About Us
Table Wine Asheville opened in August 2010, and quickly established itself as the premiere wine retailer in Asheville, North Carolina. We focus on “wines for the people” and our tagline is “artisanal wines at affordable prices.” Whether it be vin de table in France, vino da tavola in Italy, vina de mesa in Spain or just table wine in the U.S., every country has its own designation for honest, affordable and delicious wines that are consumed on a daily basis at the dinner table. Although we stock many premium wines, the average bottle price is about $15, and there are easily over 150 wines available for $15 or less. In total, we stock nearly 800 different wines so we’ve got something for every type of wine drinker.
One of the other things that makes our work unique is that we focus specifically on what we like to call “farmer” wines. Put simply, almost all of our wines come from producers who farm their own grapes or from those who purchase grapes from small, family grape farmers. These are the producers that subscribe to the notion that great wine is made in the vineyard with good, healthy, carefully grown grapes. In a sense, we offer a “farmer’s wine market”, and if you’ve ever shopped for your vegetables at one of Asheville’s many farmer’s markets, we think you’ll agree that the tomato purchased there far surpasses the quality, freshness and deliciousness of the one purchased at the grocery store. This same premise applies to wine!
We also feature Asheville’s largest and most focused selection of wines produced using organic, sustainable and biodynamic agricultural methods, but very few of the wines in the store are labeled as such. Many producers have been farming their vineyards this way for many years, but prefer not to spend the thousands of dollars it takes to get this designation printed on their labels. To them, organics is a necessity, a philosophy and a way of life, not a grand marketing scheme. We could go on and on, but the best way to learn more about these types of wines is to stop by the store and ask for Josh, David, Sarah or Aidan, and make sure you’ve got extra time on your hands!
Josh Spurling – Owner
I must be honest. I got into this business by accident while I was enjoying my post-college “sabbatical” in Aspen, Colorado……aka goofing off before I had to join the real world. It was 1998 when I took a job at a wine shop/pharmacy called Sundance Drug and Liquor in Snowmass Village because the job provided me with a free ski pass. From there, store owner Barbara Wickes became my early mentor in the business. She gave me my first copy of Wine for Dummies, and I started shifting from a beer drinker to a wine drinker. These were blissful, heady days and it was in Aspen that I met Lynn, who is now my wife.
I love wine, I love food, I love the art of pairing them and I love communicating this knowledge to others. My gift is selecting the perfect wine for specific palates and occasions in any price range. I look forward to sharing this with you. Come to Table Wine, sit down, have a taste, and let’s have a conversation about wine!
Aidan McKinney – Wine Consultant
My first experience in the wine trade was earlier than many. I can remember “helping” my dad stock wine and beer in the Westgate Earthfare well before I even knew what the stuff was. My first sensory experience with wine was not at a tasting or dinner table. Rather, my first experience was the smell of oxidized samples being poured into the yard at home after my dad had shown them around town the week before. Skip forward a decade or so to high school and I found myself working in foodservice in downtown Asheville. After several years in the industry, I ended up at Rhubarb
During my time at Rhubarb, I caught wind that a new restaurant, Local Provisions, was opening just down the street. I jumped on the opportunity and quickly found myself immersed in world class food and a wine list of unique old-world wines, fringe natural wines and a plethora of others. Needless to say, I had some catching up to do and I enlisted the expert help of my dad, who has remained my mentor since. Combined with the guidance of owner Brooke Palmer through that first year, I got my bearings.
Though I had met Josh in the past, we became well acquainted while working together on wine dinners held at Local Provisions. Fast forward a couple more years and here I am! As a student of wine, I can’t think of a place I’d rather be. My excitement about our inventory makes it a pleasure to help you pick the perfect wine for any occasion.
Sarah Chandler – Wine Consultant and Social Media Manager
My interest in wine was sparked at a young age. My parents and their friends would have gatherings often centered around tasting and sharing wines that they loved. Although I wasn’t fully aware of how large the world of wine was at the time, it was clear to me that wine and food played an integral role in bringing people together.
As an international studies major, I had to opportunity to travel and learn about different cultures and the way that they interact with one another. No matter where I traveled or
My actual entry into the industry was by accident. I had come back from my time abroad and, by chance, had a friend leaving a job at a local wine store in Wilmington, so I applied to be her replacement. Passionate and eager to learn, I began soaking up as much info as possible. When my time at Wilmington ended, I decided it was time to head home for a bit and made my way back to the mountains.
I’ve known Table Wine and Josh from a young age and thought that Table Wine would be a great place for me to continue exploring the world of wine. I love the personality and character that our selection offers and can’t wait to send you home with the perfect wine!
David Staples – Wine Consultant
I first started working with wine in the early 2000s as a bartender in Los Angeles. After a few years of slinging drinks, I moved into restaurant management. Eventually I was offered the GM position at a superb Chef-owned bistro called The Park in the trendy neighborhood of Echo Park near downtown Los Angeles. My duties included buying the wines for the restaurant, and I had free reign with the wine list.
It was an incredible learning opportunity and I happily spent the next three years there exploring, tasting, researching, pairing and selling wines from all over the world – many of them organic or biodynamic.