Wednesday, March 12, 2008

A Little (yn) To Start Your Day



Ed Fryer likes wine. Ed Fryer likes good wine. Ed Fryer likes to share what he knows and likes about wine with others. Ed Fryer opened his kind of wine store in Nashville a few weeks ago.

Not that long ago, Ed Fryer was a radio disc jockey. Like everyone else in the business, he spent a good amount of time moving as stations changed ownership, format, or both. He moved from his hometown of Nashville to other markets, including Miami and Atlanta. The last time he moved (back to Atlanta), he and his wife decided that if they experienced major changes at that station, someone was sending them a sign. Within a few months, they got their sign.

As I mentioned yesterday, Ed (above left) opened (yn) in Hills Center in the Green Hills area of Nashville. He wants (yn) to be the store for someone who likes wine but doesn't want to break the bank buying a bottle. Therefore, the majority of the wines in (yn) are well-priced at $20 per bottle or less. While he does stock some well-known brands, he also stocks wines from the smaller, artisan wineries. And, he doesn't have boxes and boxes of the same wine on the shelf (right) like the mass-market liquor stores do. While he has some European wines in the store, he said that the tumbling dollar has made getting affordable Spanish, French, German and Italian wines a bit difficult.

While we do drink some wine, we are not experts by any stretch of the imagination. I know what I like (Riesling, Piesporter, Cava, Pinot Noir, White Zinfandel) and what I don't like (Merlot). I have not tried these wines, but two labels that caught my eye in (yn) were Good Pinot Grigio (a white, of course) and House Wine (a red). A friend of mine has had both, and she said they're pretty good.

The two guys in the main photo today are (yn)'s owner Ed Fryer (left) and Andrea Danti, from 100% Italiano. Andrea, who has been in the US only two years, represents small, Italian wineries. He brought the Vespa into (yn) so I could shoot the photo of the two of them with it.

One small note: Ed is in favor of the pending legislation that would allow groceries to sell wine.

What kind of wine do you like to drink?



12 comments:

Halcyon said...

An Italian man selling wine in the US? I need to meet this person! :D

Do you think they mail wines? I like reds from northern Italy. I also like wines from southwest France, like Cahors. Don't ask me what kinds of grapes are in those though. I have no idea!

Jim said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Clueless in Boston said...

Interesting posts on the liquor laws in TN. We have some pretty strange ones in MA too, but it seems pretty convoluted to not be able to sell beer along with wine. I've heard of demon rum, but always thought beer rather innocuous:)

BTW, I hope no laws were violated bringing the Vespa inside a wine store. There probably is a law against that, somewhere:)

Lady Di Tn said...

Another good informative post today and yesterday. I do not often visit the Hills of Green but might be tempted to check out (yn). Thanks for sharing. Peace
Oh, it is what mood I am in but I love a good "Cab" as white wines remind me of vinegar.

George Townboy said...

Your photos are great! How lucky this guy is to have you featuring his new store!

I like sweet white wines that come from the Rhine Valley in Germany.

crittoria said...

The last time we were in your area, we discovered Keg Springs Winery, near Columbia. We tasted too much wine ;-) and decided that Crusade, "a semi-sweet red wine made with a blend of Concorde grapes", was our favorite. You should look for it sometime!

(yn) sounds like a really neat shop and we'll have to try to find it when we visit Nashville this summer.

Anonymous said...

I like to taste strong and aromatic red wines, but those that I drink most are white ones.
From the Alentejo province, australians, south africans and french ones.
Also found of the Lambrusco italian (for little summer snacks), riesling and the french beaujolais.
That seems to be a store worth visiting.

Jim Klenke said...

DUH, I must be soooo stuuupid. I was thinking why is she using (yn)? I finally got it about half way through. I dont drink anymore, but when I did, we used to be able to get a gallon of wine called Polo Brendessy (I know its not spelled right) for about $2.99

Steve Buser said...

Wine is always sure to strike up a conversation among afficionados. For myself. It just doesn't seem to set so well with me any more.

brian stout said...

i'm not sure of the name of the last wine i drank, but i'm fairly certain it came out of a box...

Unknown said...

On some occasions I will have a glass or two of wine, I myself do not care much for white and I am not too crazy about red wines, I tend to go for the blush wines more than anything else. Not too sweet and not too dry.

Denton said...

Great photo and great store. Personally I love wine. In fact my wife and I are on a first name bases with our local wine shop owner.