What is Depth?

Depth is a natural wine & solidarity fair and fundraiser for our local abortion fund, the Hampton Roads Reproductive Justice League, taking place in what is now Norfolk, Virginia on Sunday, June 2, 2024! 

We created Depth as a casual & fun ticketed experience bridging two social movements – reproductive justice & natural wine. We chose these movements to highlight the solidarity we find in the ecosystems within cross movement building. 

During this 6 hour event, we’ll be sipping wine and chatting with producers and importers from our region & the world on the beautiful roof deck of Assembly Norfolk and discussing how these movements intersect, how to build grassroots change, and where we can go when we build strong coalitions of care and comradery. 

We’ll also be hosting community convos and community building activities so you can join and help us build the ecosystem of repro justice & natural wine in Southeastern Va! We would love to hear your voice during our community convos as we dive into topics such as…

– labor justice as an act of sustainability within natural wine
– rest & joy & natural wine as resistance
– the intersection of land tenure, natural wine, & reproductive justice
– dismantling white supremacy & racial capitalism within the natural wine movement
– let’s talk about land, baby – who has it, who has access to it, who doesn’t, & why
– social movements and community as revolution

Depth operates on a sliding scale to provide accessibility. All ticket sales will serve as a donation to HRRJL, with the exception of the cost for the event itself. If you’re industry or not able to cover the full cost, we’re excited for you to join us! If you’re able to help cover the cost of another person’s ticket & build solidarity, please do! The entirety of the event will be volunteer-led, organized, and run. 

Event Program

Your day will begin with a toast of delicious bubblies and a brief introduction to the intersection of the reproductive justice & natural wine movements.

You’ll then move into hand selected wine tastings and community programming!

We’ll have a space for folks to “whiteboard” their thoughts about the movements and community building, spaces designed to encourage clusters of independent conversations inspired by convo cards, and be offering ongoing facilitated community conversations throughout the day in the boardroom space. 

These conversations will begin every hour, beginning at 1pm, and last 45 minutes with a break from 3-4. They will be facilitated by Repro Justice advocates from HRRJL and a natural wine representative from Grandiflora, Eleanor’s Norfolk, or one of our participating distributors or producers.

Participating Producers, Distributors, and Importers

Botanist & Barrel is the South’s only natural cidery — and first producer of Petillant Natural ciders — in the Southeastern United States, focused on spontaneous and wild cultures. Botanist & Barrel crafts real Southern ciders, fruited sours, and wines, by way of light-handed winemaking that intertwines old-world methods with modern sensibilities. Ciders are crafted with local, sustainable, and organic fruits, including blueberries, traditional Southern heirloom cider apples, and more, from their organic estate farm. Botanist & Barrel is an active, living beverage due to its unfiltered, unpasteurized nature, containing little to no residual sugar — making it a healthier lifestyle choice. The winery supports local farmers using only sustainably and organically-sourced fruits, including blueberries, apples, and more, from our organic estate farm. Ciders and wines are raw, wild, unrefined, unfiltered, and unpasteurized, allowing customers to feel good about what they’re drinking.

Founded in 2022, Common Wealth Crush Co. is the first winemaking operation of its kind in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Built with small producers in mind, we are custom crush meets business incubator meets thinktank cooperative.

As small producers ourselves, we founded CWC to help grow the next generation of fellow Virginia winemakers, bringing these minds together under one roof where collaboration and creativity can flow. Leveraging strength in numbers and community, we strive to generate “common wealth” for all the makers in our ecosystem.

We are passionate about the winegrowing potential of our region, and believe sustained momentum requires a thoughtful and honest approach to winemaking. We aim to use each vintage to convey the time and place our grapes are grown, while seeking out fellow makers who share this philosophy.

Based in Richmond, Native Selections distributes  naturally-made wines to retailers and restaurants in Virginia and Washington DC.  We work with small, family farms and other importers to source wines made in a “natural” way, that is, with grapes farmed via organic/biodynamic methods, fermentations with wild/native yeasts, and made without any additives such as sugar, acid, color, or commercial yeasts, while the use of sulfites is minimized or entirely avoided.  The wines are typically unfined and unfiltered.  Our wines are lively, interesting, and have a distinct sense of place!

Native Selections was established in 2015 by Shawn Eubank. We operate out of a temperature controlled warehouse in Richmond and proudly service customers throughout Virginia and Washington DC.  

Natural Vinified Beverages is a boutique portfolio of unconventional wines that are rooted in tradition & push the expected. 

We operate out of Virginia Beach, Virginia and focus on small production & low intervention because a wine is only as good as its maker. 

Every producer in the portfolio is family – we are an attache for every maker.

Plant Wines distributes and imports wines that we love to drink. Whether it’s a traditionally made Barolo, or a natural wine made from an obscure varietal in Styria, we strive to bring you a product that’s unique, delicious, and that best reflects the terroir from which it hails. That said, we choose to work solely with small estates, vignerons, and importers that believe the best wines come from healthy grapes, grown without the use of synthetic pesticides or herbicides, fermented naturally, and carefully raised in the cellar without additives of any kind.

Our wines come from a diverse group of artisans with a deep connection to their land, history, and culture, which shine through each and every bottle of wine they produce. We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to call many of these people our friends and to be able to share the fruits of their labor with you. They, along with our valued customers, are the reason why we do what we do.

One of the greatest joys for me in this business is getting to know people from all walks of life. Whether you’re a customer, a winemaker, or importer, we want to hear your story and we want to share our stories with you. It’s through wine that I have been so lucky to forge many meaningful relationships. My partners (Jenny & Francois and David Bowler) emerged from past relationships, and it’s truly been an honor to be able to collaborate with them on Plant Wines.

Everyone involved in helping to make Plant Wines are not just partners and customers, they are friends and family. We deeply care about everyone we work with, and those who share our passion for natural and delicious wine!

Since 2011, Terraneo Merchants have been importing artisan wines crafted by real people, from some of the most compelling regions in Europe. Wine produced at an industrial scale lacks authenticity and character, and often includes a list of preservatives and additives. That’s why we import authentic, handmade, small production wines. Terraneo wines are always hand harvested, dry-farmed, organic or biodynamic farmed and vegan. Minimal intervention in vineyard and cellar result in memorable wines worth drinking, because life is too short to drink boring wine.

Williams Corner is an importer and distributor of wine and other fermented & distilled beverages based in Charlottesville, Virginia who knows that wine is an agriculture product. We specialize in wines made by dedicated and passionate craftspeople working in an environmentally conscious manner.

We acknowledge that grape growing has been one of the most chemically intensive agricultural sectors since the widespread adoption of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides in the second half of the 20th Century. We choose to work with growers and winemakers who recognize the unsustainability of intensive industrial monoculture and who, as a result, have decided to take a different approach to farming. 

These approaches are as varied as the number of winemakers in the Williams Corner portfolio. What these artisans tend to have in common is a commitment to land preservation and renewal.  This philosophy of agrarian stewardship usually informs the winemaking process as well. It tends not to be proscriptive or dogmatic, but rather sensible, intentional, and holistic. 

The goal for many of these folks is to make exceptional wines of great character in a way that aligns with their views on the natural world. The results often provide insight into distinctive geographic locations, grape varieties, and/or specific processing techniques. They are also meant to provide pleasure, a feature of wine consumption we vigorously promote and defend here at Williams Corner.

One of the central missions of our local natural wine partners – Grandiflora and Eleanor’s Norfolk is using wine as a medium for building solidarity and educating people about social issues. Building solidarity across regions is important for both the livelihood of natural wine producers, as well as for helping people escape from reproductive injustice (as is the case in the Southeast). 

In solidarity with the natural wine movement, there will be no tabling or other producer fees for Depth. If your winemaking is based in sustainability and justice, we want to hear from you. Contact us if you’d like to pour at Depth!

We need Volunteers!

Do you love wine, reproductive justice, and helping people get what they need? We’d love to have your help! Here’s a list of things we might need help with;

  • Greeting and Ushering
  • Water
  • Safety
  • Vendor support
 

Get your tickets today!

for Assembly Members, in a spirit of mutual aid and appreciation for Assembly’s donation of the space, we are offering you a special ticket discount. Please email movement@hrrjl.org to claim them!

For our repro justice advocates & natural wine lovers, grab your tickets below!

We’re so grateful to be able to share community with you all. 

Depth is sponsored by the following community supporters: