I am excited to start some wine program updates for everyone about all that we are doing with the Fearrington Village wine program! In the past two years, we have restarted monthly wine classes, monthly wine dinners, weekly tastings at the Belted Goat, added an elevated option to the pairings at the Fearrington House, begun a partnership with the Winecentric podcast, and opened a new wine bar & retail shop over at Galloway’s. It has been a busy time with more to come. The very first thing I wanted to highlight though, is the amazing team we have now helping me run all these programs. We are very lucky to have two amazing sommeliers working at Fearrington, and you will find them both at Galloway’s and at the Fearrington House as we all rotate between both concepts.
Julieanne Thompson came to us from Greenville, SC, moving here specifically to work for Fearrington, which she originally heard about from our old friend Max Kast. Joules started with us in July 2024 with relevant wine experience in both retail and restaurant settings, allowing her to really hit the ground running. She exudes a lovely, warm positivity towards our guests and everyone around her, combined with all kinds of wine expertise for any setting, be it a fancy restaurant occasion or an everyday purchase at Galloway’s. She spent the majority of her childhood in England, and as it turns out both our Sommeliers have a strong connection to the UK.
Kailin Solomons joined us this year in March, and she also spent a large portion of her formative years in England. She came to us with a background mixed in front and back of the house restaurant experience, with one of the strongest recommendations I’ve ever seen from a former employer and well-known local head Chef. She found the wine world more recently, but you would never know it, as she’s the smartest of the three of us and a budding genius that will succeed at anything she delves into. Her wine knowledge grows daily and it has been fascinating watching her learn about new styles on the fly. These two ladies have been so easy to get up to speed, I almost feel guilty about the lack of time I have spent training them! They are both a little adverse to writing to the world what they think, but hopefully we can get some future blog posts from each of them. If you have not already, please do stop in and get to know our team. We very much enjoy helping you find the right glass or bottle.
