Church Street Wine Shoppe Celebrates Relocation with Australian Wine Debut

Huntsville is a city of “firsts” and now the Rocket City has joined a “vintage” crowd with the U.S. debut of  Greenock Estate Australian wines.

The occasion marked the grand relocation of the Church Street Wine Shoppe on Gates for one of Huntsville’s most endangered historic homes – the Humphreys-Rodgers House at 102 Gates Street in downtown Huntsville.

Selected as Wine of the Year at the 2021 London Wine Competition, Levrier by Jo Irvine 2015 Anubis Cabernet Sauvignon, Australia was literally the toast of Huntsville as guests and city officials joined local restaurateurs Stephanie and Matthew Mell at the ribbon cutting.

“We could not be more excited and honored that the Rocket City, Huntsville, Alabama, is the launch for this wine in the U.S.,” said Stephanie Mell. “When COVID hit, many wineries had to adjust. China imposed large tariffs on Australian wines which all but stopped export of Australian wine into China. 

“Wineries needed to act quickly and Greenock Estate, who makes wine in the Barossa and Eden valleys, was looking for solutions. When we tasted this wine, we fell in love.”

Bjeorn Lanwer, founder and CEO at BevServ, lives in Huntsville. He represents international wineries in U.S. markets and one of their clients is female winemaker, Joanna Irvine. He set up a Zoom call with the Mells. 

“We hatched a plan to launch Greenock Estate wines in the United States at Church Street Wine Shoppe,” Mell said. “We are so excited to be chosen to introduce these wines into the USA. It is an honor to be the U.S. ambassadors for this amazing wine, and we know they could’ve chosen anyone, in any town and any state, so for them to trust us with their wine is truly humbling.”  

According to Lanwer, Greenock Winery is a small Australian winery that has been around about 70 years. 

“One of the things that make it so special is that the fruit comes from vines that are more than 100-years-old,” said Lanwer. “All of their wines are very balanced and go really well in restaurants because they do not overpower the food. 

“Australians are fond of barbecue, as are American southerners. These wines are a good match with barbecue, and an easy choice for a restaurant.”

Mell said when she and her husband started Church Street Wine Shoppe seven years ago, they had no idea where it would take them.

“We never dreamed we would be standing in front of this landmark Humphreys-Rodgers House, a structure that is only still here because this community came together to save it – twice,” she said. “We cannot be happier you did so, and we are excited to be the caretakers of this Huntsville gem.”

The historic building will also be headquarters for the Church Street Family Group and its premier sit-down wine club. In addition to The Church Street Wine Shoppe, Tapas & Italian Restaurant & Bottle Shoppe; the Church Street Family includes Purveyor and Pourhouse, both at Stovehouse; Catacomb, an underground speakeasy downtown; and SeaSalt, an urban Oyster Bar.

“Our motto is that when you walk into any one of our businesses, you feel like you’re walking into our home, to be treated as family. Now we stand here in front of a real house, at a real home …”

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle reminded everyone how the Humphreys-Rodgers House, built in 1848, has almost been demolished twice. 

Currently on the Register of Historic Houses, it almost met its first fate in 1971 when the Von Braun Center was constructed across the street from the Coca-Cola bottling plant.

“Thank you for taking this building and making it into something that is productive in our community,” said Battle. “Many people don’t remember that this building was called the Coca-Cola building because it was moved over here from the old Coca-Cola site in 1991. 

“This makes downtown a very special place; it adds some retail activity to the downtown area … but it also adds to what makes us a cool destination and a great place to come to. It is why people want to move to Huntsville … a retail wine shop and restaurant in downtown Huntsville located in an old historic house.

“Out here under the big old trees, you can have wine tastings, you can have fun here. This is the living room of your community.”

Mell said the Church Street Wine Shoppe on Gates will have a full-service restaurant serving lunch, dinner and eventually brunch.

Judy Ryals, president and CEO of the Huntsville-Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said she and her staff can’t wait to promote it.

“I really believe this is going to be an amazing new venue for Huntsville,” said Ryals. “We want to encourage everyone to stay downtown and enjoy yourselves. There are so many options in the downtown area, which is just terrific, and we really look forward to what the Mells bring to our community.”

Lucia Cape, vice president of Economic Development with the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce, said, “I am proud to be here today and glad to say Church Street Family is a Chamber member. They enable us to continue to grow the economy and recruit companies and people here – people who become their customers. It helps with our quality of life and helps make Huntsville an overall great place to live, work, and play. 

“Plus … they are hiring!” she said.

“You talk about what a unique community we have,” said Battle. “I started out the day today with the reopening of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center … and the reopening of Space Camp; then at lunchtime, we went out to Dynetics and Leidos where we talked about their having the largest electronic beam welder in the Western Hemisphere.

“Now, here at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, we are opening a retail shop that sells wine. I have one big question for all of you – why aren’t all of you at work?”