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Vine & Branch wine boutique owner Ally Hanna. Photo by Emily Giancarlo
Ally Hanna is determined to take the intimidation and choice overload out of buying wine. Drawing on her decade of experience in wine retail, Hanna opened Vine & Branch in December 2020 with the goal of “making wine easy.” The shop, located at 355 Southland Drive (across from Oleika Temple), is a small but inviting space, teeming with plants and natural light, where customers can taste wines from around the world and learn about them in a relaxed, unpretentious environment.
“I personally find it to be completely overwhelming; where do you even begin?” Hanna said, referring to many big-box wine and liquor stores that offer hundreds or even thousands of products. Instead, she takes pride in her small but carefully curated selection. Her inventory is focused on organic wines from small producers, and she includes handwritten tasting notes next to each bottle.
But don’t let the boutique atmosphere fool you. “A small shop doesn’t always mean high prices,” Hanna said. Bottles at Vine & Branch generally range from $9 to $30. While most are on the affordable side, she adds that more expensive selections “are going to be [wines] that I think [are] really amazing.”
A Lexington native, Hanna attended the University of Kentucky, where she majored in biological anthropology. When considering what sparked her passion for wine, she can’t help but draw a comparison to her studies in college. “I have always loved anthropology, history and geography,” she said, “It’s interesting that [wine production] includes all of those aspects.”
For those who are interested in exploring the world of wine, Hanna is more than willing to teach. In addition to free wine tastings at the shop every Friday evening from 4:30 to 6:30, Vine & Branch offers private classes and special events. Like her shop, Hanna prefers to keep events intimate, so classes are generally open to four to six participants. And for those who want to keep the wine coming, a subscription club is available for local customers, with three-month, six-month and yearly options.
In addition to wine, Vine & Branch also carries a small selection of local spirits such as Castle & Key gin, vodka and rye; and female-owned and distilled tequila brands TC Craft and Mi Tierra. The variety of houseplants that adorn the shop are also for sale, and patrons can even pick up a macrame plant holder, handmade by Hanna’s mom.
While she understands larger stores may offer wider selections, Hanna emphasizes quality over quantity, getting to know her customers’ preferences and using that knowledge to customize her selection. She believes her approachability and gift for simplifying wine jargon makes Vine & Branch stand out.
“I wanted to be down-to-earth, affordable and really make it easy for everybody.”