A taste of Hollywood glamor came to Nocatee last week, when Coastal Wine Market & Tasting Room hosted a red-carpet gala to celebrate the launch of its first exclusive wine label.
Held Dec. 4, the black tie-optional event was attended by more than 50 guests – many of them devoted Coastal Wine customers – who came to congratulate owners Steve and Shaun Lourie on the launch of Stone to Crystal, a 2016 Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon. As guests walked the red carpet in tuxedos and evening gowns, many expressed their happiness for the Louries and the success they have achieved with Coastal Wine Market.
“I want to tell Steve and Shaun ‘I knew you when,’” said Kelly Hofelt, who attended the gala with her husband, Dan.
Kim Tokarz and Amber Roach said they have been coming to Coastal Wine Market since the shop opened. “We’re ‘the regulars,’” Roach quipped. “We’re really happy for them!”
Stewart Moore, meanwhile, joked, “Steve, you’re the only man I would wear a suit for!”
That type of customer loyalty and support, Steve Lourie said, made the gala event possible.
“The people here (in Nocatee) have been so supportive of us,” he said. “It’s such a great crowd.”
Clad in a tuxedo, Lourie said the idea for the wine label began about a year ago when Bryan Page of Napa-based Page Wine Cellars suggested it.
“The idea of creating a wine just really fit in with our vision,” he said.
The name of the wine, Lourie said, refers to the focal piece of Coastal Wine’s recently expanded space: a 2,000-crystal chandelier representing intertwining grapevines custom-designed by Oregon artist Jonquil LeMaster, who traveled to Ponte Vedra to attend the gala.
“The name not only refers to the chandelier and to our space – which features exposed brick and stone – but also to the growth of our business,” Lourie said.
In addition to a tasting of Stone to Crystal, guests enjoyed complimentary pours of numerous other wines presented by certified sommeliers from some of Coastal Wine’s partners. Coastal Wine chefs James Wargo and Tim Smith, meanwhile, presented a menu of gourmet hors d’oeuvres that included filet and lobster skewers, veal-stuffed mushrooms with ricotta, tuna tartare, goat cheese and fig crostini, crab cakes with caviar and more.
As guests sampled the wines and culinary delights beneath the sparkling chandelier, Lourie once again thanked the Nocatee community for the support that enabled Coastal Wine to host such an event.
“We feel like this is a first for Nocatee: to have an exclusive wine based here,” he said. “As small business owners and local residents, we are just thrilled.”
