When I first heard the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival crew was scheming to create a real-life pop-up vineyard in the heart of midtown, I immediately started imagining the dreamiest-of-dreamy setups for each and every event. Think long farm tables between the vines with romantic, sweeping greenery and rustic, simple place settings. And of course plenty of twinkle lights once the sun went down! Think of all of this with some of Atlanta’s tallest skyscrapers in view. I died at just the thought of being part of such a magical installation (the first in the US), so too see my dreams come to life was just beyond.
We set the scene at the Grapes A to Z Sommelier Wine Lunch with Jason Tesauro from The Modern Gent, with said farm tables and the most amazing live garland by Blooms of Dunwoody. Candlesticks of varying heights added a little interest to the tablescape, but otherwise we kept things super simple with the natural vibe created by the farm tables, garland, and grape vines really allowing the 26 wines poured to shine. And like our Powerful & Delicious dinner, we added informational #knowthesouth cards—placed into each fork—with a few basic definitions and terms related to wine to our little daytime vineyard party.
The vineyard, I must tell you, was hot. “…hotter than a billy goat with a blow torch” to be exact. We knew our guests would be a little toasty throughout the day and well into the evening, so we supplied palmetto fans with entertaining phrases about the heat attached. My personal favorite might have been “It’s Hotter than Hell’s Pepper Patch” but it was really too hard to decide. These fun details played perfectly into Atlanta Food & Wine Festival‘s #KnowTheSouth theme this year, and I know guests were grateful for the chance to cool off with them.
The rest of the evening events (6 in total) were just as magical as you can imagine with a backdrop of twinkle lights and sky scrapers. Guests mingled between the vines, stopped at chef stations to savor some of the best bites in the South, sipped award-winning wines, and even played a little bocce ball. It’s safe to say that it was a huge treat for me to see this space make the transformation from city lot to dreamy urban vineyard and grounds for two gorgeous events during one of my favorite weekends of the entire year. Truly, MKR
P.S. The pop-up vineyard will remain open through June 30 for community use and private events. Be sure to check it out for yourself across from the Four Seasons on 14th street and follow along on social with #VineyardInTheCity. xo
