Gina Trippi
Your local wine shop has become your “Cheers,” according to Gina Trippi, owner—along with husband John Kerr—of Metro Wines. The two moved to Asheville in March of 2013, and opened the business one month later. Kerr was formerly a financial analyst and Trippi, a lawyer. “This is basically turning our hobby into a business in our retirement,” she says.
The shop is not just a place where wine connoisseurs can choose wines from all over the world, but the place to come for wine education. Here also are the Asheville School of Wine and the Blind Tasting League, both offering classes and events for further knowledge. “When you drink wine, there is a lot of history in a bottle,” says Trippi (who helps to educate Laurel readers with bimonthly columns).
At Metro, the “Tasting Now” sign is always out. People stop in to share the events of their lives, good and bad, to relax with a glass of wine, to meet friends. “That’s the atmosphere we’re trying to create—a clubhouse.”
Metro Wines is located at 169 Charlotte Street. For more information, visit metrowinesasheville.com, ashevilleschoolofwine.com and blindtastingleague.com.
Just thinking of you both again; particularly in light of your recent ghastly floods. We are wondering how you fared?