In Other News...
General Housekeeping For My Current & Next Chapter
Hello Faithful Followers,
For those of you who have been “avidly” reading — firstly, thank you!! Secondly, no this is not the recipe I promised you at the end of the last newsletter, but that recipe is tested and coming your way next week — I promise!
I just felt like I needed to catch my breath this week in my personal life!
And I figured it was a great time to fill you in on some BIG NEWS if you live in Charleston — I will be moving my wine club and wine classes to Wine & Company this fall (follow me here on Substack and/or on Instagram to stay in the know: @grapetotable for that IG)!
I will be taking the month of September off to wrap up things at The Exchange at Edmund’s Oast, and the new rendition of the wine club (under my own branding) will be ready for October 1 pick-up at Wine & Company, which is another great bottle shop/wine bar in downtown Charleston!
Grape to Table Wine Club will celebrate the magic of wine and food through an exploration of small, family-run wineries and detailed pairing suggestions! The GTT Wine Club definitely draws heavily from the old world (Europe!) with an occasional new world gem thrown into the mix. All of the wines are sustainably farmed with some producers going the extra mile with organic and biodynamic practices.
Brass tacks:
You will receive 3 bottles of wine each month for $70. You can choose between my seasonal mix, all white, or all red. But the seasonal mix is the MOST popular option for good reason!!
Sign up is easy – simply email me: sarah@grapetotable.com – I will sign you up via our VERY secure, 3rd party subscription service. (Eventually there will be a website — that’s in the works!)
There is no time commitment with sign-up; you can sign up for as few or as many months as you like! (This also makes it a great gift!)
Wine is ready for pick up on the 1st of each month, but the most fun time to pick up is our PICK-UP PARTY on the first Monday of each month from 6 to 8 p.m.
There’s a large metered parking lot adjacent to the Wine & Company and some free spots in the garage under the building (on Spring Street side).
Unfortunately, at this time I cannot ship!
About wine classes!
I will do a slow roll-out of classes this fall with a monthly offering of hyper-specific regional classes (that I call Somm School 2.0, but no experience is necessary!) Winter 2023 will bring even more classes!
The classes are perfect for those who are contemplating taking any wine certification or for anyone simply looking to enhance their wine aptitude. The classes will be offered from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays.
The cost is $50 per class for Somm School 2.0 classes, but hospitality industry employees receive a 50% discount. I do ask that the discount is limited to those actively working in restaurants, bars, hotels, wine sales, etc.
With each class you will taste four outstanding wines, enjoy a simple snack, and receive a well developed information packet (with maps)!
If you have enjoyed my wine classes at the Exchange, you will notice a price increase that is necessary for me to have this be a bit more than a volunteer position for me. (Note, Somm School 2.0 classes will be $50; while regular Somm School classes will be $40 — those will start in the winter.)
Here’s the rough schedule for the fall classes:
The French Tour!
Intro to Burgundy
Saturday, September 16
Intro to Bordeaux
Saturday, October 14
Intro to the Loire Valley
Saturday, November 4
Intro to Champagne
Saturday, December 2
I do not have ticketing set up yet but follow along here or on Instagram for first dibs :)
Finally, I would just once again like to say thanks to everyone who has been a supporter of The Exchange at Edmund’s Oast as we bring that chapter to a close next week. Dreaming up and managing this bottle shop/wine bar was a dream come true. Alas, some ideas work better in dreams than on spreadsheets, and next Saturday, August 12, will be our finale party at “EOX”. If you live in the Charleston area please stop by as it should be quite the send-off. We will be offer 20% off EVERYTHING (wine, beer, glasses, books, etc.) all day, and we will have Foxes Fried Food Truck and live jazz from 3 to 6 p.m. Plus fun bubbly by-the-glass all day in addition to our regular menu items! If there is remaining inventory after that day, we will continue the sale into the next week. But honestly things are already flying off the shelves!
I would love to see you there or see you sign up for wine club or see you at a wine class in the fall. While myself (and many others) will mourn the loss of EOX, I am excited for this new chapter filled with more writing but also keeping the wine nerdiness going via classes and wine club!!
Cheers & thank you!!
P.S. If you have enjoyed our wine dinners at Edmund’s Oast Restaurant those will also continue as I will be helping to rebuild the wine program there.
