Would you hesitate to start up a new business on a Friday the 13th? If you suddenly came into a great deal of money, what would you do with it? Have you ever experienced a life-changing experience involving wine? Those are questions that came up in a recent interview with Scott Sears, the wine manager and co-owner of Flyte, Nashville’s trendiest wine bar.

Back in the early 1990s, two young musicians were working at the Rio Bravo restaurant on Broadway to make a few extra bucks. They both had the given name of Scott, so it was natural that they would become friends. Most struggling young people take jobs in restaurants just for the money, but the two Scotts developed a dream. They both truly loved the restaurant business and vowed that someday they would open a restaurant together.


Seated left to right are Scott Sears and Scott Atkinson

Well, dreams take time to become reality. Scott Atkinson went north, got an MBA at the Kellogg School of Management in Chicago, and became a municipal bond trader. Scott Sears joined an Internet company, Telalink, at the beginning of its first growth phase, and eventually became an owner of the business. Both Scotts did well, and both, independently, began to get into wines. Scott Sears says he read everything he could, studied the reference books, talked with sommeliers, and hung out with some of the city’s best known retail wine merchants. He was waiting for a “road to Damascus” experience, and in 1995 he had one with a bottle of 1992 Robert Sinskey Reserve RSV. It was the most incredible wine experience he had ever had, and one he still vividly remembers. That one bottle convinced him to keep his dream alive.

Meanwhile, the business was doing so well that he received a buyout offer that he couldn’t refuse. The sale of Telalink, at the age of 30, made him financially independent and raised questions about what to do with the rest of his life. After a sojourn in Italy, where he expanded his palate, he decided to revive the idea of starting a restaurant that emphasizes wines. Scott Atkinson had not forgotten their shared dream, and, after applying his skills to the formulation of the business plan, he agreed to move back to Nashville to give it a go.

They found a building at 8th and Division that had housed an art supply store, and before that, a blueprint company. It was near the 12th Street Gulch redevelopment, had a lot of potential, and the lease was very reasonable. They thought big from the beginning. With the help of a well-known architect (Cary Dunn), great attention to crucial details, and more work than they could have ever imagined, Flyte opened its doors on Friday, October 13, 2006.


Click picture for an enlarged view.

As the wine manager, Scott Sears hates the intimidation factor associated with wine. His goal is to foster a relaxed, casual atmosphere with no pretense. He personally spent years and large sums of money chasing the best in wines, but seldom finding it. He knows, from personal experience, that no one should have to spend $100 to get a good bottle of wine. Sears likens his tableside wine-service approach to that of a good librarian. Librarians are the most helpful people on earth. Having someone come in with a tough research question makes their day. Scott wants people to come into the restaurant to learn more about wines, to have first-time wine experiences, and to broaden their palates.

Flyte’s core wine concept is to offer groupings of wines that enable the customer to try new varietals or brands, or to compare differing versions of the same varietal. The menu has three flights of reds and three flights of whites. For $12 or $13, the customer gets a glass each of three different wines. One flight of reds (“Bacchus’s Choice”) includes three Italian wines: Salice Salentino; Valpolicella; and Chianti Classico. Another (“Sideways”) offers three Pinot Noirs made in different styles in different countries. Those who have never tasted Clairette, Grenache Blanc, or Vernaccia di San Gimignano can order a “Prospector”, which is one of the flights of white wines (all the flights have easy designations so you won’t be embarrassed in front of your date if you can’t pronounce the French or Italian names). Note: Since this interview, a high-end flight of reds (“High Roller”), consisting of Shafer Merlot, Jocelyn Cabernet Sauvignon, and Dunham “Trutina” has been added. All of these, and Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay, are also now available by the glass.

Customers who order a wine flight can also order from a matching antipasto menu. Those who prefer to order from the wine list have some interesting choices. There are actually five wine lists. There are lists of “old world” and “new world” reds and whites, each with 12-16 selections, and a Celebration List of high end wines. Bottle prices range from $21 to $135. Scott Sears says “We don’t inflate our prices more than necessary to cover our operational costs and taxes- - we’d rather have a loyal customer than a few extra bucks”. All the wine lists have phonetic pronunciations of the names, and flavor profiles. Except for those on the Celebration List, all wines are available by the glass or by the bottle, and all can be tasted at no cost before ordering. Customers are welcome to create their own flights. The corkage fee is only $15 for those who want to bring a special bottle from home.

The flight concept carries over into other areas. For instance, customers can also order flights of cheeses, salads, soups, or desserts. Even a flight of craft beers is available! The food is special too. To the maximum extent possible, all meats are 100% natural and humanely raised. Organic and/or locally grown ingredients are used whenever they can be obtained, and no mass produced food is served--period. Every vegetable is hand cut, and every meat broken down in-house. Vegetarian and vegan options are offered, and even menu entrees will be prepared in vegetarian form with advance notice.


There is a special dining room with a kitchen view.

Flyte is open Tuesday-Saturday from 5 pm to 10 pm on weekdays and until 11 pm on weekends. For reservations call 255-6200. Frugal MacDoogal welcomes the new guys to the neighborhood. Check them out soon, and then stop by the store to pursue your new wine discoveries.

Photo credits: Jerry Hall | Winewaves.


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