CellarFiller’s Elina Brager shares tips on choosing wine for any occasion.
Elina Brager has a nose for wine. A sommelier and specialist with a Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level III certification, she dove headfirst into the subject after her husband gifted her a wine class for their anniversary in 2014. Today, she serves as chief wine connoisseur of CellarFiller, a company she founded to teach others about wine and help them stock their homes. With a 400-bottle retail store and tasting room in Sandy Springs, Brager hosts wine dinners and events, and helps locals choose the perfect bottle, be it for a gift, special occasion or typical Tuesday night.
A wife and mom of two, Brager worked in category management for corporations including Georgia- Pacific and The Coca-Cola Company before creating Cellar-Filler. At the beginning, she focused primarily on filling people’s wine cellars based on their preferences. Later, she began partnering with restaurants and wineries for special meals and tastings. “It’s a lot more fun than sitting by myself counting bottles in a cold cellar,” she says.
What kind of events do you put on?
We’ve done some where we compare Old World versus New World wines. There was a women’s event where I showcased wines made by female winemakers. Every year around October or November, I do champagne and fried chicken. It’s a lot of fun because it makes you realize champagne and wine are not as snooty as some people make them out to be.
What tips can you share with wine drinkers?
Follow the 20-minute rule. If you have a red, pull it out and let it sit for 20 minutes at room temperature. If you are drinking white, pull it out of your cellar and stick it in the fridge for 20 minutes. Then it will be perfect.
There’s not a bad wine out there. Something may not be my favorite, but it’ll be someone else’s. That’s the beauty of wine.
What’s your favorite wine?
I’m very fond of the Burgundy region. It encompasses a lot of different flavors and complexity. I like to drink wines that pair with food. If I’m having a salad with roasted chicken, I’ll have a white burgundy. If I’m eating osso buco, I’ll drink something big and red.
What local restaurants or bars do you like for wine?
Bones has a really good wine list. The lady who owns Nam in Sandy Springs does a great job with her wine selections. But I usually tell people to bring their own bottle to restaurants. You’ll pay a corkage fee, and it’ll still be less expensive than buying there.
Which wines do you recommend people bring to holiday events for hostess gifts?
You want to look smart, like you’ve put thought into it. It’s always a good idea to bring champagne. It’s never a failure to bring a nice bottle of Burgundy, maybe Châteauneufdu-Pape. You want to make sure the wine has some pedigree. You want it to have an over 90-point rating and be around 20 bucks. That’s a nice quality-to-price ratio.
PHOTO: Joann Vitelli
