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 Martha, 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.

After we got married, we moved to Washington DC where I managed a small wine store in Dupont Circle, eventually landing a sales position with a major distributor in the area. After two years, the call to Asheville grew too loud to ignore. Lynn and I headed south to our new and permanent home. I found a place at the Asheville Wine Market, continually learning, tasting and listening to my new mentor Eberhard Heide as my dream of owning my own store percolated. After leaving the Asheville Wine Market in 2005, I took a job with a new distributor to Western North Carolina (The Country Vintner) and helped them to develop a major presence in Western North Carolina. After several years of continued business growth (and many miles), I grew weary of the grind and I left The Country Vintner in late 2009 to write my business plan for Table Wine and catch my breath. The store opened in July of 2010, and I haven’t looked back since then. Today, the store is stronger than ever, and I am extremely proud to employ two full time employees.

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!

David Staples – Store Manager

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. In 2014 I decided to return to North Carolina (where I grew up) and chose to settle in beautiful Asheville, in part for the vibrant local food and beverage scene. It was a dream come true to be hired as GM of a critically acclaimed restaurant like Rhubarb and a labor of love to share my passion for wine with the staff and customers. Desiring to learn more and make wine my sole professional focus I came to work here at Table Wine and then at the Whole Foods in Chapel Hill as a wine buyer. Now I am thrilled to return to Table Wine with even more experience under my belt and a renewed enthusiasm for the art and craft of great wine.

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

what I was studying, it was clear that wine and food were the foundations of many different cultures and their traditions.I found myself writing about and reading about wines’ role in our lives quite often.

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!

Martha Speegle-Snell – Wine Consultant

My introduction to wine was the result of a true small-town connection. I returned to my hometown of Black Mountain after graduating with a degree in English down in Georgia. I was set on finding a job at a public library but was stymied by the slow-turning wheels of bureaucracy. In the meantime, I needed a job to pay the bills. My mother told me that the owner of our small town’s wine shop, who used to be a first-grade teacher when I was in primary school, a logical career progression he always maintained, needed a new employee. At the time, it would have

been miraculous if my wine knowledge had filled a single page; however, I was told I’d have plenty of opportunity to learn on the job.

Turned out, wine entranced me. There was so much to learn; if I spent a lifetime studying, I’d never know it all. Bookworm that I am, this delighted me. I was then so giddy to share my new discovery with everyone who came into the shop. My library job search was quickly forgotten. I spent a few years working at The Merry Wine Market: organizing, learning, and tasting. After that period of time and a move to a different part of the county, I decided it was time to find a job that could provide further growth in my wine education and be closer to my new home. I was delighted to be offered a position at Table Wine where I could foster a deeper knowledge, embrace a new ethos, and share new wines. I can’t wait to share the joy and depth of experience that a good wine can bring you!