Frequently asked questions

The name builds on Seb’s family heritage and tradition in winemaking, but has an adventurous edge as we’ve branched out into new regions like the Finger Lakes and are continuously experimenting with new varieties and low-input techniques. We also wanted to hint at our focus on sustainability.

The whole big official story can be found here! But once we were in the same region, it all came down to Col’s roommate suggesting we’d hit it off, a bit of Facebook stalking, a chance encounter at the grocery store, and a few well-timed industry tastings.

Simply put: One of us is from Australia, one of us is from America. After meeting, we lived in Australia for a few years, each working in different aspects of the industry and making a bit of our own wine on the side. After a few years in Australia, Col was keen to spend more time at home. We also loved the idea of making sparklings and rich, aromatic whites in a cool climate to complement the mostly red wines we make in South Australia, so the concept of making wine in both hemispheres developed.

We spend three to four months in South Australia and eight to nine months in New York each year. Most of this time is over vintage, when we also bottle our wines. It’s hectic to always be either in vintage or bottling mode in one country or the other, with additional aspects of the business crammed in the middle. While there’s no ‘down-time,’ it allows us to spend time with both of our families and to make a wide range of wines.

Delicious ones. But in all seriousness, we focus on Shiraz in South Australia and Riesling in the Finger Lakes. We make many more varieties than that of course, leaning towards vibrant, spicy reds in South Australia and dry, rich whites and sparklings in the Finger Lakes. We have ‘home blocks’ on our families’ vineyards [in very different climates], but also the flexibility to source from other growers, so we’re always playing around with new varieties and styles that we feel really suit and highlight the regions we’re in, sites we’re sourcing from and the particular season.

Our first vintages in 2016 yielded about 1,500 cases in South Australia and 1,500 in New York, whereas now we’re making closer to 5,000 cases in each country.

Our wines fall in the camp of wild ferment, minimal additions [no yeast, sugar, acid, tannin, fining agents etc.], unfined, and our dry wines are unfiltered. We source from a couple organic vineyards and otherwise those who prioritize sustainability. We add sulfur to most, but not all, of our wines. In general, our goal is to make high quality, balanced and lively wines with a strong sense of place and minimal inputs.

We were keen to bring the local natural environments into the conversation, relating to the surrounding landscape but also to the characters of the wines. We love returning the narrative back to the land, especially given Seb’s family’s passion for conservation. It was also to help distinguish between our different wines [i.e., two styles of Shiraz and many different styles of Riesling]. That said, our story is fairly complicated with two countries, family history, an urban winery, etc., so we’re phasing out the names to focus more on the differences between regions and styles.

It is always our goal to be good neighbors and help out as much as we can, though we receive many more requests than we can accommodate. Because we started Living Roots with the vision of being a positive force with social, financial and environmental sustainability integrated into our business, we tend to prioritize causes relating to the environment or making the wine industry more accessible and inclusive. Please reach out to us if you think your organization is a good fit!

We currently ship to: CA, CT, DC. FL, IL, MA, MN, NY, and PA. We're actively working on CO, MD, NC, OH, SC, and VA -- we're on track to be able to ship to those states later this year.

Go to "Shop" and select your country. Then navigate up to the top-right of our website and click "Log In." From there, you reset your password with the email linked to your account.

It's easy to update your information via our website once you log into your account. Just click "Account Details" from the drop down menu titled "Hello [Your Name Here]." If you're still having issues, feel free to give us a call, or shoot us an email! [just no sensitive information via email please!]

We currently ship to: CA, CT, DC. FL, IL, MA, MN, NY, and PA. We're actively working on CO, MD, NC, OH, SC, and VA -- we're on track to be able to ship to those states later this year.

You do! With each release, you'll receive vouchers for free tastings inside your Member Booklet. Additionally, we'll have a tasting of the wines featured in each release available for member tasting as long as supplies last.

Almost everything, short of some events: club-exclusive events are priced with discounts built in already and cannot be discounted further. Events run by a third-party company but hosted at Living Roots will not be discounted.

Seb & Col thoughtfully pick each of the four wines featured in the Curated 4-Pack, and unfortunately we cannot swap any of the items at this time.

Click on the link in the email you received letting you know your club release is available. That link will take you to your Dashboard and display the default wines for your release. From there, simply add the wines that you'd like and then remove those that you do not want included. You can make changes up until the payment date indicated. On that date, your card on file will be charged and an order will be created.

Just note that your club release must have a minimum of 12 bottles at all times so make sure to add the additional bottles you'd like to purchase before removing the ones you wanted to swap out.

At the moment, we can only accommodate additional bottles for the Custom Club releases. We're working on making that feature available to the Curated Club as well - stay tuned! In the meantime, Curated Club members can create a separate order for any additional bottles you'd like and as always your discount will apply accordingly.

Absolutely! Just shoot us an email at club@livingrootswine.com or give us a ring with the name of the person who will be picking up on your behalf.

A skipped release means that you simply skip one club release but maintain all other club benefits. A hold is a longer term solution for those who need to skip more than one release and pauses membership benefits as well.

We can accommodate one skipped release per membership. If you need to skip more than that, consider placing your membership on hold until you can resume regular club releases.

If you'd like to move forward with either a hold or skip, reach out at club@livingrootswine.com.

We ask that folks stay in the Club for a minimum of one year. However, we understand that circumstances change so shoot us an email at club@livingrootswine.com if you need to ditch the Club sooner.

Yes!

We'd be sad to see you go, but shoot us an email at club@livingrootswine.com and we'll get it sorted for you.

Seb was always drawn to the idea of an urban winery, bringing the winemaking process and wine education opportunities to more people in a fun and sociable environment. We were also keen to bring more local [and Aussie!] wines to Rochester.

It was originally built in 1909 and was home to several manufacturing companies like G.W. Todd Company [protectographs aka patented check protecting machines], Wilmot Castle Company [medical sterilizing equipment] and Mandeville & King [plant and seed distributors]. More recently, there has been a jeweler, a cosmetics company and a printer in what is now our winery and tasting room.

We strongly recommend making a reservation for our tasting room. While we have space for walk-ins at the bar and on our patio, we can’t guarantee a table without a reservation. Make one here!

Parking can be a little tricky, but we have several options close to our building on University Ave. There are spots out front of the building, in the parking lot as well as street parking. There is also parking behind the building on both sides of Sager Drive, and street parking nearby on both sides of East Blvd. 

We have a thorough, curated menu and so outside food / drinks are not permitted. We offer beer, non-alcoholic beverages and both sweet and savory fare [gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options available] from many of our favorite local businesses. Outside decorations are not permitted. Simply come and enjoy!

We want to keep things easy and stress-free for you! A lot of thought goes into our flights each time we release a new menu, and we aim to curate something for every palate. Our flights also encourage guests to try something new or taste a style they may not be ready to order by the glass, and allow us to provide a higher quality of service than we could with custom flights. If none of the flights appeal to you, you can order most of our wines by the half-glass, glass, or bottle.

Well-behaved dogs [on a leash] are welcome on our patio. Because we serve food and drinks, dogs are not allowed inside the tasting room unless they are certified service animals covered by the ADA.

We’ve phased out custom private events in favor of wine-focused tastings and classes. We offer private tastings in the Vault for groups of 6 – 24, which is a great way to celebrate any occasion! These and our wine classes can be booked here.

We love to showcase our winemaking process, but due to it being a work zone, we are not currently giving tours of the winery.

You’re welcome to book a photoshoot in our tasting room, but it must be outside of our normal hours so as not to disrupt other guests [and so you can have the space to yourself]. Please contact us at roc@livingrootswine.com.

We don’t accept groups in buses or limos at any of our locations. We’re happy to give recommendations for other wineries that do, though!

Our tables can accommodate up to [6] guests total. If there is space for more at our patio or bar , you're welcome to it but we can't reserve that space. Check out our Private Tastings if you want to reserve something for a bigger group.

Shale Creek is Colleen’s family’s vineyard overlooking Keuka Lake, where we source many of our grapes and have set up our Living Roots winery and tasting room in the Finger Lakes.

We strongly recommend making a reservation for our tasting room. While we have space for walk-ins at the bar and on our patio, we can’t guarantee a table without a reservation. Make one here!

Follow the signs pointing to our gravel parking lot, and please drive carefully! 

We offer beer, non-alcoholic beverages, and snacks from many of our favorite local businesses. Outside food and decorations are not permitted – simply come and enjoy!

We want to keep things easy and stress-free for you! A lot of thought goes into our flights each time we release a new menu, and we aim to curate something for every palate. Our flights also encourage guests to try something new or taste a style they may not be ready to order by the glass, and allow us to provide a higher quality of service than we could with custom flights. If none of the flights appeal to you, you can order most of our wines by the half-glass, glass, or bottle.

Well-behaved dogs [on a leash] are welcome on our patio. Because we serve food and drinks, dogs are not allowed inside the tasting room unless they are certified service animals covered by the ADA.

We don’t accept groups in buses or limos at any of our locations. We’re happy to give recommendations for other wineries that do, though!

K1 is Sebastian’s family’s vineyard in the Kuitpo subregion of the Adelaide Hills where we source many of our grapes and have set up our little Living Roots winery and cellar door in Australia.

Our Adelaide team is very small [1 person!] and so reservations are required to visit our cellar door! Groups up to 8 can book a tasting here. Please reach out to us at adl@livingrootswine.com if you’re looking for a date that is not currently available on Tock.

Follow the Living Roots signs to diagonal parking just below our cellar door.

Outside food, drinks and decorations are not permitted – simply come and enjoy!

We want to keep things easy and stress-free for you! Our team will thoughtfully select wines for your tasting, aiming to curate something for every palate. If there’s anything in particular you’re hoping to try, or styles you do or don’t drink, just let us know and we’ll do our best to accommodate.

We unfortunately can’t accommodate dogs in our cellar door unless they are certified service animals.

We don’t accept groups in buses or limos at any of our locations. We’re happy to give recommendations for other wineries that do, though!