Natural wine bar offers flights, small plates and a cozy community space in Elk Grove

Elk Grove residents no longer have to leave town for a wine tasting experience.

“Having a wine bar central in the city was something that I saw in South Africa, Portugal, Spain and other places that I had visited,” said Nadia Mincey, Ever After Wine co-founder and wine curator. “They were almost this hub or entryway to that region.”

Mincey and business partner Kelly Rhodes opened Ever After Wine Bar in December at 9639 E. Stockton Blvd. in Elk Grove. The two have known each other since their days at Joseph Kerr Middle School and Elk Grove High School, staying in touch through social media.

The two reconnected in 2023, when Mincey hosted a wine tasting at Rhodes’ home for a dinner party. One year later, Rhodes approached Mincey with the idea of opening up a wine bar in their hometown.

However, the day they discovered the Elk Park Shopping Center location, Mincey was diagnosed with thyroid cancer following a routine procedure to remove ovarian cysts.

Throughout her treatment, Rhodes took charge of the business logistics, including securing their Alcoholic Beverage Control license. That gave Mincey the time to rest and focus on creative planning for the bar’s concept and design.

“Thank God that I’m able to run around and be as physically involved as I am, because I am also the GM, I’m the wine buyer and I curate the events,” Mincey said.

Mincey said her goal was to foster community by building out an events calendar.

“Wine could still be intimidating to a lot of people,” Mincey said. “So having music, painting or food, bringing people together, the wine would be the catalyst for that.”

European-inspired small plates

For those interested in a little bit of everything, the prelude flight ($22) includes the choice of four draft wines, sourced from California. While not all wines are keg-friendly, Mincey said white wines and those with lower tannins tend to store best on tap.

In addition to its wine offerings, the bar serves European-inspired small plates. One standout is the torched burrata ($23), served with prosciutto shaped into roses, sweet jelly tomatoes, fresh basil and crispy toasted bread.

Mincey recommended pairing the burrata with the Two Shepherds pinot gris Ramato 2024 from Sonoma Valley, part of the wine flight. The savory orange wine complemented the tomatoes’ acidity, balancing the dish.

“It’s kind of like your classic wine pairings and meat, cheese and bread,” Mincey said. “Just styled a little bit differently.”

A favorite from the kitchen is the tartine ($13), the preferred dish of chef Christopher Escalante. Toasted bread is topped with house-made ricotta and finished with honey and rosemary salt, offering a well-balanced mix of sweet and savory.

For dessert, the raspberry pannacotta ($12) is decorated with raspberry and strawberry salt, adding a contrasting texture to the gelatinous custard. If you’re wondering why there are so many salts, it’s because they are made in-house by dehydrating fresh fruits and herbs.

From the wine flight, I also tried Tessier’s Electric Ladyland 2024, which is a blend of white grapes like Gewürztraminer and albariño, as well as Soul Love 2024, blending both red and white varietals for fruit-forward profile. Christopher Cellars 2023 zinfandel and petite syrah blend rounds out the list with black cherry notes and a medium finish.

“You may see some wines on here that you’re like, I have never heard of this grape. Or what is that like?” Mincey said. “The idea is to educate and connect with a new grape variety, but at the same time giving that feel and sense of a familiar wine.”

Ever After Wine focuses on natural, low-intervention wines available both bottled and on draft. For Mincey, low intervention means wine made with organically grown grapes, native yeast fermentation and minimal additives, like sulphites.

“They don’t have to be funky or super natural, or all of the words that people describe natural wine to be, but they can present like your favorite conventional wine,” Mincey said.

Down-to-earth wine education

Mincey launched her wine journey in 2020, starting Nad Wines, a digital platform aimed at demystifying natural wine. With the pandemic shifting tastings from vineyards to living rooms, Mincey embraced a down-to-earth approach to wine education.

“I was talking about pairing with tacos and chicken adobo, everyday foods that are in my kitchen because we weren’t going out, we were cooking at home,” Mincey said.

She hadn’t anticipated that her digital outreach, connecting with people across California and the globe, would lead her toward a full-time career in wine. Before entering the industry, she spent more than a decade working in corporate health care administration and social work.

“I don’t look like the average person in the wine industry, or historically speaking,” Mincey said.

Today, Mincey brings that same accessible, authentic voice to customers at Ever After Wine. The space, formerly a Pilates studio, has been transformed with marble countertops and gold accents, reflecting Mincey’s vision of creating a space that feels “cute and girly.”

This story was originally published June 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM.