Wine should come from real people and real land.
Every bottle on our shelves has a family behind it, a plot of dirt behind that family, and a season of weather behind that plot. If we can't trace it, we don't stock it.
About Fermented
We built Fermented because wine should bring people together — not confuse them.
This is not just a wine shop. It never was. It's a room, a table, and a slow argument for the kind of wine that still remembers the hands that made it.
Before Fermented, we spent years standing in front of shelves stacked with wines we didn't recognize, sold by people who either couldn't explain what was in the bottle or wanted us to feel small for asking. Somewhere along the way, wine stopped being about a place and a family and became a scoring system for a very particular kind of confidence.
We didn't start Fermented to fix the wine world. We started it because we wanted a room where our own friends could walk in on a Tuesday, pick something honest off the shelf, and actually get an answer to the question, “wait, but who made this?”
So we did the boring, slow work first. We flew to Piedmont and slept on a producer's couch. We drove three hours off the highway in the Languedoc to meet a family farming ten hectares by hand. We tasted through hundreds of bottles that will never end up on our shelves, so we could tell you why the ones that did belong there.
What we built was smaller than we thought it would be, and warmer than we hoped. Fermented is a shop, yes. It's also a Friday night jazz set, a Wednesday tasting bar, a wine club that reads more like a monthly letter, and a room full of regulars who've become friends with each other on our watch.
We're still learning. The list changes with the seasons. The producers change with what the earth gave them that year. But the promise doesn't: real wine from real people, poured by folks who'd rather hand you a story than a score.
— Sarah & Marcus, founders
What we believe
Six things we'd bet the shop on.
These aren't values we hung on the wall. They're the questions we ask before we stock a producer, plan an event, or open the door another morning.
Transparency is the baseline, not the marketing.
We'll tell you who made the wine, how it was farmed, what's in the bottle, and what isn't. Ask us anything. The answers don't change depending on who's asking.
A wine shop should feel like a gathering place.
Retail transactions happen at a lot of places. We wanted somewhere you'd linger. Pull up a stool, meet the person next to you, stay for another glass.
Supporting small producers is an act of integrity.
The families we buy from are the reason natural wine exists. Choosing them over a corporate label isn't a marketing angle. It's the whole point.
Natural wine should be approachable, never intimidating.
There's no test at the door. If you like sweet, we'll find you something delicious and honest. If you love funky orange wine, we've got that too. No gatekeeping.
Community is the product.
The wine is what brings people in. The community is what makes them come back. Both matter. One is the point.
The People
The four humans behind the counter.
If you've been in the shop, you already know most of these faces. If you haven't, come say hi. We're easy to spot.
Founder & Buyer
Sarah Whitman
Sarah opened Fermented after a decade in restaurants and a summer spent working harvest in the Loire. She's the reason every producer on the shelf has a story she can tell first-hand.
Co-Founder & Wine Director
Marcus Bell
Marcus curates the list, hosts most of the Friday tastings, and has been known to lose an hour explaining Beaujolais to a first-time visitor. He believes wine is a conversation, not a lecture.
Wine Club Curator
Elena Marchetti
Elena writes the monthly club letters, sources our small allocations, and can pair a wine with almost any dinner you describe to her. If you've ever gotten a hand-written note in your club box, that was her.
Events & Hospitality
Jordan Reyes
Jordan runs private events, weekly walk-in tastings, and Friday jazz. If you've had a great night at Fermented, there's a good chance Jordan built the evening around you.
By the numbers
A shop that's quietly become a room.
We don't make a big deal of these numbers, but every one of them is a Wednesday tasting, a hand-shaken bottle, or a stranger who stayed for the last glass.
- Years in Alpharetta
- 7
- Family Producers
- 180+
- Countries Represented
- 24
- Wine Club Members
- 600+
- Private Events Hosted
- 200+
- Weekly Tastings a Year
- 52
Since 2018
Curated by hand
Old world, new world, and everywhere between
And growing every month
Birthdays, dinners, rehearsals
Every Wednesday, without fail
Our producers
Small families, honest farming, patient wine.
Every producer on our shelves farms organically, biodynamically, or somewhere honest in between. Most work fewer than fifteen hectares. All of them make wine we'd serve at our own table. If you want to spend some time with them, the Wine Club is the slowest way in.
Come find us
The door's open Tuesday through Saturday. Bring a friend.
No reservation required to browse, taste, or linger. If you'd like the full sit-down tasting bar experience, a heads-up helps. Either way, we're glad you're here.