🎙️Welcome to episode twenty-six of Liquid Liner Notes! On this episode I chat with Dylan Melvin, one of the founders of My Dear Friends Wine.

Dylan is the director of adult beverage for Foxtrot Market, and one of the partners of is/was brewing which is where I first met him.

After spending much of the shutdown in environments conducive to bagged wine he became fond of the format. Going so far as to fill bladders with bottled wine to take to hangouts. This sparked an idea, quality affordable wine in large formats.

Next week, after nearly two years of planning and work, that initial idea launches in Chicago as My Dear Friends Wine. In effort to find value that makes this project work, Dylan and his patterns will be sourcing grapes from South Africa’s Western Cape. A region that, due to political and socio-economic variables, has been forgotten in the wine world. Those grapes will be turned into wine using traditional minimal intervention methods.

South Africa has a deep history in viticulture due to its soil composition and use of various techniques like dry-farming and bush vines.

My Dear Friends will begin distribution in Chicago & Dallas through Foxtrot Market locations with three different wines. The three include a Sauvignon Blanc, a skin contact white, and a red table wine. The wine will be packaged in 1L bottles and 1.5L bagnums, with a price that comes out to what would be $15-$16 for a regular sized bottle of wine.

You can find My Dear Friends on Instagram at @MyDearFriendsWine and on their website mydearfriendswine.com.