For Robin Riddell Jones, wine has never been about impressing people. It has always been about bringing them together. Long before she opened her wine shop in Gulf Shores, Jones was drawn to the connection between the land and the table. She grew up in Mississippi around women who loved to cook, with a grandfather who owned a cotton gin and a family familiar with agriculture. That early appreciation for where things come from stayed with her.
After studying at Ole Miss and spending time abroad, Jones moved to Seattle after college. She was managing a Pottery Barn when she realized the corporate world was not where she belonged. Then she discovered something that changed her direction completely: wine could be a career. The idea immediately made sense. Wine came from the earth, carried history and culture, complemented food and, perhaps most importantly, brought people to the table.
At about 24, Jones talked her way into her first wine sales job despite knowing almost nothing about the industry. Her new boss famously asked whether Chianti was a grape or a place. She guessed “a place,” got the answer right and got the job. What followed was an education by immersion. Jones began selling primarily Old World wines from Europe, often learning alongside the buyers she visited. From Seattle, her career eventually took her to New Orleans, where she worked at Martin Wine Cellar and deepened her knowledge of Burgundy. Later came positions with distributors, wineries and importers, including years spent traveling internationally, tasting wines and helping determine what would enter the U.S. market. Her work eventually included educating distributors across 13 states, giving her an understanding of wine that extends far beyond simply knowing what tastes good.
Life changed after marriage and three children. Constant travel no longer made sense, but wine remained part of who she was. Jones created a wine club, taught classes and developed restaurant wine lists, building work that could flex around family life. In 2019, her family moved to Gulf Shores. As Jones settled into the area, she noticed something missing: a dedicated wine shop in Gulf Shores offering the kinds of bottles she had spent years discovering.
So she created one.
The shop began modestly in 2024, sharing space with a coffee business and offering a wall of carefully selected wine. By March 2025, Jones had taken over the full space and expanded the concept, pairing her love of wine with another lifelong passion: food. Everything circles back to accessibility. Jones knows walking into a wine shop can feel intimidating, especially when the shelves are filled with unfamiliar labels, grapes and regions. Her goal is to make that experience feel exactly the opposite.
Rather than stocking only recognizable names, she introduces customers to wines they may never choose on their own: perhaps Fiano from Italy, Grüner Veltliner from Austria or another affordable bottle from a small family producer. Many selections come from growers using traditional, low-intervention farming practices, although Jones is careful about broad labels such as “natural” or “organic.”
For her, the more meaningful distinction is knowing who made the wine. “We’re buying from people, not big corporations,” she says. That philosophy carries into the shop’s wine club, which has grown to more than 50 members. Monthly options include three bottles for $70, six for $140 or a case for $280, with red, white or shop-selected combinations. Members also receive tasting perks and early information about events.
But Jones wants the shop to be more than a place to purchase a bottle. Guests can stay for a glass on the patio, attend tastings, stop in for pizza nights featuring dough and food made from scratch, or pick up house-made dips, spreads and other items from the grab-and-go cooler. Cooler months also bring fresh local oysters back into the mix.
Education is woven into the experience. Jones hosts at least two tastings each month and shares an informational “Friday Pour” on Instagram, giving people an easy way to learn without feeling like they need a wine vocabulary first. That willingness to teach may be the heart of what she is building. Jones believes Gulf Coast customers are curious, well traveled and ready to try something different when someone takes the time to explain it.
Going into 2027, she hopes to grow the shop’s food offerings, expand awareness locally and eventually add travel experiences, potentially taking groups to wine regions such as Portugal or South Africa. Until then, her invitation is simple: come in, ask questions and try something you have never tried before. Because good wine, in Jones’ world, is not about knowing everything before you walk through the door. It is about discovering something worth bringing to the table.
And sometimes, the best bottle is simply the one you would never have chosen yourself.
“Wine does not have to be fancy, expensive or intimidating. For Robin Riddell Jones, the joy is in helping people discover something new, understand where it came from and feel confident enough to bring a bottle they love back to their own table with friends.”