Finding Respite –Sustainable Wine on Stone Way

It was a dark and drizzly week night in early December when I met a friend to check out one of our area’s new wine bars, Respite. Seems like a perfect opening for a detective story, and I had some sleuthing to do, as the concept of sustainable wine is new to me.

Two friends, Haley Meade and Madisyn Scribner, founded their business in 2022, and opened its permanent location at 4106 Stone Way North on August 14th. They believe in wines made sustainably, with care and focus, by transparent wine makers. To quote their website “We want to know what’s in our wine, and won’t pour it unless we do.”

The place is cozy, with a rustic bar and tables on a lower level, and several tables on an open balcony. It was almost completely full when I arrived at 530, and the vibe got livelier as the evening went on.

We settled into a booth and decided to try a complimentary tasting by the winemaker from Buddy Buddy, visiting from northern California. It included three different wines, each accompanied by a careful description of her process (harvesting, crushing and pressing, fermentation, clarification, and then aging and bottling). We were excited to taste it! Valdiguie, an unusual varietal, featured prominently in the ones we sampled. To me, the wine was light, like a Gamay, and flavors tended towards barnyardy, perhaps from the natural yeast. We also sampled glasses of red wine from the menu, Cabernet Sauvignon and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. Options rotate, and include 3 whites, 4 reds, bubbles, rose and orange wines, along with beer, cider and non-alcoholic options. 

To round out our experience (and curb our appetites) we enjoyed the cheese and meat board. It included Bresaola, coppa, manchego, goat cheese, jam and tapenade, as well as baguette and sourdough from Grand Central Bakery. There are several other options on the menu, including a salad and 2 desserts.

If you have a penchant for organic, biological, natural wine, you probably sniffed out this spot already! If you’re curious to try some, this place is worth a visit. Respite is open Wednesday-Saturday from 4 pm-9 pm and Sunday from 3 pm-9 pm.