Title: Owner & Chief Wine Steward
Company: Shiraz Fine Wine & Gourmet
Location: Athens, GA
Emily Garrison, owner and chief wine steward at Shiraz Fine Wine & Gourmet, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Business Owners for dedication, achievements, and leadership in wine and fine dining.
For more than two decades, Ms. Garrison has built her reputation as one of Georgia’s most respected wine consultants and experts in food and wine pairing. She learned to cook as a student at the University of Georgia and entered the world of fine dining after completing a Bachelor of Arts in literature in 1998. Ms. Garrison began attending wine tastings, developing both her palate and her skill at writing tasting notes, and dedicated herself to learning as much as she could about the industry, the process, and the product. After several years of working in local wine shops and a growing disenchantment with the poor service and inconsistent knowledge she saw from other staff members, Ms. Garrison left to open Shiraz Fine Wine & Gourmet in 2005.
Describing Shiraz Fine Wine & Gourmet as a wine shop for “foodies, not wine snobs,” Ms. Garrison is dedicated to introducing clients to unusual and hard-to-source wines and complementary items while providing warm and unpretentious customer service that takes the mystery out of the process. In addition to staffing and stocking Shiraz Fine Wine & Gourmet, Ms. Garrison also consults for restaurants and importers, and has written extensively about wine for popular magazines. She was presented with Luxe Life Magazine’s 2019 Best Food and Wine Pairing Award, and in 2020, Shiraz Fine Wine & Gourmet was named the Top Beer and Wine Store in Northeast Georgia. Currently, Ms. Garrison is working on expanding her stock of Middle European wines and hopes to become a leader in the category, and she has recently started offering shipping for purchases from the shop website. When she is not focused on business, Ms. Garrison is an active volunteer and supporter of Project Faith, an area nonprofit supporting victims of domestic abuse.
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