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| Connect With Wine and The Atlanta Wine School Links Education to Enjoyment by Kim Urquhart Wine is more than just a beverage. It encompasses geography, history, spirituality, health, commerce and culture. A new local organization is helping both wine enthusiasts and amateurs to make that connection. Connect With Wine is dedicated to wine education, appreciation and accoutrements through intimate, interactive classes or via larger social events where the conversation is focused on wine. Founder and President Michael Bryan paired his passion for wine, love for learning and entrepreneurial experience to form Connect With Wine. “The business that I began was dedicated to joining people and wine together on a common level,” he says. Bryan says his “a-ha moment” came after hosting a wine tasting at his home. The conversation, like the wine, was flowing. By the end of the evening, people were connecting as business cards were exchanged around the table. “What ended up happening was a social event for people," says Bryan. And the thought occurred to this entrepreneurial guy, "I bet that I can spin this into structured tastings for corporations, associations, supper clubs… This could be a foundation, a reason to get together,” he recalls. “Not only do people have a great time, they also experience some tasty wines and they leave having learned something.” Today, the purpose of Connect With Wine is to make wine enjoyment and education accessible to everyone via private events. Connect With Wine also runs the Atlanta Wine School, the first of its kind in Atlanta, launched just last summer. Bryan, a Certified Specialist of Wine, serves as the executive director of the school, which offers classes targeting the consumer or tailored to the wine professional. Bryan says that what is unique to Atlanta Wine School compared to other programs is its network of expert instructors. Each course is paired to the instructor’s area of expertise. One of its most recent events was Discover Chile, which drew a crowd to the Signature Events Ballroom for an afternoon of Chilean wine and culture. Bryan says he is proud of the school’s success so far, which is seeing increasing enrollment. “With no advertising, we had 14 people sign up to our first Introduction to Wine course, which is kind of our flagship course,” he notes. Courses are offered in novice, intermediate and advanced levels, and cover topics ranging from the nuts and bolts of wine to premium wine samplings. Known as a humorous and dynamic speaker, Bryan takes aim at wine snobbery while dismantling the myths of wine into bite-sized chunks for learning. He says he averages about six private or public speaking events a month. “It is amazing how you are led by your passion,” Bryan says, with that passion leading him also to teaching positions – he has instructed wine classes for Evening at Emory -- and most recently, TV appearances. Bryan has been featured on “Good Day Atlanta” and “Good Eats” on the Food Network. Bryan is also busy leading and organizing trips to wine regions. Last year’s Wine Harvest Weekend in North Georgia was such a success that Connect With Wine will be hosting another trip next September. A Coastal Wine Experience is set for next November on Little St. Simon’s Island, featuring cuisine prepared by a different chef each day. Guests will also enjoy a sunset oyster bake and sampling of crisp, white wines on the seven-mile private beach. He also publishes a monthly newsletter for more than 12,000 subscribers in Atlanta and 7 countries around the globe. News and Happenings covers the local wine scene and includes commentary on recent trips to wine regions, event listings and news about health and wellness within wine consumption. Bryan points out that U.S. wine consumption continues to increase about 5% a year, while national beer consumption is down 0.3%. This is due, he says, “not to more drinkers, but to the fact that there are more people who would usually reach for a beer who are now reaching for wine first.” Wine consumption is also on the rise in Atlanta. “I call it the Golden Age of wine, but really it’s more than that. It’s cultural literacy. People are frankly starting to tune in to what Europeans have been experiencing for centuries,” he says. “The United States by and large still sees wine as something that has to be the right time. So with my efforts and people out there like myself, we’re trying to get people comfortable with having wine on the table almost all the time.” With so much wine in his life, Bryan must enjoy his job. “It is fun. And sometimes it’s work. When I run a class for Pearson’s in Buckhead every Saturday morning, tasting wines is not fun, you’re barely even awake!” But, he adds, “When I’m relaxing with a glass of wine, there is nothing better.” Contact the Atlanta Wine School at (770) 668-0435 or visit www.AtlantaWineSchool.com or www.connectwithwine.com for more information. |
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| Wine expert Michael Bryan takes wine education to a new level. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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