🍾 Wine's "Sober Sister": TEA | Introducing Susurrus Sparkling Teas | BD17 NEWBIE

[EllisonW]

Hi, Wine Berserkers!

My name is Ellison Wofford and I am a wine industry veteran (SVB Wine Division, RAEN Winery & Bella Oaks) that recently launched:

SUSURRUS SPARKLING TEAS (promo code: “BD17” - SHOP HERE - see below for details)

I am reading the room (it is called WINE Bersekers, after all) and here to promise you that Susurrus is not about the NA movement or intended to be a substitute…

…rather, I am all about TEA, with Susurrus Sparkling Teas crafted to be elegant companions and staunch allies to the world of wine.

Think of tea as wine’s younger, sober sister that offers you an equally-boundless world to dive into. Susurrus celebrates all of the things the two worlds have in common, such as:

• History
• Agriculture
• Cultivation
• Ceremony
• Terroir
• Tannin
• Craftsmanship
• Culinary Pairings
• Community

Like wine, tea is also a “passport in a glass”!

The only difference? Tea is inherently non-alcoholic.

That doesn’t mean it’s no fun! As Nature’s original function beverage full of antioxidants, I also like to refer to tea as “Nature’s Xanax.”

Why the bold claim?

Tea is the only plant to synthesize and naturally contain L-Theanine, which when paired with its inherent caffeine, gives you the most wonderfully calming, relaxed, clear-minded sensation - perfect for conversation, community, dining, crafts and self-care!

And if you drink enough tea, you can get “tea drunk” - it’s wonderful! I can attest.

I also assume that you, like me, still very much enjoy wine and cocktails so I’m here to tell you, Susurrus Sparkling Teas are a wonderful way to simply moderate your evening and really fun to play with in cocktails - try using either bottling when a cocktail recipe calls for sparkling wine, Champagne, or Prosecco for an added floral-flair and dash of antioxidants !

And if you do want to enjoy a 0%-abv evening, there’s no sacrifice! You can choose Susurrus Sparkling Tea and enjoy it for what it inherently is, rather than simply because of what it lacks; alcohol.

There’s truly something for everyone and your dining room table can look like this:

Now, before getting to the BD17 PROMO BELOW, here is a brief “TEA 101”:

Have you ever seen freshly hand-harvested tea before?

And did you know the world of true tea and its 6 major tea types (green, black, white, yellow, oolong, pu-erh) all come from the SAME perennial tree, Camellia sinensis?

If not, here is a photo of the entire world of tea below!

(you can think of this like someone holding a grape cluster, except every type of wine - from cabernet franc to viognier - came from the same varietal and its many clones It’s the terroir and skilled craftsmanship of a tea master, not different plants, that result in different tea types)

Tea is so cool.

I could go on, but for BD17 and collecting Susurrus Sparkling Tea, here’s what you need to know:

1. The two available bottlings are:

MAGNOLIA OOLONG ← click for Tasting Notes and to SHOP

OSMANTHUS GOLDEN TIP ← click for Tasting Notes and SHOP

2. There are NO added juices, aromas, or flavors. You only smell and taste inherent qualities of the single-origin, single-cultivar (aka varietal), old-tree (aka old-vine) tea leaves that I directly import from Fujian and Yunnan Provinces of China.

3. I CAN SHIP EVERYWHERE! Even Utah! (yes, UTAH because…0% abv, baby)

4. NO Signatures required for delivery! (0% abv means NO being held hostage waiting for UPS/FedEx, only to miss the delivery attempt while running a 5-minute errand)

5. PROMO CODE: BD17 ←

What do you get with promo code BD17 ???

20% OFF - all orders of any size

• Orders of 6-11 bottles get $20 FLAT RATE shipping + a complimentary gold SUSURRUS BOTTLE STOPPER
• Orders of 12 bottles ship FREE (UPS Ground) + a complimentary gold SUSURRUS BOTTLE STOPPER
• YES you CAN mix-and-match between the two bottlings
• YES I CAN ship to your state because I can ship everywhere

Welcome to the boundless world of tea and I hope I get to pop bottles of wine and tea with you one day very soon!

Cheers from Napa,
Ellison

Instagram: @susurrusteas

[ToddFrench]

Ok…I was skeptical on these…but I wholeheartedly bless the berserkers with this option, particularly for the myriad who practice Dry January (obviously NEXT year!) and any time you don’t feel like booze but your highly-developed palate wants to be tricked into thinking you might be drinking some Champagne, and aren’t left out of the fun. From my note in the ‘Meet the Newbies’ thread:

@ToddFrench

The other I’d like to highlight is Susurrus. I assigned my wife as the ‘Newbie Taster’ for those since she was doing ‘mostly’ Dry January, and these sparkling teas are spectacular. Complex and giving you the experience that you ARE truly enjoying a fine Champagne rather than just ‘sparkling tea’. Jen had me order a 6-pack immediately thereafter…

[Siun_O_Connell]

I wanted to expand a bit on my comment on the Meet the Newbie’s thread because Ellison’s Susurrus Sparkling Tea was a real revelation. I was a monopole cru taster for Susurrus and received a bottle of each of the two sparkling teas – Magnolia Oolong and Osmanthus Golden Tip.

I brought the teas to my daughter’s house for our Christmas Eve dinner with a menu chosen by my two grandsons – “Buttermilk Fried Chicken on the bone” was the boys’ chosen feature along with a carrot salad and Robuchon mash (my request) and Russian vegetable pie (heavy on marjoram and tarragon) Our Susurrus teas were actually quite complimentary to this rather jumbled menu but we all know Champagne is great with fried chicken so I should not have been surprised.

We drank both tea varieties and loved them. As Todd said, these are wonderful bottles. My son-in-law is a classically trained chef (CIA, former sous at Michelin 2 star) who summed it up by saying he’d happily have them both as non-alcoholic pairings for one of his tasting menus. My daughter, who trained under Chef Thai Dang at Embeya which had an extraordinary Riesling library, particularly loved the Magnolia Oolong with its lovely balance of fresh brightness and very subtle sweetness. I was reminded of a halbtrocken. The Osmanthus Oolong was my favorite though I loved both. It had a subtle almost warmth that lingered and my 5 year old grandson who was quite thrilled to get a wine glass and taste said it reminded him of coffee which somehow made sense.

The bubbles lasted, the flavor evolved in the glass – and these are definitely on my list for Berserker Day – I’ve had to promise a supply for future family dinners.

[EllisonW]

Thank you so much, Siun!!!

Your advocacy and kind words mean so much to me and you totally “get it;” my intention with these bottlings.

I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to share Susurrus with this community !

[Mark_Mason]

This is so interesting- does Sparkling Tea change with age?

[EllisonW]

Mark - great question! Here’s a somewhat long-winded answer for you

Rather than developing tertiary characteristics through long-term aging like age-worthy wines, my bottlings act as time capsules for the brewed tea leaves themselves. On each back label and on my website you will see the harvest date noted (as well as region, elevation of site, cultivar, harvest pick type, etc) of the tea leaves themselves that I directly import from China to steep to make each bottling.

So I am most focused on capturing the tea leaf at its ideal aging point, then preserving that in bottle for as long as possible!

The structure provided by the pure tea base, its tannins, low pH (low 3’s), and high amounts of CO2 should provide 12-18+ months of an ideal “drinking window.” I am in the process now of conducting what is called an accelerated shelf-life study with organoleptic panels - fancy term for sensory analysis - to see how the teas develop in-bottle and if there is in fact aging-potential the way we think of with wine. So, TBD!

Since my first bottling just over a month ago in mid-December, I can readily tell there has been beautiful integration and heightened expression of the aromas and flavors. As my grandmother would say, the “flavors have married.”

I hope this is helpful!

Another simple way to put it is: no aging is needed before enjoying bottlings of Susurrus Sparkling Tea When you receive them, they’re ready to pop, pour and enjoy!

Cheers

[Drew_Corwin]

Good luck and Welcome to the chaos!

[JonathanG]

Definitely will order!

I want to send some of these to friends in Texas but need to know which carrier you use to ship - UPS vs FedEx?

[EllisonW]

Amazing thank you so much Jonathan!!! My default is UPS but if you need it to be FedEx, I can do that as well - you just lemme know

[Pat_Esposito]

I love this idea, my wife is a big tea drinker but (gasp) doesn’t really enjoy champagne. And there are plenty of nights I want a sparkler but refrain because of early morning work or workout. Can’t wait to order tomorrow.

[EllisonW]

I’m so excited for you both to try these ! I so hope she loves them especially as a tea fan

[EllisonW]

Thank you, Drew !

[Erin_Di_Costanzo]

Ellison, congrats! You and I just connected at Charlie’s in Saint Helena the other day Good luck & have fun on this inaugural BD for Susurrus.

[EllisonW]

Thank you so much, Erin ! I’m headed to Charlie’s tomorrow for dinner Hopefully I’ll see you there !

[Eric_White]

I’ve got another month of dry, so I’m in!

[A_Buckingham]

What a cool concept, I am so excited to give these a try!

[Pat_Esposito]

In for a case of each, have a handful of family and friends I want to share these with as well. Good luck today!

[Siun_O_Connell]

I’m goiung to be drinking these every month of the year … not just dry

[hamiltoncd]

In for 6. Thank you