HUNTSVILLE — In 2014 when Stephanie and Matt Mell brought the first Wine Club to Huntsville with the opening of their Church Street Wine Shoppe, there were skeptics who doubted there was a market for fine wine in Huntsville.
But the Mells had a hunch Huntsville is about more than just rockets. They gambled that once those scientists and engineers who build those rockets were introduced to fine wine, and once they became involved in the discovery of new vintages, the skeptics would be proven wrong.
It is now 2022, and the Church Street Family just last week opened a new Church Street Wine Bar & Bottle Shoppe at the corner of Providence Main Street and Biltmore Drive in the Village of Providence.
The company now consists of the two Huntsville ChurchStreet Wine Shoppes; Purveyor Huntsville; Mazzara’s Vinoteca; Sea Salt Urban Oyster Bar; Pourhouse and Catacomb435.
Let’s just say it became clear as rocket fuel that Huntsville’s very large and very smart engineering community appreciates a good wine when they taste it, and as it turns out, so do their spouses, friends, neighbors, co-workers, families and casual acquaintances!
In fact, regardless of whether they are scientists and engineers or butchers, bakers and candlestick makers, when presented with an opportunity to try exclusive international wines, there is also a curiosity about it that has empowered the Church Street Family of food and beverage businesses to be the first in the United States to pour from two exclusive Australian growers in the past two years.
Stephanie Kennedy Mell said it was just happenstance that their newest U.S. debut of A Growers Touch Australian wines coincided with the opening of the new Village of Providence store.
“We thought it was pretty exciting to have beaten out Chicago and bigger cities in Texas, Florida and California to bring this wine to the U.S. for the very first time,” said Mell. “The Church Street Family is thrilled to introduce it to our fine wine loving family.”
Delightfully described as very bright on the pallet with vibrant berry and dark fruit flavors of cherries and blackberries, these Australian wines are designed to be popped open on any given day, and to be tasted and enjoyed with friends and family, anytime.
The Church Street Family celebrated their move into the historic Humphreys-Rodgers House on Gates Avenue in the heart of downtown Huntsville last summer with a similar exclusive tasting event for the Greenock Estate Australian winery.
“I think we had a proven track record of success with the U.S. launch of the Greenock label (now available coast to coast), so now by debuting yet another beautiful Australian wine, we feel this is an amazing way for Huntsville to say to the country, ‘Hey we really are more than rockets!’”
It is not a track record of success the Church Street Family takes lightly, however.
“It is very humbling A Grower’s Touch chose us,” Mell continued. “Rather than hoarding it as is common when a new wine first comes into the United States, the Church Street Family takes that trust to the next level.
“Our goal is to be the U.S. ambassador for this wine and to get it out to the rest of country so its popularity can grow,” she added. “It gives us the opportunity to continue doing it over and over again with other wines in the future.”
Mell attributes the opportunities they have had to build an excellent reputation with wineries all over the world to their distributor and partner Beverage Services USA (BevServ).
“We have been able to successfully debut these wines and get them out across the country so that wineries overseas are beginning to approach us about whether we will debut their wine,” said Mell. “We have a proven track record now, and that speaks.”
“Birthed from the earth & Raised by hand”, Mino & Co winery and A Growers Touch vineyards are located in the Riverina region of Australia’s New South Wales in a small village called Hanwood. The label depicts real grower’s faces and hands on the front and back of the bottles.
“If you blind tasted a California cabernet sauvignon and an Australian cabernet sauvignon, the only thing making them different in terms of quality is the price tag with the California wine in the $40 range and the Australian wine in the $15 range,” Mell muses. “Next time you want a cabernet, walk down the Australian aisle and you’ll really get a chance to taste these amazing wines.”
The retail wine selection at the new Village of Providence store is heavily curated but runs the gamut – domestic wines from California and Oregon, France, Australia and a highly select selection of Italian wines.
The Providence location will soon serve lunch and dinner but currently offers in addition to their wine and cheeseboards, tapas items like blue cheese-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon and an amazing grilled cheese sandwich.
“The biggest thing about Church Street Wine Shoppes is our dessert selection,” Mell said. “We recently hired a dessert chef from Las Vegas who came from the Bellagio Hotel who is now the pastry chef across all Church Street Family venues, so the desserts at all our restaurants are spectacular.”
A Grower’s Touch is available at all Church Street Family locations.
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