Southold

Sometimes you just have to knock it all down and start again. You don’t want to because that’s extra work, extra time, it can even open you up to more problems if you try to cut corners. Yet in the end, instead of just ignoring the problem, hoping it will go away (it won’t), you kick the damn thing down and set to rebuilding…and you eventually find yourself in a much better, strong place than where you were.

It’s always worth it.

A little before and after, though far from done. We’ve been quiet but have not been still. Fighting through the vintage, enjoying our first summer in Europe, learning a new pace of life. Loving all of it.

With grapes coming soon, (but not too soon), expect to see more from us.

You have to strip things down to the bones before you can build them back.

Nothing more than a simple room to house employees. No grand chateau, no royalty, no commissions, no classifications. A blank slate upon beautiful and varied dirty. Vines with more to say than they have been given the chance. We’re not here for revolution or to flip over tables. Just to give some unheard voices a chance.

A cheers, from an incredibly happy family here in Bordeaux. While we miss so many of our friends and family this time of year, having a chance to create and learn totally new family traditions has been magical.

Joyeux Noël et bonnes fêtes, y’all!

Well this is a big one. Save for a couple more steps France has us for the next 4 years…at minimum…though the way it’s been going I think it’ll be much longer than that.

It feels like a lifetime ago that we were living in the USA.

Now on to the task at hand. More news to come soon….hopefully.

I have sat at this table on top of the ridge overlooking the valley for countless hours this last week. Sitting here looking for the words, the right words, to say what I’m about to say, and I think, ultimately, that it’s impossible to put everything down into writing in a way that does justice to what this place was for us. The emotions swirling around are just far to great to harness right now.

But nevertheless, the announcement must still be made: The property is sold, effective today August 24th, there is no longer tasting room operations on the Ridge. It will now be loved, as we all did, by some well deserving folks who will make it their home.

They have agreed and we are excited to have 2 last days of service, a little send off if you will, on Friday, September 15th and Saturday, September 16th. Plenty more details to come on that, so mark your calendars now.

And while Southold Farm + Cellar has moved on from this place, we still have wines to release and sell, so this isn’t the last you will see of Southold Farm + Cellar.

In the meantime, in two days we will step on an airplane to France and begin a whole new adventure. It will all be documented here and we hope you join along.

Another weekend in the books. Y’all drank the rainbow this time around…as one should in this heat. So great seeing so many of you making a point to visit us and enjoying these wines. Makes it allll worth it.

As for the rest of ya, come see us soon!

Point of view. So easy to ignore or miss, yet so important in everything surrounding our lives. So easy to forget how much we control our own point of view.

Had another beautiful weekend perched up here on the ridge seeing so many of ya taking it all in.

See y’all next weekend.

Weird to finally be saying goodbye to these wines. The Cab Franc’s have 24 bottles each left on the website. Once they’re gone, they are gone.

Come hang out with us this AND next Sunday. There will be so much rosé, you’ll be thankful for the warm weather.

Nothing but blue skies and perfect temps up here on the Ridge. Hard not to just sit here and drink all the rosé ourselves.

Come see us soon…

Time to stock up. Summer is hot, rosé is cold. Introducing the Pretty Things six bottle bundle for only $99 (which includes shipping). Get ‘em while you still can.

Link in bio.

It’s a beautiful day out here on the ridge, so why not celebrate with the last batch of Apera up on the website. Last 8 cases, ever. Shipping only.

For those of ya not on the mailing list, we re-released our 2015s that we’ve been cellaring since their release. They’ll be available for a short time on the website and we’ll be running a flight with them in the wine study to celebrate. I promise you don’t want to miss these!

Sharing news, developments and announcing releases has always been one of my favorite aspects of running a small business. Having a direct line of communication with you is something I’ve always felt honored to have and I have always strived to be transparent. In the spirit of transparency, today’s update straddles both bittersweet and exciting (not bad)... it’s most likely the biggest update we have shared since launching Southold Farm + Cellar:

Today begins the, albeit slow, ‘end’ of Southold Farm + Cellar.

We understand that this news may come as a surprise, but we want to assure you that we are still here and open for business, ready to celebrate everything that made Southold Farm + Cellar special.

We are so damn proud of what we have achieved in our time here in Texas. Moving a winery across the country is not something done every day and success was certainly not guaranteed. We came to Stonewall with a vague idea of the trials and travails of growing wine in this state, but through partnerships and friendships we were able to achieve things beyond our expectations. Seeing our wines served at some of our favorite restaurants around the world, being one of two Texas wineries ever poured in the White House, seeing pictures from all of you enjoying something that we worked so hard to produce has been a thrill of a lifetime.

At this point I’m sure you’re wondering, “If that’s all the case, and coming off of two of their most successful vintages, why on earth would they want to end it?”

The most important part of the answer is that we have found ourselves in the unique position to chase after a dream that has always seemed remote at best and insane at worst. It is our intention to move the family to France, more precisely Bordeaux, to take over another family’s wine estate. To go and work with varieties we know so well (oh, Cabernet Franc!), in a cooler climate (biodynamics!) like the one where we cut our teeth. It is a dream come true. To be a (very small) new voice in such a prestigious and historic region is exciting and overwhelming, we simply can’t wait. So, expect more details to come when it is time.

One of the first wines we ever released was a 2013 Cabernet Franc from the Rex Farr vineyard in Long Island. It’s the wine that Juliette Pope put on the Gramercy Tavern list, the wine that put us on the map and set us on the course for this crazy journey. We called it “Cast Your Fate to The Wind” after the Vincent Guaraldi song of the same name that essentially launched his career. As the story goes, it’s the song that got him the Peanuts work. Both the song and its sentiment have always inspired me, the hopefulness, at times its tediousness, a string of ups and downs, in my mind mirrored that of real life, of someone taking that big chance. As I sit here, listening to it, I can’t help but be so grateful for the adventure we’ve been afforded. So grateful for your joining us in it, through some very dark days and loss but also through the beautiful moments and wins, those heights some of which we may never see again. But as with every great song, no matter how good, there comes a time for it to end.
And yet, it’s also my belief that we all have more than one great song in us, it’s just a matter of chasing it down, grabbing hold and letting it take you along for the ride. We haven’t been this excited and nervous since before launching Southold Farm + Cellar.

We would love for you to come and visit us or celebrate with a bottle of Southold Farm + Cellar from one of your favorite shops or restaurants. Our remaining wines are some of our most unique and cherished we’ve made – we believe they are truly special. As always, our tasting room is open and ready to welcome you, and now you don’t need a reservation! Most importantly, we are excited to continue our journey and share it all with you. Thank you for your support and cheers for the next adventure! Come say ‘Hi!’ to Carey, Rusty, and me. We hope to see you soon!

Last night for the Residency Dinner. Come see us!

Only 2 more Saturday dinners left (April 8th and 15th) with and this killer menu!

Seriously don’t miss out on it… see y’all on Saturday!

New wines out y’all!

All of them are perfect for this spring weather, that dinner party you’re planning on the patio, or heck, just sitting on the couch catching up on Love is Blind 👀….

Up on the website, orders of 6 or more ship free as always!

Hey y’all! To celebrate a slew of new releases coming we thought we’d do a fun dinner series. Can’t wait to have y’all back for three nights of great wine and food. It’ll be first come, first served, but hit us up on our visit us page and let us know you’re coming so we don’t run out of food! Menu will be posted soon….

A call for volunteers. We could use some help getting wine into the bottle this up coming Friday March 10th, lunch provided and plenty of wine to take home! Drop us a DM if you’re interested.

Well hello, spring…

Writing tasting notes on some new releases, still drinking well on day 3… an embarrassment of riches. The uniqueness of the 2021 vintage is palpable…especially when compared to 2022.

In light of the return of summer weather this week, the cruelty of mother nature’s whims in this place only become more omnipresent. Even if we never make the likes of these wines again, we did it this time. We caught the magic, without the tricks or crutches, and put it into a bottle. And that’s all that matters. Soon you’ll get to enjoy it.

We were going to go down the whole rabbit hole with a Valentine’s Day themed event/post but you don’t need that guilt in your life. Besides, all she really wants is to sit up here with a glass of wine and some killer pizza. Trust us.

Open Swim, our days we’re we suspend the need for reservations and make it open to one and all is back February 17th and 18th. Come up and chill with a glass or bottle of wine and some of the best pizza this side of the perdenales.

will be here from 12 until 2 or sold out (which will happen). We’ll be here till 5pm or until we sell out, which looking at inventory isn’t out of the realm of possibilities. See ya sooooon!

Some 2021 vibes for sure. Luckily our power has held this time around. We have about an inch of ice over everything, even Wally has ice on him just from a walk. Looking forward to warmer temps tomorrow. Here’s hoping the wind doesn’t pick up.

Rinse and repeat. Chop wood, carry water. Wax on, wax off.

Blending can, at times, edge into the tedious. While exciting to see where the vintage has landed, putting all the pieces together, it can be mentally draining. One minute you think you’ve nailed it, and the next you find yourself undoing and redoing it all over. It’s a process to say the least.

Good mornin sunshine! Here’s a reminder that we’ll be no reservations and no tastings for the next three days, just bottles and glasses and good times. Prometheus Pizza will be here with the pies and it’ll all be going down 11-4pm.

So get off that coach, throw the leftovers away and pack grandma in the car, she’ll thank you for it!

Y’all, we had so much fun two weeks ago at the Thanksgiving Open Swim, (even with the bummer weather), that we’re going to do it again. Because let’s face it, we all need an excuse to do something fun in that weird time between the holidays and that isn’t dealing with returning the sweater your grandmother bought you.

So here’s what we got: Dec. 29th, 30th and 31st. 11-4pm with our friends doing what they do! Yes you can bring the kids.

We’ve been digging through the cellar, and figured now that all the sale craziness is behind us, that we’d release a few gems!

Two options this year:

One for the collector,
One for the bubble fan,
Or show someone you really love em by getting them both.
Everyone wins!

Both have a very limited amount of 2016 Horseshoes & Handgrenades (sorry this is the last of it) so not many of these packs are available.

Enjoy y’all! Link is in the bio.