This article was first published February 7, 2021, on the original 'Lavaca & Friends' website. It is one of several articles from that site that we have preserved and moved to the 'LNF Weekly' archive.

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There’s a terrific new wine bar and shop opening Thursday in Hemisfair Park.

Re:Rooted 210 Urban Winery is located in the ground floor retail area of the new high-rise apartment building, The ’68. The shop is on the northeast corner of the building.

The wine selection in Re:Rooted is unusual. You won’t find shelves and shelves of wine bottles organized by country and variety. Instead, Re:Rooted carries a small selection of Texas wines, produced at a winery collective in Fredericksburg and carrying the Re:Rooted label.

But ‘label’ doesn’t mean exactly what it means at other wine shops. More about that a little later.

The Owners

Owners Jennifer and John Beckmann take their wine seriously, and they take their Texas wine more seriously still.

Jennifer got her start as a sommelier in Chicago. When John’s military career brought them to San Antonio, Jennifer dove into the Texas wine industry. She says that she worked with four boutique Texas wineries to help them grow from the ground up, “including tasting rooms, wine club development and operations, marketing, social media and developing wholesale distribution programs.”

Jennifer Beckmann working on the grape harvest

Jennifer Beckmann works on the grape harvest at Perissos Vineyards in Burnet, Texas. (Photo provided by Re:Rooted and used with permission.)

“We decided this was a more efficient and sustainable option,” Jennifer told us. “Glass bottle waste is a massive issue in the local industry, with few options to recycle.”

She pointed out that their wines are meant to be enjoyed now, not stored in a cellar.

“We focus on serving quality wines that are produced to be enjoyed now, no need to worry about additional cellar aging. As we love to say: 'Enjoy, Refill and Repeat'.”

Prices and selection

Re:Rooted is introducing seven Texas wines under their Re:Rooted label, ranging in price from $22 to $36, including the cost of the bottle.

The offerings — all available now, by the glass, the bottle, or the keg — are a 2018 Carignan ($28); a 2017 Malbec ($34); a 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon ($36); and some whimsically named blends, the 2019 Ghost Tracks ($26), a blend of 45% Albarino, 45% Sauvignon Blanc and 10% Fiano; the 2019 Cable Cars ($24), which is 55% Roussanne and 45% Viognier; the 2019 San Antonio Rosé ($22), which is a blend of 90% Sangiovese and 10% Cinsaut; and the non-vintage Riverwalk Red ($26), a blend of 90% Sangiovese and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.

In addition to the private-labeled wines, Re:Rooted will offer a bottle list of locally produced wines, ciders, and non alcoholic drinks, plus some light food such as a charcuterie board.

The place

The Re:Rooted shop is a light-filled, high-ceilinged, and open space with windows along two walls, well-spaced indoor seating, a small bar, and more seating outdoors.

Wine keg, wine growler, and plastic wine glass

Three 'to go' container options: keg, growler, or a plastic glass suitable for carrying outdoors.

She has a passion for educating people about wines — for making wines accessible — and that’s part of what she and John plan to do with their wine bar and shop. They intend to hold educational events, and they plan to assemble curated ‘flights’ of wines for tasting.

Jennifer is certified by the Society of Wine Educators, one of fewer than 500 experts to have achieved that certification, she explains, and "making wine education both fun and approachable is a passion that I intend to extend into the Re:Rooted events program."

John explains that he and Jennifer want Re:Rooted to become a real core part of the community.

"In many European wine making communities," he says, "there's a wine fount in the center of town where anyone can come and fill a bottle or cask. We want to be a place people can walk to and drop by for a glass or a bottle to take home. Wine should be enjoyable and accessible."

Even though they've just been preparing to open, they're already feeling like part of the community, he says.

"We've met so many people who have a daily routine - walking their dog or out to get some air - and now we're part of that routine, even if its just to check on the progress and ask when we're going to be open. It's great to be in a place where people are invested in what's going on around them."

The wine

But let's get back to that ‘label’ thing.

In a practice that hearkens back to the old days, Re:Rooted doesn’t bottle its wine and apply pretty, artist-designed labels with descriptions and vintage.

Their bottles are ‘growlers’. That is, they’re refillable 750 ml bottles with a hinged porcelain gasket cap. When you buy a bottle of wine, you buy both the wine and the refillable bottle. Then, when you return for more wine, you bring your bottle with you to get it refilled (at a discount, since you already bought your bottle).

Want something a bit larger? You can also buy a keg.

Re:Rooted has well-spaced seating indoors, plus even more seating outside. The outside seating is dog-friendly.

“We wanted to create a wine space in the city with a vibrant, youthful and energetic vibe to enjoy Texas wines,” Jennifer explained. “There are world class wines being developed all across Texas, and we want to expose them to the local community. Not everyone is going to travel out to the rural areas where they’re produced.”

Subscriptions

Re:Rooted is making their wines available by subscription, too. They’ve got two programs going: Re:Fill and Re:Vision:

Re:Fill: This program allows you to bring your growler in each month for a refill. It also gives you discounts on additional wine, on events, and on merchandise. And you get a complimentary insulated travel growler.

The subscription costs $72 in advance for the first three months and $20 per month thereafter.

Re:Vision: This program brings you a quarterly shipment of three (or six, depending on the program you choose) specially matched and selected wines. You pay for shipping or you pick up the wines at the shop, and you get a discount on the selected bottles.