centric offerings at Georgia Sea Grill (georgiaseagrill.com) and The Nest (thenestssi.com) too. It’s always a treat to see—and taste!—the culinary creativity displayed by Executive Chefs Tim Lensch and Sunny Saltzman when it comes to pairing menus! And these are just a handful of the wine events that can be experienced in and around the Golden Isles!
A delicious wine pairing of a different type that we highly recommend is the cabernet and bittersweet chocolate bonbons handmade by the talented chocolatiers at Sugar Marsh Cottage Specialty Confections (sugarmarshcottage.com) in Darien. Last, but not least, keep an eye on the Elegant Island Living website calendar for wine focused fundraisers Taste of the Vine benefiting Coastal Coalition for Children and the highly anticipated Wine, Women & Shoes luncheon and fashion show supporting Hospice of the Golden Isles.
