The smell of freshly baked bread drifted through the air as forks clanked and chattering filled the restaurant. Tony and I were munching on the flavorful and flaky goat cheese tart at the new Red Sauce Rebellion restaurant in Excelsior.

We were planning on going out downtown that night but this particular date night had a stressful start and hadn’t turned out how we planned. We were totally ok with finding ourselves in Excelsior though as it’s one of our favorite date night spots.

We were trying to have a personal conversation but it was difficult with the tables so close together. We were practically sharing with the couple next us.”Congrats on your marriage!” the waiter said to the couple next to us. They looked at him with confusion. Tony and I had told the waiter that we had just gotten married a couple months ago and he accidentally thought it was them who told him that instead.

Luckily, this was a great ice breaker for us and the neighboring couple and we struck up a great conversation. They asked us about our wedding and we asked them about their marriage. They had been married for 8 years so naturally we asked what marriage advice they had for us. They said to be patient and honest with each other, even when it’s hard.

When they were getting ready to leave, they casually asked if we liked wine. We enthusiastically said yes and they told us to check out The Wine Republic down the street. They said they carry all organic and sustainable wines and you can even become members.

I talked Tony into stopping there even though he assumed it would be expensive and pretentious based on their description. Where I am all about paying money for items that are high quality, local, organic and have a good story behind them, Tony likes to look for the best deal. I think we actually balance each other well that way!

But the moment we stepped into the Wine Republic, we knew immediately that his assumptions were dead wrong! We were warmly greeted by the owners RJ and Patti who were clearly extremely intelligent about wine but completely down to earth, approachable, and happy to answer our very naive questions about wine.

And our worries about the prices of the organic wines were totally unfounded. They were way more reasonable than we expected!

It’s a small shop and the owners take great care in their curation so I am confident I could walk in and grab pretty much anything and be confident that it’s awesome. A completely different experience from Total Wine where you are overwhelmed by the shear volume and at a loss at what to pick.

(This blog probably sounds like a paid advertisement for Wine Republic, but I promise it’s not! Hahaha, I just love it that much!)

We signed up to be wine club members that first night we walked in. We were hooked. For a very reasonable price, we get two bottles a month plus access to all of their tastings and most of their events for free! In the short couple months we’ve been members, we’ve gone to six (I think, I’ve lost count!) classes to learn more about wine and tons of wine tastings.

That long story (thanks for hanging with me!) brings me to this rosé  event they hosted at Cast & Cru. They had 25 -yes 25!- rosé wines to try along with some seriously delicious food. Don’t worry, Tony only tried a few of them and was able to drive us home 🙂  He’s a pretty great husband!

If you’re looking for a really pretty and unique place to host your wedding, check out Cast & Cru! My wedding photographer mind went straight to, “this would be such a cool venue for a wedding!” the moment I walked in.

It would be awesome for intimate weddings or larger weddings too. The grounds and the rustic, log cabin feel would definitely appeal to Lumos Couples. Check it out for your wedding or just go there for dinner. The food was off-the-charts tasty!

Our new friend Logan was decked out for the event and so much fun! His 5 wines were our favorite too! We especially loved this goliath-sized one!

These are the amazing owners of The Wine Republic!! RJ and Patti are warm, friendly, fun! They’ve created an amazing community for their wine club members and we are so happy to have found them. They remembered our names and greeted us excitedly the second time we walked into their store! So cool!