Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicholas Kaufman.
Nicholas was raised in Dallas, Texas with his parents and 3 brothers; an older, twin and younger brother. Wine has always been a huge part of his life, as his mother was an avid wine drinker and a connoisseur. Whether it was sharing stories about wine in new places, and enjoying it with family and friends, or talking about the different regions of wine; the Kaufman family has always been involved with wine.
Things changed when Nick’s mother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away when he was just 17 years old. Avoid followed for many years to come. Nick started work straight out of high school, as an overnight stocker at a grocery chain. He started at the bottom and climbed up the ladder up to Store Manager at several locations, including the Kroger in Southlake. Kroger’s wide selection of fine wines helped Nick learn more about wine.
A spark rekindled from sharing lunches and dinners with winemakers from all around the world. He traveled and trained at wineries across the country to gain industry knowledge and experience. Nick, now a Certified Sommelier, found that having conversations, and teaching others about wine allowed him to feel closer to his mother. This realization inspired him to leave the big grocer to pursue his love of wine, and to open Wine Fusion.
Envisioning a place much like his childhood home, Nick wanted to provide an atmosphere where people could come to relax, learn, laugh, and enjoy the many intricacies of wine. Wine Fusion was created with the idea of merging 2 groups together, the consumers and the daunting wine industry, without the intimidation. Wine Fusion aims to help you shop for wine with ease at the grocery store, wisely pick wines from a daunting menu at restaurants, learn how to dissect confusing wine labels, and identify wines based on taste, smell and sight.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Most days are really good, However, the best part about our business is that on our hardest days we always take the time to stop, have a glass of wine and re-assess the situation.
Please tell us about Wine Fusion Winery.
We have over 18 wines that we offer daily that offer our customers a wide variety to choose from. We offer wine tastings, wine by the glass, bottle service, and a full kitchen daily. We love hosting private parties and corporate events. What sets us apart from the competition is our wine blending classes. No one else in the state offers these and we were the first to bring this cool experience to the public.
Wine Fusion Winery is all about the wine. We love wine and we know you do too. Our goal is a laid-back approach to the education of others about the most popular wines available for sale. As opposed to a classroom setting, this is a hands-on tasting education where you will learn more about wine in general but will also learn how to create a perfect blend.
An hour and a half class devoted to teaching, tasting, learning, and having fun. We will discuss the profiles of each wine and then let you decide whether you would like to create a white or red wine blend. After you choose you will then get to taste 4-5 different 100% varietal wines to use for your blend. Join us and find out firsthand what it feels like to be a winemaker for a day.
After you have created your master blend, you then will bottle it, cork it and create your own label to take home and enjoy the fruits of your labor, literally. We offer a wine blending class that is like none other in the great State of Texas. Many people offer classes to make expensive 30 bottle batches but none give you the opportunity to make just one bottle, until now.
We host classes by reservation 7 days a week during normal business hours. The class is $65 per person plus tax and gratuity. This includes all your tastings, a glass of your perfect blend, and the bottle of your very own wine blend to take home at the end of class. Our class lasts about 1.5 hours for small parties, and 2 hours for large parties. We host classes for 1 to 60 people, with a reservation.
To get a quote on your deposit, please call with the size of the party. This unique experience is a perfect team building experience for corporate groups as well. We are available to host this class outside of our regular hours of operation. Call for details. There will be a 20% gratuity added to all blending class final bills for your wine educator.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from childhood was always spending time with my family and my brothers. We always played every sport together in the front yard and we were all very competitive. The competitive spirit still lives on within us. We still have a competitive Wiffle ball game every year for Thanksgiving. Used to be just us 4 boys but now that we all have kids, this year’s teams totaled 18 people.
Pricing:
- Wine Tasting- 5 wines for $11
- Average Bottle Price $25
- Wine Blending Class $65
Contact Info:
- Address: 603 S. Main St. Suite 304
- Website:Winefusionwinery.com
- Phone:8174428466
- Email:info@fusionwinery.com
- Instagram: winefusionwinery
- Facebook: winefusionwinery
- Twitter: winefusionwine
- Yelp: Wine Fusion Winery
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
