FRANKLIN, Tenn.- Puckett’s Boat House is adding a wine bar to the riverside restaurant in downtown Franklin, transforming the “Bait Shop” into a space that offers an extensive list of hard-to-find wines and high-end boutique spirits.
The Boat House Wine Bar exudes an authentic French Quarter café experience, incorporating a rustic dark wood bar, black and white classic hex tile floors, and vintage Creole-themed décor to set a more mysterious ambiance than its neighboring seafood eatery. The terrace, overlooking the Harpeth River, will serve as a cigar patio and lounge.
In addition to gourmet coffee and sweet treats, the newly renovated space will host humidors stacked with cigars and exposed wine cabinets that allow guests to peruse rare blends from the world’s most notable wine regions. With a focus on unique varietals and blends, Beverage Director Jon Yeager carefully selected a wide-ranging list of wines and spirits that includes labels not seen anywhere else on Nashville or Franklin menus. Organized by weight and mouth-feel, the wine menu is designed to guide the customer by their taste buds, rather than preconceived notions.
“We wanted to give Downtown Franklin another unique experience, to introduce some new things to our customers,” Yeager said. “Our hope is to engage them through their palates. We want to take the pressure off of how much you know-or don’t know-about wine, and focus on intriguing guests through flavors and tastes.
“Everyone knows what pinot grigio is and deservingly so, but there are plenty of other styles of light white wines, and that’s what we want to introduce people to. It’s about exploration too: we hope people leave the Wine Bar not only having had an enjoyable experience, but feeling like discovered something new.”
Yeager says one of his favorite wines on the new menu is from the txakolina (pronounced choco-lina), a grape popular in culinary trendsetting cities such as Charleston.
“This wine is refreshing, crisp, light and perfect for humid summer days,” he said. “It’s a buzz word in Charleston, which is a city I look to as being a taste-maker and staying ahead of the wine and spirits trends. They have festivals devoted to this one particular kind of wine! The Wine Bar will be the first to carry it around here, as far as I know.”
Another wine that is sure to be a crowd favorite, and will make for a first-time experience, is the Barista-a red wine with a hint of espresso. The restaurant will also carry the kiralyudvar (pronounced Kee-RYE-oohd-var), which Yeager compares to an un-oaked chardonnay.
“We based this menu solely on what other restaurants don’t have,” Yeager said. “Nashville isn’t particularly known as a wine town, so it’s our hope that we can help grow and cultivate that culture here in Franklin. I’m excited to introduce people to new flavors and names, and to make this place a culinary leader in wine.”
Many locals will be happy to find a selection of cigars sold at the Wine Bar, as well as a handful of high-end spirits that Yeager says customers can enjoy with their cigars.
And to ensure that those sensitive to cigar smoke will not be affected during their dining and sipping experiences, the restaurant has created a designated outside area that doesn’t allow smoke to waft into the dining rooms. The Boat House outdoor patio on the corner of East Main Street and Bridge Street will remain smoke free.
The Puckett’s Wine Bar Grand Opening will take place on Wednesday, May 21, with half off all wine all day. The official grand opening event will take place from 6 to 8 p.m., and will include live music andan appetizer bar.
Puckett’s Boat House is open Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. To learn more, go to www.puckettsboathouse.com.
About Puckett’s Boat House
Puckett’s Boat House aims to stay true to local flavor while delivering an atmosphere that makes you nostalgic for family vacations and good times. The grill and oyster bar menu offers by-the-shore dishes reminiscent of the Gulf coast and the Big Easy, plus Southern staples that draw from the Marshall family’s Mississippi Delta and Memphis roots.
Enjoy Puckett’s trademark Southern fare and reputation for a live music venue-both with a Boat House twist. To learn more, go to www.puckettsboathouse.com.
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