Outdoor clothing brand Patagonia is expanding into wine, cider, and sake. The peddlers of all things that’ll make your time spent in nature better have finally realized that a touch of alcohol under the stars can be a lovely thing. In total, the brand has released eight natural wines it is selling via its Patagonia Provisions website. Late next month, it will expand its offerings by adding an organic sake as well as a dry hard cider from the Chilean Andes.
If you’re wondering why Patagonia is suddenly selling wine, they’ve anticipated your quandary. “It starts with the idea of connection to place,” says an explanation on the website. “Nothing captures the natural setting of a given location—the soil, weather, flora and fauna—like hand-crafted, thoughtfully produced wine, cider and sake. The French call it terroir, but we just think of it as the taste, aroma, and beyond that, the spirit of some of the best places on earth.”
In reality, the wines Patagonia has managed to pull together come with great stories at the very least. From a 24th-generation sake brewer in Japan using local rice grown without pesticides and spring water that rises up from beneath a centuries-old shrine to a “piquette” wine that draws its bubbly nature and low alcohol content from fermenting the remains of grapes crushed for other wines, these are wines that at the very least should get outdoor enthusiasts intrigued. There are wines grown on the flanks of a Sicilian volcano, in the granite soils of an abandoned Catskills dairy farm, and ciders from the foothills of the Andes and the rolling hills of New Zealand’s South Island. There’s also an Austrian herb-infused white from one of the largest biodynamic farms on earth, and a classic Chablis from a historic vineyard that’s been in the winemaker’s family for more than 400 years.
Patagonia’s new wine range can be purchased by and shipped to legal-aged customers in 13 states, including Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming — and Washington, D.C. Wines range from $8 to $58.