Hi.

We’re Rive Gauche [“reev / GŌHsh”], a purveyor of mindfully made wines in the state of GA.

Totally convinced by wine’s ability to enliven any situation—the momentous night out, the home-cooked meal, the raucous Sunday brunch turned all-day affair—we’ve made it not only our business but our life’s pursuit to understand why it tastes the way it tastes. The bottles in this book have made a significant impact on us as drinkers and as humans, which is why we have endeavored to bring them home and make them accessible to folks in our local community, too. In doing so, we also aim to support the people who contribute their hard work and sensibility—the winemakers, farmers, pruners, pickers and forklift drivers—so that they can keep doing what they do: capture the essence of a place in liquid form.

Carson Demmond

Carson got into the sommelier game the way most do: by bussing tables, cutting the literal cheese, wandering vineyards in France and reading every piece of wine literature she could get her hands on. After manning the cellar at New York City’s The Modern, she directed Wine & Spirits Magazine’s tastings department, worked for a forward-thinking Bordelais négoce, picked grapes in Arbois, and wrote for PUNCH, Food & Wine, Decanter, Vogue.com and SevenFifty Daily, returning to her Atlanta roots to bring up her two children in the warmth of southern hospitality.

Cullen Leonard

Cullen is an Atlanta native and habitually heartbroken Falcons fan. His wine training started quietly while in college, but the real addiction did not take hold until his first post-grad position at Amangiri Resort in Utah (Google it). After returning south, Cullen began sommelier training in earnest while managing Hillwood Country Club in Nashville. He joined the Rive Gauche Wine Co. team after spending a few years as the pre-COVID manager at Staplehouse.

Jeremiah Odom

Born in Atlanta, raised in Seattle, Jeremiah returned to Georgia in 2013. Under the tutelage of some of the city’s best chefs and sommeliers, he learned to not be satisfied with anything less than soulful and hopes to now share those values with others through wine. Jeremiah also spends time throughout the year consulting as a pole vault coach with Atlanta Public Schools.

Nathan Huffstetler

Nathan has worked in restaurants his whole life, from washing dishes at 14 to managing some of Atlanta’s most revered dining rooms. In 2013, he moved to Napa Valley for a position at The Restaurant at Meadowood and spent his free time working in vineyards and on bottling lines. He returned to purchase a homestead south of Atlanta, eventually settling in as Wine Director for Staplehouse, where he started seeing many of his favorite wines come into Georgia through Rive Gauche Wine Co..

Julie Perkins

Julie Perkins joined the Rive Gauche Wine Co. team after a long stint as the wine manager for J’s Bottle Shop. In addition to her role as Athens-area sales rep, Julie is a licensed massage therapist and self-proclaimed “psychology hound” and co-hosts Normal School of Wine the Podcast, where she shares her love for mindfully made wines from independent vintners with a large audience of enthusiasts from Georgia and beyond.

Caleb Brown

Having grown up in the eminently hospitable town of Savannah, Caleb has been working in the food and beverage industry for as long as he can remember. After a five-year stint behind the bars of Hugh Acheson’s restaurants in Athens and Atlanta, he worked harvests at wineries in the Sonoma and Willamette Valleys. When not pontificating about the necessity of sustainable agriculture, he can usually be found in the woods with his dog or seeking out the best bowl of noodles within a twenty-mile radius.

Brian Pilliod

Brian joined the Rive Gauche Wine Co. team as Sales Manager in December 2023. He was “birthed into the wine world through the LDM portfolio” and brings with him a decade and a half of importing and distributing experience, from both the West Coast and NYC. When not working in wine, he’s carting around his four beautiful children: Emmet, Rex, River, and Dolly.

Liana Costas

A New York native, Liana ignited her passion for wine while immersed in the world of Colorado fine dining. Her tenure as sommelier at Denver’s pioneering nose-to-tail restaurant paved the way for a shift into wine distribution, where she specializes in authentic, family-owned wines. In her free time, she enjoys reading, culinary adventures with her husband, and outdoor escapades with her adorable pup.

Could be You…

We’re growing and looking for motivated individuals with a passion for wine or strong desire to learn about it. Get in touch and tell us a little about your strong suits (driving, sales, logistics, etc.). And remember: lifting heavy cases of wine and spitting are regular workplace occurrences.

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