Color before flavor
A guided five-glass flight that begins with sight, texture, and temperature before anyone reaches for tasting language.
Thu · 60 minutes · $28
Wine studio · Ferment 09
Bright ideas. Dark fruit. Zero fixed style.
A small experimental wine studio making vivid, low-intervention releases for curious tables and late nights.
Estate / LV—09
01
Current ferment
0902
Production
7,800 bottles03
Vessels
Steel · clay · oak04
Studio nights
Thu–SatOur point of view
We work in short runs, taste without a script, and release a wine only when its energy feels unmistakable.
Lumen Vale began with two borrowed tanks, a concrete loading bay, and fruit from growers willing to leave a few rows outside the usual plan. The first release sold from the studio door in one late-night weekend.
Read the whole story
- 01$36
Chilled red · Cinsault and Mourvèdre
Signal One
Red currant, blood orange, white pepper, and a cold slate snap. - 02$34
Skin-contact white · Muscat and Chenin
Soft Static
Apricot skin, jasmine tea, preserved lemon, and gentle grip. - 03$48
Cabernet Franc · Granite bench
Night Index
Black raspberry, graphite, green peppercorn, and dry cocoa. - 04$32
Pét-nat · Vermentino
Day / Glow
Green melon, lime leaf, sea spray, and a bright soft fizz.
Founder & lead maker
Ivo Mercer
Ivo moved from restaurant cellars to production because he wanted to understand flavor before it reached the list. His approach mixes clean technical work with a high tolerance for surprise.
“Consistency is not repetition. It is the courage to stay awake.”
Come taste with us
Taste with your senses before your vocabulary.
09 Foundry Lane · Vale District
Open blend table
Taste three components, build your own bench blend, and compare it with the studio release.
Fri · 90 minutes · $46Release dinner 09
Five courses, four current wines, one unreleased tank sample, and a table shared with the makers.
First Sat monthly · 12 seats · $125Latest note
Color comes before flavor
Why we look at hue, edge, and opacity before the first swirl—and what those signals cannot tell us.
Read this note
Frequency members
Six bottles, three drops, one open studio.
- Three configurable six-bottle drops
- Member pricing on every studio release
- A standing place at monthly open studio
- First invitation to twelve-seat dinners