On Provenance

Or…where something comes from still matters.

When I stepped away from drinking wine, I started exploring the world of alcohol alternatives. Some were decent. Some didn’t taste great. Most didn’t do very much. But what struck me across the board was the absence of place.

So many of them were replacements: “You like wine? Try this.” or “Margarita, minus the booze.” They were clever, maybe even tasty. But they felt…manufactured, contrived. Like someone reverse-engineered desire.

I came from the world of wine, where every bottle tells a story of soil, sun, struggle, and choice. The way the grapes were tended. The fog that rolled in that one August morning. The timing of the pick. The person pressing the fruit.

Most NA beverages felt more like products than expressions. Lab-built. LaCroix-style flavoring. Compounds and concentrates with no origin story.

Still/Spark is different. It may not come from a vineyard, but it comes from somewhere real.

The herbs are sourced from all over, yes, but they come together here, in a little winery in SE Portland that’s full of energy, imperfection, love.

Every one of our blends began as a tea in my own kitchen. Every formula starts in my own nervous system. And every can is a conversation—a little story that wants to connect.

Provenance isn’t always about soil. Sometimes, it’s about soul.

Still/Spark is an offering from a place. A place of presence. A place of care. And most of all, a place in me.

I’m still working out what it means to make something with provenance in this space. But I know it’s what I’m here to do. It’s what we’re doing.