Friday, September 5th
West Coast Wine Tasting 4pm-6pm
Classic and Fresh styles from New School Boutique Producers!
California Wine Tasting
Special Guest, Sean Faeth
Domaine South
Friday, September 5, 2025
4pm - 6pm
$20
256-759-9952 to Reserve
2021 Salem Wine Co Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, Oregon $23.99
Most of the fruit for this delicious Chardonnay comes from the esteemed Seven Springs Vineyard. Plush, vibrant, and a true crowd pleaser, this wine -- a project by famed duo Rajat Parr and Sashi Moorman -- is a true taste of what Oregon has to offer.
100% Chardonnay. Sourced predominantly from Block 9 at Seven Springs Vineyard (Eola-Amity Hills AVA). Planted on iron-rich clay soil. Hand-harvested. Native yeast fermentation
The grapes are gently pressed into 500L puncheons for fermentation. Full malolactic fermentation. Aged 6 months in neutral barrels. The wine is then racked for clarity, right before bottling
2023 Bedrock Ode Lulu Rose, California $19.99
"...the goal here is to highlight the beautiful aromatics and freshness while also feeling the natural weight of old vine Mourvèdre. What we have always loved best about the great Mourvèdre-based rosés of the world (Bandol being the most famous) is how they capture the piquant pink grapefruit and stone fruit fragrance of the variety while also letting the savory tarragon and wild herb pungency shine through...
Visit the Tempier estate in Bandol and it’s no surprise to see a stately portrait of the iconic Lulu Peyraud on the wall. As the driving force behind the success of Bandol’s greatest producer (and by all accounts one hell of a good time), winemaker and chef Lucie "Lulu" Tempier Peyraud taught the world what Bandol could be. Her legacy has come to inspire a near-unmatched level of reverence from the wine trade.
Thousands of miles away in Sonoma Valley, the folks at Bedrock — one of California's great stewards of old vines — crafted “a love letter to Lulu” in the form of a Mourvèdre-based rosé, an homage to Tempier's benchmark version. Whole-cluster pressed and vinified in stainless steel, it has since become one of the most critically adored rosés made in the United States
Sustainable Farming, 76% Mourvèdre, 16% Syrah, and 8% Grenache, Sourced from 100 year old vineyards in Contra Costa and Sonoma Counties. Picked at a lower potential alcohol and whole cluster pressed. Fermentation and elevage in 100% stainless steel. Hommage to Lulu Peyraud of Domaine Tempier in Bandol
2023 Lieu Dit Cabernet Franc, Santa Ynez Valley, California $32.99
Our journey with red wine began with just one grape—Cabernet Franc. If it sounds kind of familiar, that’s because it’s one of the parents of Cabernet Sauvignon. Never big or showy, but bold and bright in all the right ways, our Cabernet Franc drinks best with a slight chill and great meal.
We really love Cabernet Franc for its unvarnished charm and food-friendliness. A good glass of Franc will immediately tell you where it’s from.
2023 Bedrock Syrah, California $29.99
"Fresh-faced, perfumed and irresistibly quaffable, this is an unbeatable bargain for a distinctive California Syrah and an apt introduction to Bedrock's multifaceted but always elegant style. Sourced from parcels throughout Santa Barbara and Sonoma County, it's a blend that spans the breadth of California terroir. Fermented with 20-60% whole clusters, it offers up streaks of juicy blackberry and cherry flavours speckled with salt and a spray of violet perfume. Delicate, charry tannins rim the finish. Irresistible young but should hold nicely, too."
Practicing Organic, 100% Syrah, Sourced from Nolan Ranch, White Hawk, and Bien Nacido in Santa Barbara County, and Weill, Hudson, and Bedrock in Sonoma County
Elevage 13 months in 25% new oak, the rest neutral oak
2023 Scholium Project Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California $81.99
from another single, secret, vineyard
These beautiful Mt. Veeder wines have an interesting origin. The impending collapse of the grape market in California in 2024 is all that made them possible.
Wise producers foresaw difficulties on the horizon in the leadup to Harvest 2023. Suddenly, small amounts of high-quality fruit were going unsold. The vineyards selling the fruit did not want their names used, for fear of harming their reputations, and their existing relationships with other buyers of their fruit. So I can't tell you exactly where this wine is from-- but I can say that it is from a single, venerable, vineyard high up on the west side of Mt. Veeder, off Patrick Road. I used to ride my bike past it on long climbs.
I can also say that in the market for grapes that pre-existed this collapse, I never could have afforded Mountain Cabernet from Napa.
The winemaking is classical: very similar to the techniques that I employed to make my Mountain Cabernets from Margit's and Chuy, beginning in 2006. Margit's and Chuy were very noble vineyards on the west side of Spring Mountain, planted in the late 1970s. They are geologically continuous with Mt. Veeder and only about a dozen miles away.
The fruit was destemmed, fermented in upright puncheons with daily punchdowns, about 30 days of total maceration, then one and half years of aging in neutral oak barrels. A small amount of SO2 at fruit reception, then no more until bottling.
In a year or two, it will perhaps become too expensive again to make this wine. It is really impossible to know, difficult even to imagine with clarity, the future of the wine market in the US. For the moment, I am so glad for this strange opportunity.