Vino Venue/Atlanta Wine School

Atlanta Wine School

The Atlanta Wine School was founded in 2004 by Michael Bryan, a University of Georgia graduate who had begun teaching informal wine classes under the name ConnectWithWine.com two years earlier. From its early years, the school positioned itself as a continuing-education hub, hosting speakers and drawing a steady audience through classes, tastings, and events. Over time it became a recognizable destination in Atlanta for wine education blended with entertainment and hospitality.

The school’s programming has historically relied on external certification frameworks, most notably the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), the Wine Scholar Guild, and the Society of Wine Educators, which allowed it to offer structured courses alongside experiential tastings and themed wine events.

Vino Venue

In 2012, the Atlanta Wine School expanded into a combined wine bar and retail space in Dunwoody, operating under the name Vino Venue. The new concept integrated retail, dining, tastings, and education under one roof. The venue became known for private events and structured tastings, supported by a wine program that included a 32-wine Enomatic dispensing system.

During this period, senior instructor Kelly Wheller — also the founder of Con Vinum, a wholesale distributor focused on family-owned estate wines — played a central role in maintaining the venue’s educational and tasting identity, helping anchor it as a recurring destination for Atlanta’s wine-interested public.

Ownership Transition and Strategic Shift

In 2025, Vino Venue was sold to Emily Mendyka, a WSET Diploma holder, WSET Certified Educator, and former regional manager at Republic National Distributing Company with more than a decade of experience in the wine and spirits industry. By the end of that year, the restaurant component of the business was closed. The new ownership elected to pivot away from full-service dining.

The current strategy emphasizes catering, private events, retail expansion, and a broadened wine education calendar, signaling a return to an education-and-events-first operation rather than a restaurant-driven model.

Michael Bryan’s Legacy

Michael Bryan’s death in July 2017 marked a significant loss for Atlanta’s wine community. A gifted instructor and persuasive communicator, Bryan was instrumental in shaping the school’s early credibility and reach. His influence persists in the institution’s continued focus on structured learning, guest speakers, and public-facing wine education, even as the business itself has evolved.

Educational Scope and Credentials

The Atlanta Wine School offers a mix of one-off classes, cooking-and-wine programs, and multi-level certification tracks. Its credentials are delivered through WSET Levels 1 through 3, the Wine Scholar Guild’s Italian Wine Professional program, and the Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) administered by the Society of Wine Educators. None of these credentials are issued by the school itself — each is administered by its respective third-party organization, with the school serving as a preparation and examination site.

Accreditation and Regulatory Context

In Georgia, oversight of private postsecondary and proprietary educational institutions falls under the Non-Public Postsecondary Education Commission (NPEC), which licenses and regulates certificate-granting schools for consumer protection. NPEC maintains a public registry of licensed institutions numbering in the hundreds statewide.

Neither Vino Venue nor the Atlanta Wine School appears in this database. This is consistent with a broader pattern in the wine education sector, where many programs route credentialing through third-party bodies such as WSET rather than seeking state licensure. Georgia’s NPEC licensing framework requires, among other things, documented consumer protection provisions, published refund policies, and curriculum accountability standards — requirements that do not apply to institutions operating exclusively through third-party credentialing providers.