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When Tyler Alkins decided he wanted to start making wine, he aimed for a rising demographic: millenials.
Though he had never made wine before, the Vancouver native was raised by two amateur wine makers, and, when he was old enough, gained his own appreciation for red wine.
Alkins arrived in Nashville in 2012, working in a completely different industry and, after selling his company, realized he wanted to invest his time doing something he loved. He hired a wine consultant and made research trips to Chile, France, and California before trying his own hand at it. His guiding principal? Make everyday wines for everyday drinkers. Under the label Love & Exile, he now has 12 wines in his growing portfolio and he’ll release a white blend this month.
In order to maintain a geographical designation for his wines, he brings the already fermented juice over from the grapes’ point of origin—mainly California, Southern France, and Chile—and finishes, filters, and bottles the wine at his East Nashville facility, called Nashville Urban Winery. Set inside a former auto body shop, the space holds six fermentation tanks as well as bottling and canning facilities.
The cans were a strategic decision.
“They’re portable, single servings that can go anywhere,” Alkins says. “It’s become one of the fastest growing categories in wine.”
Despite its winemaking capabilities, Urban Winery, says Alkins, “is begrudgingly a wine bar. I don’t like the term since it comes with pretense, a sense that you’re going somewhere fancy.”
The space, instead, is decidedly laid-back, and almost club-like once the lights dim—there’s neon lighting, faux grass on the walls, and bold, pop art in the form of lips and flowers on the walls. The menu is a mix of snacks and bar food, like bruschetta, stuffed mushrooms, meatballs, and a selection of pizzas baked until sizzling in a wood-fired oven. Behind the bar, you’ll find frosé, plus frozen sangria and whiskey drinks, as well as a small list of beers and cocktails.
“We wanted it to be food and drinks that anyone can eat, that everyone can pronounce,” Alkins says.
As for the wines, most feature fun, evocative labels. Alkins tapped several local artists to help create the imagery, which stands out against the classic-looking wine labels typically found on shelves. And the juice inside matches the look: The 100-percent Anonymous Cabernet knocks you back with bold fruit and a dry finish; the canned Indecent Rose, marked with a decaying flower, is a blend of varieties from Provence that yields a highly sippable and aromatic pink pour. Not pulling punches, a note on the can reads, “a pretty good rose.”
Next door to the bar, dining room, and spacious patio sits a retail shop where you can pick up any of the bottles and cans from the Love & Exile line—a well-placed pit stop to hit before the holidays.
715 Main St, 615-619-0200; nashvilleurbanwinery.com; loveandexile.com