Dearest Veritas Nation,

Veritas Wine Room Wine Club $70 LEVEL for the month of February has arrived!

SMITH STORY CABERNET FRANC '17

$56 price at winery

From the Winery Website:

Founders:

Husband Wife Team, Eric Story & Alison Smith-Story

Established:

May 14, 2013

The Story:

Smith Story Wine Cellars is the tale of true love. In May of 2013, Eric and Ali eloped on the Big Island of Hawaii to say I Do; also where the name Smith Story Wine Cellars was conceived. Bay Area born Eric and Fort Worth, Texas native Alison met while both working for K&L Wine Merchants in Northern California over a decade ago. A friendship flourished while discovering wines from far away lands, and visits to the Anderson Valley along with dear friends and their beloved dogs Henley and Lakota. “Drink what you love, love what you drink,” Eric often said to Alison while trying new wines over the years together. 

Today they bring a combined 40+ years of wine industry experience to manage Smith Story Wine Cellars. Eric’s wine buying expertise and retail management lends a keen eye and discerning palate as he became the German, Loire, Alsace, Austrian and Greek wine buyer for K&L. Ali’s hospitality, wine buying, consumer marketing and national sales experience completes the entire wine-supply-chain as she transitioned from her decade old company TexaCali Wine Co. to drive the vision and brand for Smith Story Wine.

Alison Smith, grew up in the DFW Metroplex and Northern California native Eric founded the winery in Sonoma County. Smith Story Wine Cellars is based in Sonoma. In late 2021 they relocated their tasting room from Philo, California (the Anderson Valley) to Healdsburg, California. 

In 2014 the launched "Farmers First" on KICKSTARTER and were fully funded in 30 days. Later that year, along with their dear Goldendoodle, Lord Sandwich, Ali Story founded a non-profit Socks For Sandwich, which donates new socks to the needy.

The birth of Smith Story Wine Cellars can be followed along the way as Eric and Ali write about their start-up experiences in The Chapters.

What’s in the bottle:

The wines begin with the land, places that are special to Eric and Ali throughout California and Europe. As the vineyard program grows, so will their true story. Their belief is to respect what the land offers, while shepherding in the cellar and ultimately delivering beautiful expressions of each varietal to supporters of Smith Story Wine Cellars.

The Mission:

Smith Story Wines are made with respect for the land, kindness for the grower and, love from the winemaker. Each vineyard we work with is owned by families, we want to ensure their present and future success as grape growers. The wines show restraint, balance and integrity of the grape. Our winemaking philosophy is to utilize classic, old world techniques and let the grapes and sense of place where they are grown both speak for themselves. 

This Cabernet Franc is a must-have for your collection. There are three vineyard blocks blended together, including high elevation sites on Pine Mountain and Chalk Hill, resulting in a sturdy but nonetheless fresh expression. Élevage takes place in used French oak barrels for 21 months before the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Y. ROUSSEAU WINES

SON OF A BUTCHER '20

$25 at the winery

Yannick's Roots:

Y. Rousseau Wines is a dream that began long ago in the South-West of France and continues to grow and evolve today. Yannick Rousseau, French native, founder and winemaker, followed his heart and passion for winemaking all the way to Napa Valley where he met his native-Texas wife, Susan. The two of them bring their combined entrepreneurial savvy to embrace the ebbs and flows of running a family winery with the legacy of their racines, hospitable style, and discriminating artisanship.

RACINES:

The roots in the vineyards that Yannick chooses for his wines run as deep as his ancestral racines. Born in Gascony, France to the son of a butcher, he makes his wines with the heart of a Gascon using the earth, elements and fruit of California. Bringing together these passions of place, time and the elements requires hard work with a gentle hand to produce the alchemy of stand-apart wines. 

CRAFT:

Yannick’s dedication continues with the art of blending that which he extracts from the fruit skillfully wielding sharp nose, keen taste and intuitive touch. His wines are recognized for their qualities of balanced drinkability and food-worthiness while being sought-after by wine geeks everywhere. 

MAVERICK:

Yannick’s reputation has been made not by following in anyone’s particular footsteps but rather by taking what he has learned from great mavericks and integrating it into what he discovers to be true. His history of working with grape varietals from the Southwest of France is well known. Now, he carries forward his winemaking mission still embracing Colombard, Tannat and other favored varietals and blending them to create revived, and even edge-bending wines.

Son of a Butcher wine is an unmistakable California resident with a rich and juicy youthful vibe, but doesn’t forget it's french roots and "je ne sais quoi." A Tannat-based blend with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc.

TASTY!!!