Our relationship with Ceritas goes back to the Spring of 2009 when first introduced to John Raytek and Phoebe Bass. After spending a day with John and Phoebe walking Escarpa and Porter-Bass Vineyards (photo below), we knew their was something magical about their wines, their love for what they are doing, and for the fruit they are working with.

Since their first vintage in 2005, we have been personally buying and collecting the Ceritas wines. Now for them to allow us the opportunity to share their wines in South Carolina is an incredible gift which we honor with great excitement. Over the years, John and Phoebe have stayed connected with us as dear friends with incredible hearts. We cherish this friendship and love sharing their story.

“Without question, the foundation of great wine is outstanding fruit. Our belief in the fruit drives our commitment to our growers and vineyard sites. Together, we spend much of the year listening, learning, and refining what we know about the vineyards, with the goal of allowing each site to express itself fully. Truth be told, we spend far more time in the vineyard than the winery, tending to inordinately specific details of each vine. We strive for grapes that are physiologically ripe and balanced, that bear the fingerprint of the particular vineyard and vintage.

Once harvest is completed, we trust that the fruit has its own path, and believe our responsibility is not to obscure it by the signature of our winemaking methods.

While we favor minimal intervention in the cellar, we subscribe to particular methods that have proven best for expressing site through varietal. Our winemaking is flexible rather than dogmatic, inspired by traditional winemaking allowing the voice of the land and season to shine, rather than the effects of human cellar techniques.”

– John Raytek and Phoebe Bass