Last week Cub and I wrote a piece for Psychic Wines’ wine club newsletter/zine about Brent Mayeaux’s wine, Dreams on Layaway which we also sell in our store. In it we touch on this idea of stolen time, something that we came upon in the car after deliveries. We often sit in the car outside of my house after the day is done (mostly my fault I think). A concept my sister and I actually call “sitting in the car” but means lingering in a place when you know you’re meant to move on to the next.
Stolen time is just about as simple as sitting in the car. Cub, who is better at writing in an explicative and straightforward manner, blessedly defined it for VISIONS readers but deserves a repeat plus it’s fun to be able to quote your own friend & business partner in your writing, “Stolen time refers to when you have something else you are supposed to be doing, whether that is work, errands, etc, and instead of doing that you pass time doing something rewarding, something probably needed emotionally, usually this means visiting and chatting with others. This is the time-place where natural wine lives. It can happen at any time of the day or night.” We probably came to this while sitting in the car because it’s so closely related to “sitting in the car”.
I also mention that stolen time is really the impetus for our friendship. We had met already, having been offered jobs in the same round of hiring at the restaurant Cellar Door Provisions with similar but different aspirations. Cub I believe wanted to make cheese and I wanted to learn how to ferment foods like they did at Bar Tartine. We both agreed to work front of house positions in order to be in proximity to the madness and inspiration that was producing both cheese and more ferments than any other restaurant at the time. Though we had this in common we did not really become friends and Cub left not too long after to focus on wine at Red & White.
We would see each other sometimes, stopping by each other’s places of work and maybe some other places. One night I got to leave the restaurant early to go buy my coworker Riley a bottle of wine for his birthday because it seemed like the right thing to do. And I had to get to the shop before close. When I say leave early I definitely mean after being there like 12 hours, which was frequent and important to this story because hours like those don’t leave much time for socializing. Don’t feel bad for me, I liked it. When I got to the shop I found Mac and Cub toward the back and explained the situation, that the wine was for Riley, it was his birthday, it needs to be less than $30 probably. Mac helped me with this (he picked a wild white wine made with some sherry grapes from Andalusia) and Cub opened something for us to drink. At the time I did not know this is what people did in wine shops and I was not planning on staying. In fact I probably needed to get home and sleep because I had a long day ahead of me.
We ended up drinking three bottles, talking about skateboarding, definitely not wine. I still remember what the wines were. The first bottle Cub opened for us was Grenabar from Domaine L’Octavin, one of Alive Bouvot’s negociant cuvées. At the time I didn’t know that, I also didn’t know she sourced the grapes from another influential winemaker Remi Poujol or that she went to go pick the grapes at the domaine herself. I did like the wine though and knowing these things perhaps now helps me to understand why I found it remarkable at the time but at the same time does not overpower the initial intimacy. But that’s even maybe looking too far ahead.
The wine served as a tether for us to that time, but in a way helped us let go of the place a little bit. Even though it was a shop for wine the point was that we were freshly and surprisingly together. It was a way for three people who might be interested to talk about skateboarding to finally meet under the circumstances to do it, especially three people so dedicated to working. We were really just kind of doing nothing. You might be tempted to see this play time as being ultimately productive, Cub and I do this business together maybe partially because of that night. And maybe that is an ok way of looking at it, but also if that expectation were placed on us I feel the whole thing would have fallen apart. Because then the time isn’t stolen, you’re doing something for some reason again. Allocating time from one task for another. If you are to consider a goal it is to have the pleasure of being nowhere without a plan and no reason to make one.
If you find yourself stealing time, something you probably wouldn’t realize until during or possibly after, you might need to do some spontaneous cookery and of course it is to your benefit to have wine on hand that you have not designated for any specific purpose. Which can feel luxurious, but I think there is something meant to be luxurious about this entire idea. Brent’s wine Dreams on Layaway is good for this purpose and of course the inspiration for the share. In the shop we also have Mayga Gamay from Alice Bouvot, sibling to the Grenabar that started this whole thing. But anything that you are curious about will obviously do and the wine is more important as a memory anyhow. And to maybe think of them as wines that are just around, that are available for dinner just as much as this sweet space. Because, annoyingly but also like many favorite things, you can’t capture it or do it on purpose. Maybe even forget I wrote this, you’ll be better for it.
Just a quick note that we've changed our hours. For same day delivery please order before 2 PM, orders after two will be delivered the next delivery day. We now go out Wednesdays through Saturdays. If you have any questions email rainbowwinechi@gmail.com or DM @rainbow_wines on Instagram. Cheers!
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