At the Elk Grove Tribune, we are always proud to highlight and showcase local Elk Grove businesses. One business we’ve been excitedly watching is Christopher Cellars. In October of 2019, the Elk Grove Tribune was given an exclusive look at the Christopher Cellars winery, located at Elk Grove Boulevard and Bradshaw Road. Owners Chris and Candice Mora, longtime City of Elk Grove residents, gave us a personal tour.

The 2019 Malbec Rose’ and the Collaboration Celebration Blend

An Elk Grove Tribune Wine Review

Christopher Cellars has a number of delicious wines, two of which the Elk Grove Tribune was honored to sample. We tried the 2019 Malbec Rose’ and the Collaboration Celebration Blend, the latter being a unique feature created as a result of COVID-19.

From someone who doesn’t consider themself to be a wine connoisseur, but can certainly recognize a quality wine when I taste one, trust me when I say: This is quality wine.

From the moment it touches the lips, the taste from the tongue to the back of the throat is seamless, smooth, and very, very enjoyable. Both wines were fruit-forward and savory. Our only complaint was that the wine was gone way too soon!

Adjusting To Business During A Pandemic

The plan for Chris was to open up the winery for business in February of 2020. As we all know, the novel coronavirus put many plans – particularly those of small businesses – on hold. Fortunately for Christopher Cellars, they were able to host their first ever event on March 7, 2020 just before the initial statewide Stay at Home orders were made. According to Chris, this event is “definitely what put [them] on the map” as it gave people the opportunity to personally meet Chris and Candice and to try out their wines. The event was where they obtained the majority of their club members, for which they are very grateful.

Christopher Cellars continued to transition relatively seamlessly into a more virtual business as COVID-19 mandates continue to change. In lieu of hosting an event for club members to pick up their first shipments of wine in May, Chris and Candice personally drove to each of the club members’ homes and delivered to each of them two wine tasting flights, packaged in 1.67 ounce labeled bottles, to “bring the party” to them. Chris and Candice also hosted a live ZOOM virtual meeting where they poured every wine from their offerings, talked about each of them, and played some wine trivia. It was a huge hit!

$10 Wine Flights to Try From Home

Photo Credit: Christopher Cellars’ Instagram

To allow prospective clients a cost-effective and fun opportunity to try out Christopher Cellar wines without making the commitment of purchasing an entire bottle, Chris and Candice have started bottling wine flights. As Chris puts it, these wine flights are “a creative way to have customers get a great tasting experience in their own homes.”

They have bottles of the following five wines in these flights:

2019 Shinn Ranch Vineyard Chardonnay
2019 Bartholomew Family Malbec Rose
2018 Bartholomew Family Vineyards Malbec
Winemaker’s Select Red Blend (Petit Verdot, Zinfandel & Malbec)
Collaboration Celebration Red Blend (Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah

Each wine is poured into small, labeled bottles and contain just shy of two ounces (which is more than one gets in an average tasting). They also include a tasting sheet along with each flight to assist you through the process of tasting. The sheet ensures the wines are tasted in a particular order to give you the best experience possible. These flights are amazing and a great gift for family and friends. Or keep them all to yourself to try out something fun and new at home!

A Brand New Wine Concept As A Result Of COVID

As mentioned previously, Christopher Cellars actually created a brand new wine concept as a result of COVID-19, called the Collaboration Celebration Red Blend. Chris says, “Being quarantined at home, it gave light to wanting to create something that can be an everyday drinking wine that is not only cost effective but tastes delicious all while keeping a premium ‘look’ to the bottle.” With a monthly membership, you can purchase this wine initially for $20 and then return each month with the empty bottle to be refilled for only $10.00!

Christopher Cellars’ Reusable and Refillable Wine Bottles

A Mission To Reduce Carbon Footprints

These reusable bottles are also a personal mission of Christopher Cellars’ to “reduce environmental impact by eliminating capsules, labels, and waste associated with recycling glass.”

More information about the wine flights, all wines offered by Christopher Cellars, and the various Celebration Club and Wine Club membership levels can be found on their website here: Christopher Cellars

Upcoming Wine Tasting Event

Christopher Cellars will be participating in a socially-distanced, outdoor event on Wednesday, July 8, from 4:00 – 8:00 PM at the Sheldon Wine Shop.

Wine tasting is only $5.00 a person, but the fee can be waived with a wine purchase! Christopher Cellars will be pouring five different wines at this event.

Reservations must be made in advance by calling Lori from the Sheldon Wine Shop at (916) 952-2774.

This Time Has Really Shown “How Great Of A Community We’ve Planted Our Roots In”

While no one anticipated the heavy impacts that COVID-19 would have on small businesses, Chris and Candice have seen amazing things come from current circumstances.

Reflecting on the past few months of business, Chris said, “What we noticed was how amazing the Elk Grove and neighboring communities are in coming together to support small businesses. We’ve seen a great amount of enthusiasm and support from not only returning customers, but new ones that have never tried our wines before and wanted to buy the wines to help support us as a local business. As tough as these times are, it really shows you how great of a community we’ve planted our roots in that want to see us grow and thrive.”

Christopher Cellars comes at highest recommendations from the Elk Grove Tribune, and we look forward to following their journey of well-deserved success.