Sharing space with a local gas station can sometimes lead to some interesting comments, according to Suzanne Reinhard, owner of the Southern Fine Wine Store located in this sleepy little southern town. After filling their gas tanks at the CITGO station that adjoins the fine wine shop, customers will poke their heads and ask Reinhard “Do you serve high test wines as well?” before filling up their trunks with her products.

But the best comment Reinhard ever heard, though, was when someone referred to her shop as the “gas and Dom stop,” laughs to former Playboy Club (Denver) Bunny who makes sure there’s always a good supply of the elegant Dom Perrier champagne on hand.

A bar at the front of the two-room fine wine shop has a small wine tasting bar and Reinhard has been known to pour some of her customers samples of the wide variety of wines she carries. High on her list of “special” customers are the thousands of northern golfers who come here to play affordable golf on the town’s three excellent country club-style courses and deplete her inventory during peak season.

It was quite the stifling hot summer day we visited Suzanne – few golfers come to this backwater town that sits on the edge of tranquil Lake Marion, South Carolina’s biggest lake, in cruelly hot July or August.

In the fall and spring, however, northern golfers, led by thousands of Canadians, migrate to this town, located at Exit 98 off Interstate 95. So, in the peak months, the golfing population far exceeds Santee’s 800 or so permanent residents and that’s when Reinhard’s cramped shop becomes overcrowded with golfers stocking up on wine for their après golf celebrations.

“They rape and pillage my shop,” laughs the likeable Reinhard, who added the wine shop to the gas station she and her husband own, four years ago. Suzanne remembers many of the golfers by name, especially the one who “buys a case of imported wine for $1,200 US each year.

Santee appeals to golf groups that can exceed over 100 players. “Those groups buy 10 to 12 cases a week when they’re down here. But most golfers come in and buy bottles in the $12 US range.” They have plenty of vintages to choose from: Italian, German, French, new world wine countries like New Zealand, South Africa and Australia – they’re all well represented in Suzanne’s well stocked shop. Being the patriot she is, Suzanne also offers the best vintages American wine producers offer – with California selections topping her inventory.

However, the one wine country she does not have represented is Canada, of which many of her customers hail from.“It’s hard to get Canadian wines and some of the golfers ask for it,” says Suzanne who whispers “I discount 10 per cent for Canadians and other repeat customers.” “Some of the boys (from Canada) will bring down some Canadian ice wine for me, and I really like that.”

Keeping with the golf reputation this small southern outpost is built around, Reinhard also carries lots of vintages that have the endorsement of well recognized professional golfers. Names like Greg Norman and Frank Nobilo - both who have their names on labels that are considered high quality wines. Others golfers who, in recent years, have opened their own vineyards are South Africans Ernie Els and David Frost. Each year more and more PGA stars seem to be getting into the wine business – Canada’s Mike
Weir even has his own label. Which makes Suzanne giddy with excitement.

“The golfers really know their wines,” says the lovely Suzanne. “They’re very selective and that’s why I carry so many high end brands.” Huge magnums sitting on the floor of her shop in large wooden crates don’t gather dust. “Oh no,” says Suzanne. “People come in here and buy the magnums all the time. It’s hard for me to keep them in stock.”

Suzanne observed a long time ago that male golfers also have a conscience. “They always want to bring something home to their wives,” says Suzanne, who helps them out by carrying a large assortment of local crafts and trinkets that the golfers gobble up fast. “I carry these aluminum dishes (shaped like animals) and they’re hot sellers with the golfers,” says Suzanne pointing to the dishes that hang from the rafters and walls of her shop. There’s also an art gallery that also carries some unique gifts that is part of Suzanne’s “gas and Dom” operation.

The likeable Reinhard is one of Santee’s best-known merchants and her sunny disposition is matched only by the southern sun that seems to hang over this golf haven for much of the year.

Santee makes golfers very happy and they toast their good fortune of playing here for prices that start at less than $50 US a day (that includes golf with power cart, accommodation and breakfast) with a glass of Suzanne’s fine wine.

The Southern Fine Wine Shop is located at 9103 Old #6 Highway – just look for the CITGO station!

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GOLF-SOUTH.NET