Savvy Sommeliers Gina Hopkins and Perrine Prieur
Savvy Sommeliers Gina Hopkins and Perrine Prieur rock the city with their decadent new destinations: H&F Bottle Shop and Perrine’s Wine Shop.
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| By Amanda Lester Trevelino / Photos by Sarah Dorio |
The DISH:
Your can’t rush a fine wine, nor apparently, a fine wine and spirits destination. But when H&F Bottle Shop opens its doors (“soonish”) we expect an elegant emporium that reflects the tireless research of sommelier Gina Hopkins, chef Linton Hopkins, mixologist Greg Best and partners Andy Minchow an Regan Smith. The team traveled the world, becoming disciples of European wineries and Kentucky distilleries, to create a variety of private label libations that are likely to redefine Southern hospitality. Hopkins describes the rich 2,200-square foot entertaining emporium as a “modern apothecary” where we can indulge our inner mixologist with cocktail kits and party recipes, or opt for immediate gratification with no fewer than 2500 ready-to-go choices of chilled wine.
Perrine Prieur grew up on a vineyard in Burgundy, not far from Chablis. So, maybe it isn’t surprising that by the time most teens obsess over a summer job or a first romance, Prieur had discovered both her career and her life’s passion: the grape. From inside her self-styled French Provincial wine boutique in Atlanta’s emerging Westside, she recalls the moment she fell in love with wine.
“I was probably 16 years old training at l’Auberge du Camp Romain, which is a restaurant at Chassey-le Camp in Burgundy. I was working as a server, and two American couples sat down and ordered a rare bottle of Chateau d’Yquem 1945. When I told the sommelier I was going to open it he said, ‘you’re dreaming.’
“But then,” she says in her charming French accent, “the guests asked me if I wanted to taste. Ah! I still keep the memory as my best souvenir.”
At Perrine’s Wine Shop, Prieur guides visitors through their own tasting experiences and discoveries of lesser-known New World and Old World selections. Taste for yourself.
H&F Bottle Shop, 2357 Peachtree Road, Suite 3, Atlanta, Ga 30305
404-841-4070, Mon – Sat 11am to 11pm
Perrine’s Wine Shop, 1168 Howell Mill Road, Suite B, Atlanta, GA 30318-0516
404-254-5077, Mon – Fri 11am to 8pm, Sat 10am to 8pm
