TASTE makers.
Three pours, one host, no gatekeeping.
Most wine tastings assume you already know something. TASTE MAKERS does not. It is an open house from 5:30 to 7, built around three curated pours and the person who knows them best. That might be an importer, a distributor, or sometimes the winemaker herself, walking the room through what is in the glass and why it tastes the way it does.
Every edition is numbered, because every edition is genuinely different. New host, new lineup, new corner of the wine world. Regulars come straight from work. Neighbors walk over from the BeltLine. Clients book an afternoon appointment on a tasting Thursday on purpose so the timing lines up.
Ten dollars gets you three curated 3 oz pours.
You need to be 21 or over with a photo ID, and that is the only hard rule. RSVP is preferred through the link in our Instagram bio, @colmadoatl, since the room is small on purpose, but walk-ins are always welcome.
How a tasting works.
Drop in any time between 5:30 and 7 for three curated 3 oz pours, $10.
Come when you like
Come in off Highland Ave, find Suite 104, get a glass in your hand.
Taste with the host
Whoever brought the wine introduces it: who made it, where, and what they deliberately did not do to it. This is the part people tell us they came back for.
A new lineup every time
Each tasting brings a new set of three as we taste our way through the shop, bottle by bottle. Come to both tastings in a month and that is six different wines. Ask the host anything as you go.
Take a bottle home
Everything poured is on the shelf that night. Some tastings, depending on the occasion, also have seasonal fresh-cut bouquets for sale. Small batch means quantities are limited, so if one of the three is the one, it leaves with you.
Coming up.
Tastings are the first and third Thursday of every month unless noted. RSVP on Partiful through the link in our Instagram bio.
What earns a place on the shelf.
Small batch
A few hundred cases, not a few million. It is the honest reason our shelf changes week to week, and the reason regulars buy two. When a bottle is gone here, it is usually gone.
Low intervention
The winemaker stayed out of the way. Native yeasts instead of commercial ones, little or no fining and filtering, minimal added sulfur, nothing corrected in a lab that could be handled in the vineyard.
Women behind every bottle
Every bottle has a woman involved in making it, whether she is the winemaker, an owner, or the person running the vineyard. Women are a small share of the wine world, so buying this way means looking harder and further.
The wine shop.
Colmado is Spanish for abundance, and in a lot of neighborhoods it is also the corner shop where you find the thing you actually need. Ours is a natural wine shop in Old Fourth Ward with one editing rule applied to every bottle: small batch, low intervention, with a woman involved in making it.
It is a narrow shelf by design, which means we hunt further, buy in smaller quantities, and turn it over more often. It also means you will find bottles here that are not on a shelf anywhere else in Atlanta.
No appointment needed, no purchase minimum. Walk in during shop hours and browse on your own, or ask us anything. There are no wrong questions here.
Scan the QR code on the wine shelves to open our digital guide to every bottle we carry: the women behind it, how it tastes, and what to drink it with. Browse on your phone or ask us anything. Approachable and educational is the whole point.
How to read a wine shelf.
The vocabulary is the only intimidating part of natural wine, and it takes about four minutes to learn.
Natural
Organically or biodynamically farmed grapes, fermented with wild yeast, bottled with minimal or no added sulfites. An approach, not a legal category, which is why who you buy from matters.
Pét-nat
Pétillant naturel. Bottled before fermentation finishes, so the bubbles are the wine's own. Cloudy, low pressure, a little unpredictable. The most fun bottle to bring to a party.
Skin contact
White grapes left on their skins the way reds are. Comes out amber, tastes like tea and stone fruit and salt, and holds up to food that usually defeats white wine.
Glou-glou
Light, juicy, low-tannin, faintly chillable red. The French onomatopoeia for a bottle emptying quickly. No decanting, no occasion required.
Unfiltered
Cloudiness means the wine was not stripped on its way into the bottle. Stand it upright a day before you open it if it bothers you. Most people stop noticing.
Biodynamic
Organic farming plus a whole-vineyard philosophy: compost, cover crops, timing worked around the calendar. Stricter than organic, and you taste the site more clearly for it.
Questions.
How much is the TASTE MAKERS wine tasting?
$10 per person for three curated 3 oz pours. RSVP is preferred through the link in our Instagram bio, @colmadoatl, but you are welcome to walk in.
Can I do a wine tasting on other days?
Yes. Besides TASTE MAKERS, we pour a regular tasting every day the shop is open, for clients and anyone dropping by. It is the same deal: three 3 oz pours for $10. The lineup changes every couple of weeks, and any bottle you buy from the tasting is 10% off.
Do I need to RSVP, or can I walk in?
Walk-ins are always welcome. We do prefer an RSVP, through the link in our Instagram bio, @colmadoatl, which changes for each tasting. It helps us pour the right amount and keeps the room at a size where the host can actually talk to everyone.
What time does the tasting start and end?
5:30pm to 7:00pm on the first and third Thursday of every month, at 655 Highland Ave NE, Suite 104, in Old Fourth Ward. It is open house style, so come and go any time in between.
Is there an age requirement?
Yes, 21 and over with a valid photo ID. No exceptions, including for anyone not drinking.
Do I need to know anything about wine?
No. Most people who come are curious rather than expert, and the whole format is built around explaining things out loud. Questions are the point.
Can I buy the wines I taste?
Yes. Every bottle poured is on the shelf, and at our everyday tastings any bottle you buy from the tasting is 10% off. Small batch means quantities are limited, so if you love one, take it home.
Can I shop for wine without coming to a tasting?
Yes. The wine shop is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10am to 6pm, and until 7pm on the first and third Thursday for the tasting. Sunday and Monday are by appointment. No appointment, no purchase minimum.
What makes your wine selection different?
Every bottle is small batch and low intervention, and every one has a woman involved in making it, from winemakers and owners to vineyard managers all over the world. Scan the QR code on the wine shelves to read about each one in our digital wine guide.
Can I get my hair done and go to the tasting?
Yes, any day you come in. Colmado is a non-toxic, no-tipping hair salon as well as a wine shop, and our everyday tasting is open to clients at any appointment, whatever the day or time: three 3 oz pours for $10 while your color processes. Want TASTE MAKERS too? Book an afternoon appointment on the first or third Thursday and stay for the open house from 5:30 to 7.
Where are you, and is there parking?
655 Highland Ave NE, Suite 104, in Old Fourth Ward, close to Krog Street Market and the BeltLine Eastside Trail. There are several free lots and free street parking nearby. That said, this is a tasting, so we would rather you bike, walk, or take a ride share.
Several free lots and free street parking nearby. Since this is a tasting, we would rather you bike, walk, or take a ride share. Minutes from Krog Street Market and the BeltLine Eastside Trail.