One of San Antonio’s most effortlessly stylish wine bars appears to have closed. After seeing murmurings on review sites, CultureMap stopped by Dignowity Hill hot spot Scorpion to see the 125 Lamar St. space stripped of product and furnishings.
It’s unclear when the concept vacated the spot. Once a frequent social media presence, Scorpion went dark on Instagram after a May 25 post advertising its Thursday happy hour. The last Facebook post was on March 4.
Alex Lee and Jake Scott, the owners of Indy Coffee Club, opened Scorpion in the summer of 2020, first as a basement window selling coffee, wine, and curated snack boxes. Later that fall, the main space connected to the hip gift shop Temple of Offering debuted.
The cafe was one of San Antonio’s most singular concepts. Painstakingly DIYed, the minimal interior wrapped banquettes, shelving, and walls in locally quarried limestone. With leather accents, warm woods, and dried organics, the space conjured vacation retreats like Marfa, Santa Fe, and Santorini, Greece.
Though there were several shifts in the service offered, the culinary program was just as unique. Under the early direction of chefs Kenny Loo and Juan Mesa, Scorpion wowed with inspired Peruvian cuisine. Most recently, it focused on New American bistro fare like a riff on Buffalo chicken and crispy Parmesan potatoes with aioli.
Throughout the run, wine director Taylor Zettner was a constant presence, curating an imaginative list of low-intervention sippers. More importantly, he offered real-time expertise on the oft-misunderstood natural wine category. He was your guy if one wanted a pairing or a patio pounder for a steamy San Antonio day.
It’s unclear the reason for the closure or whether the brand will eventually make a comeback. Although the website is still active, online ordering appears to be disabled. A request for comment via social media direct message went unanswered.
But here’s hoping that Scorpion will eventually reemerge. Operating in a food scene increasingly dominated by hollow corporate ethos, the café proposed that San Antonio — and the East Side — could be a true food and wine destination. That vitality will be sorely missed.
It's impossible to know everything about anything, really, but wine knowledge is especially expansive. Thank goodness it's so fun to learn. Sommeliers, whether they're in it as a career or a hobby, can still get serious about reaching new heights.
The Hill Country Wine Academy in Stonewall, Texas, is reflecting some of that depth with an expansion of its offerings. Five new classes will have students hitting the books — or the wine glasses — in 2024. Some have already started, with the first classes beginning in late April.
All short-form about core topics, these new learning opportunities cater to people who are breaking their learning up into smaller pieces (not lasting a full day), without sacrificing those basic tenets.
Although the academy offers longer WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) accredited courses, the new classes are additional learning and are open to anyone who wants to learn more about wine.
According to a press release, these classes lasting only 90-120 minutes include:
- Wine & Bites Workshop
- Hold or Fold 'Em (determining age ability)
- Local to Global Tasting Workshop (a Texas-versus-other-regions tasting and discussion)
- Vino Vernacular (wine vocabulary)
- Harvest Insider (viticulture and vinification) — not on the schedule yet
Although these classes Students who sign up for one class will receive a punch card and receive the fifth for free.
This wine academy is only a year old, having been launched in April 2023 by William Chris Wine Company (WCWC) as the William Chris Wine School. In addition to its WSET courses (the global standard), it offers Texas Wine Ambassador Certification courses.
The latter is exclusive to the academy, and provides a "foundational knowledge of wine" in addition to more Texas-specific tips — especially when it comes to sustaining the local industry — in a single day of learning.
The Hill Country Wine Academy is located at 235 Miracle Mile Unit J3 in Stonewall, Texas. Tickets (starting at $65) and more information about the current courses are available at hcwineacademy.com. More class dates for winter will be added soon.