A MOMENT WITH MELISSA – SEPTEMBER 2025

Another 3 months have gone by, and we are now deep into our harvest season. It’s a special time of year, full of optimism, fantastic wines, long days, worries, and even frustration sometimes. One of the many aspects that makes the wine community completely unique from other craft beverages, is that we use fresh fruit instead of dried materials – meaning we can only create wine once per year. And we have no control over the one major factor that drives quality: the weather. This is why vintages matter. 2018 was wet and rainy, most fruit didn’t ripen fully or decayed on the vine. 2023 was hot, dry, and beautiful, with some of the best we’ve seen in 50 years of viticulture in Maryland. 2025 is shaping up to be a vintage with low yields due to the cold snaps in the winter and spring followed by an extensive amount of rain. The dry weather from July forward has helped tremendously and we are seeing some outstanding quality from the little fruit that survived. Fingers crossed that the rain holds off until mid-October after we pick the last of our fruit: Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc.  

The past 3 months at the lounge have brought so many new faces, and we’ve been thrilled to get to know our lounge regulars more. We’ve had new classes like painting with wine and Wine 201 to familiar favorites such as Trivia Sundays and Live Music Mondays. Each event and class offers something different, but I must say I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the Locavore series. Welcoming other passionate producers, growers, and makers into our space to share how their food matches perfectly with our wine is a highlight of the month!  

It seems like every day we develop new ideas on how to engage with our community and make wine accessible. Approachable. Reduce the pretension behind it. As my dad says,

“It’s old fruit juice – how complicated can it possibly be!”

We are excited to bring Simple Theory wine into your life, wherever it fits from our recently launched glass club called Periodic Pour to Alive at Five to our new Hi-Fi Listening Experience in October. We invite you to stay tuned as we launch into the busy holiday season. Perhaps you’ll find an invitation to our 1-year anniversary, or come relax with a glass of wine and a puzzle or coloring book while shopping, or dive deeper into the world of wine with our soon-to-be-launched book club. Much like the wine, ideas keep flowing, so stay tuned, bring a friend, and thank you so much for being part of our Simple Theory community! 

Cheers,