Third Coast Soif

I kept my little announcement/speech very short yesterday so as not to disrupt the vibe of the fair…and Soif is always about the vibe. Here’s what else I wanted to say to all of you, and it’s better and more clear written here than shouted over a microphone PA system too. ✌🏽 Until next year

Wine, snacks & great people. 🍷 Thanks to @aribendersky and the whole crew from @catchandreleasewines , @deuxpunx , @oldworldwinery , @unturnedstonewine , and @twoshepherdswine for coming out. Getting to hear the stories, successes, and challenges you face today as winemakers in Sonoma kicked off our @thirdcoastsoif weekend with a bang. Thank you for sharing some insight into your community

Mark your calendars folks!

Photos from the 8th edition are now up on the website! Here’s a taste…stellar work Kevin! 🫶🏽 📸 by @kevinreodica

We did it again, everyone! This year’s fair proceeds of $2569 were donated to our NFP partner The Parlor / Trash People so that they can continue to make our city a cleaner community (you should volunteer with them too) and upcycle donated clothing and household goods to those in need. Bonus: this donation put them over their Winter Fundraiser goal, so thank you everyone who came to taste and to pour! #community

As always, @thirdcoastsoif did NOT come to play! When tons of our favorite producers throw a bunch of parties in one of our favorite cities, you know it’s going to be a good time. On that note, we’ll be nursing our hangovers for the foreseeable future. BIG LOVE to all who make this crazy weekend come to life.

Phew! That’s a wrap on the 8th edition of Soif, another banger for the books as the kids say. With 72 tables offering 354 different beverages to taste with 700 attendees over a 5 hour Sunday afternoon in late March, while vibing to the superb tunes provided by DJ maestra @catieoooooo and enjoying delicious food from @motorshucker and @__all_together_now__ and brilliant coffee from @buenodays.coffee …how does it always go by so quickly? At the tables this year we had 30 first timers and 28 female winemakers or partners pouring, with producers and importers from 10 countries and 8 US states. East coast had 4 NY + 1 VA, south coast (?) had 3 TX (plus Southold who is a “graduate” of both NY and TX), west coast had 3 OR and 17 CA. And our very own Third Coast continues to grow, with 16 Midwest producers this year from MI, WI and IL. We also raised much-needed funds for our NFP partner @theparlorchicago + @trashpeopleoflogansquare - and let’s not forget our wonderful hosts the Plumbers Union Hall Local 130! Everyone from near and far had a blast, and this past week’s celebrations keep proving how Chicago is the most collaborative and supportive wine community on the planet; and we know how to bring the party both at the fair and the over 80 off-Soif events all over the city! Abigail and I are SO thankful to each and every one of you, because without all you producers, importers, trade and consumers (especially you “average consumers” haha) the world would be a much less joyful place. #goodvibesonly 📸 @alyssagoch_

SWIPE TO SEE WHAT WE’RE POURING FOR EACH OFF SOIF EVENT —>⁠ ⁠ For Info and tix hit the link in bio.⁠ ⁠ Tastings start tonight...⁠ ⁠ ⁠ 🗓️ON THE SCHEDULE⁠ ⁠ • Thursday 3/19 Meet Your Importer Tasting ft. friends from José Pastor, Louis/Dressner, Selection Massale, Terres Blanches, 6-9pm⁠ ⁠ • Friday 3/20 Coast to Coast Tasting ft. Common Wealth Crush Co. (Virginia), COZs (Portugal), Old World Winery (California), Serradinha (Portugal)⁠, Stranger Wine Co (Michigan), 5-8pm⁠ ⁠ • Saturday 3/21 Sahtain! Tasting & Lunch ft. Mersel & Heya Wines and Food by Chicago’s Laimoon , 12:30pm-2:30pm ⁠(25% of sales donated to the Lebanese Red Cross - Eddie & Michelle are no longer able to travel) ⁠ ⁠ • Saturday 3/21 Jenny & François Takeover ft. Bodega Clandestina (Catalonia, ESP), Jus Naturae (Mosel, GER), Piri Naturel (Nahe, GER), Phil Sareil (Importer, NYC), 4-7pm ⁠ ⁠ • Sunday 3/22 Third Coast Soif After Party ft. dj sets by Matty Colston & La Queen, 9pm - ? ⁠ ⁠ • Monday 3/23 Third Coast Soif Hangover Tasting ft. Alta Marfa (Texas), Bobo Selections (Importer), Folklor (Michigan), Foradori (Italy), (Granor Farm & Distillery (Michigan), Haarmeyer (California), Rose Hill Farm (New York), & Vom Boden (Importer), 4-7pm ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠#thirdcoastsoif #offsoif #easydoesit ⁠

Back in Chicago for @thirdcoastsoif 🛸🍾😘 & pouring good juice all throughout the city! If you’re around, please come find us! Soif peeps get the first tastes of this pretty, new natty bottle of Pét Nat too! Follow @thirdcoastsoif & @creamwine to check out all of the happenings this week.

🥂 You know when you feel so close to someone that you assume you've already told them what you're thinking, or that they were at least there when it happened? That's how knowing Maxx and Sid feels, and it comes through effortlessly in their wines. Working meticulously in the field and in the cellar, while also continuing their education and that of their peers, opening a tasting room, and lifting up their local and global community, not to mention raising a new generation of already excellent humans, this powerhouse couple is awesome in every sense of the word (like, literally inspire awe, but they're also super rad). You can expect clean, ageable, classic wines that are still unmistakably natural and pure Michigan terroir. If you haven't met these two and tasted the joy in each bottle, run, don't walk, to say hello to your new best friends. This year, we're celebrating the addition of baby Finn to the family and the beginning of another season of their tasting room, so think about bringing them som while you're at it too!

Finally, say hello to your team! Mark, founder and Master of Ceremonies, threw the first Soif for about 200 people way back in 2017 after a wine-soaked night with his better half @onthewineroute and friends @_glouglou_ and @isthatmyglass where he realized that he could actually just bring the wine fair he wanted to see into the world! This is, of course, much easier said than done, and as the fair grew in size Abigail joined him in 2022 (after a two year COVID hiatus) to help out with all things social media and promotion, as well as the year-long herding of drunk cats from all over the world (yes, we do lovingly mean you, winemakers). When Mark’s not weaving together the tapestry of Third Coast Soif, he travels the world slinging wine for @josepastorselections and looking for the best seafood he can find, indulging in a fine cigar, casually running marathons, jamming out to live music, and doing his best to keep his hopes up in this crazy world. He’s an ace at Wordle and Q-Less as well as in the kitchen, and has a garden full of delicious food that he grows from seeds he’s collected in his wine travels! Abigail can be found running much smaller laps than Mark around local restaurants and bars, exploring Chicago (it’s almost her fifth year but she still feels new), crushing crosswords with a Botanist & soda and an ango, working on bits with her friends, making friends with strangers, and asking to see pictures of your pets. She’s a connoisseur of wordplay and loves to put an outfit together from her vintage collection! Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to our whole Soif community for making this crazy week possible and celebrating the hard (and delicious) work of everyone involved. Without the winemakers, farmers, distributors, importers, artists, reps, volunteers, and dreamers that make up this whole circus, the world would be a much darker place. We love y’all!