Lori Wilkinson and her husband, Garret, are proof that you don’t have to be wine snobs to understand and appreciate great wine. You just have to love it. And they do.
They also love their new life in Manteo where their shop, NouVines, is the talk of the town. Having been open for only a few months now, they already have a loyal following of locals and a shop full of daily customers who fill the seats at the bar, tables, couches and outdoor patio.
One might assume that years of being wine connoisseurs (Lori would amend that to a more modest description of wine drinkers) would be the obvious path to opening a wine shop/bar that features almost 140 carefully selected, small-batch, organic wines by the bottle and about 35 by the glass. But as Lori happily admits, she and Garret simply like wine. They rely on their distributor, Steve – who just happens to be a sommelier – to educate them about the merits of each variety, and then they pass along that insight to their customers. Of course, they have learned a ton along the way and can, with merit, point customers in the right direction based on their own tastes too.
So, what is the backstory to how NouVines came to be? In simple terms, we might call it boredom. Both Lori and Garret have quite the impressive resumes, with Lori having come from the life sciences and high-tech world in which she helped start-ups form successful companies and Garret from a federal government background in which he retired as the senior security engineer to the Supreme Court. Both retired a few years back and looked forward to fixing up their forever home in Hertford, N.C., then traveling the world. All was going well with house renovations, and with passports in hand they were ready to fly to their first adventure. Then came COVID and the mandate to stay at home.
As Garret puts it, “There was only so much relaxing by our pool, binge watching TV and wine drinking we could do before we started scheming about something new to sink our talents into. We were bored with the easy life!” (To experience this laid-back couple now, and without knowing their background careers, it might take you some conversation time before you get what Type A, super achievers they are.)
During their at-home time, they would frequent a wine shop in Hertford. One day, they went by to pick up a few bottles and found that the shop had new owners. On the drive home, Lori says they both realized that they would have been interested in buying the place. New fun! So, they began looking at regional possibilities to open their own wine store. They looked in Edenton and Elizabeth City, both easy drives from their home, but neither place panned out. Then they thought about Manteo and started looking for potential storefronts.
On the day they came to Manteo, Lori says they parked right in front of their current location and didn’t even see the lease sign. They walked up and down the streets, then came back to their car and looked closer. And there it was, right where their instincts had led them.
They looked in the large windows, saw the brick walls, tall ceilings, wide-open space and original mosaic tile flooring from the Fearing Building, constructed in the early 1900s, and knew they had found exactly the right place.
Still, not knowing the personality, shall we say, of local folks and worrying that perhaps there was a bent to a disapproval of imbibing, Lori spoke with Allison Martin, manager of the property and daughter of building owners Susan and Malcolm Fearing, who asked what they were planning for the space. “A wine shop and wine bar,” Lori said with a little trepidation. “WINE!” Allison exclaimed! “That’s the perfect thing for that space and for Manteo!”
And, thus, after a celebratory bottle of Maison Rouge (there was a lot to be happy about … and, yes, they sell it at NouVines), Lori and Garret began the renovation of yet another space.
They both talk about how wonderful it was working with Malcolm. He offered them the use of a splendid old carved-wooden bar that was originally from nearby (and long gone) Buffalo City. He installed ADA-equipped bathrooms and crafted an outdoor patio that wasn’t even on the original plans but that adds obvious charm and cool-weather seating. He even took them to his storehouse, filled with reusable things, and found old fencing from a Manteo yard that serves perfectly as the backing to all their display cases.
On July 3, 2021, NouVines opened, and the place has been happily bustling ever since. Along with the wine and beer options, they have a tasty charcuterie board that pairs perfectly with whatever beverage you’re having. There’s good music playing in the background, Garret is almost always at the bar spinning tales and answering wine questions and, best of all, they stay open until 10 at night (or later, if the crowd is having a good time) every day but Sunday.
Speaking of music, they are now featuring live music every weekend, and this fall and winter they’re planning wine conversation classes and several wine and food pairing events with local restaurants like Ortega’z and Olives. They’re also hosting birthday parties, wedding-related receptions, bridal and holiday parties and corporate events.
When I ask them to look a year down the road to see what they imagine, Garret says, “What we are, we are. We’ll stay true to our original vision of a great wine shop and bar, but we’ll tune our ear more and more to the community and what we can bring for their enjoyment.”
From this writer’s point of view, with the luck of being a block away from this fabulous addition to Manteo’s ever-developing appeal, I can say that the enjoyment is already in full swing.
And, by the way, their bottles range from $18 to $400 (remember that bottle of Maison Rouge?), so even if you’re not a wine appreciator, this is a great place to buy a gift bottle for all of your friends who are!
“Sometimes I ask myself how autumn smells? My answer: It’s the smell of the autumn leaves firework and red wine.”
– Bryanna Reid
“Wine is bottled poetry.”
– Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus
“Never Drink Boring Wine.”
– Keith Wallace, Corked & Forked: Four Seasons of Eats and Drinks
“Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted, some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle.”
– Paulo Coelho, Brida
(252) 339-1634
105 Budleigh Street, Manteo
Nouvines.com
About the Author Beth P. Storie
Beth Storie first came to the Outer Banks for the summer of 1976. She fell in love with the area and returned for good three years later. She and her husband published the national guidebook series, The Insiders' Guides, for more than 20 years and now are building OneBoat guides into another national brand. After spending time in many dozens of cities around the country, she absolutely believes that her hometown of Manteo is the best place on earth, especially when her two children, six cats and one dog are there too.
