About the Shop
We are a local wine shop and bar dedicated to finding the most terroir-driven wines of the world, from far-flung regions of Argentina to the steep hillsides of Germany. We are partial to high-acid wines, believing that it is more important than high alcohol levels.
We support wines made by real families, not board members. We care that our producers make wines ethically and put environmental sustainability as a priority. We amplify the voices of all the women, immigrants, people of color, and queer members of this industry.
The Team
Ask us questions when you’re ready. We don't know everything there about all the beverages in the world, but we are excited to share what we do know.
We are accountable for every wine that we put in front of you. We make knowing our producers and their wines a priority so we can send you home with the wines you really want to drink.
Find out more about our staff below.
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Owner & Chief Wine Drinker
Born and raised in the Philippines, Paula moved to the US in 2008.
CIA Grad, Eleven Madison Park and Fearrington House Restaurant Alum, CMS Advanced Somm, WSET Advanced Level.
Featured in the Washington Post, Punch, Imbibe Magazine, The Local Palate, The Tasting Table, Wine Enthusiast, Wines and Spirits, Wine Spectator, Eater, Wine Magazine, Tatler Asia.
Champagne slinger. Riesling lover. THC bev enthusiast. Mom to Taco and Donut, the two best Havanese in the world. -
Owner & General Manager
Laura Francis grew up in Cary, NC, and studied both linguistics at UNC Asheville and Hospitality MGMT at AB-Tech. While she is currently the General Manager at the shop, she prides herself in having worked at the Biltmore Estate Winery, the Umstead Hotel & Spa, AN Asian Cuisines, & The Fearrington House Restaurant. She is a certified Sommelier and WSET Level III. Her pets Carolina Reaper & Anubis keep her young, but she loves to sneak away for a calm, sandy vacation to reset. With regard to wine, aromatic varietals are life!
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Sommelier
Born in upstate New York, Brian’s called Chapel Hill home since he started college at UNC in 2009. He puts his two linguistics degrees to as much use as he can at the shop—in other words, practically none.
He served as general manager at Restaurant Provence in Carrboro, Bombolo in Chapel Hill, and West End Wine Bar in Durham before going the sommelier route and calling Rocks & Acid home.
Wine education is his favorite part of the job at Rocks & Acid, because he gets to geek out about things like soil types and rare grapes. When it comes to drinking wine, you’ll find him sipping on the classics like Priorat or Chablis.
Just don’t ask him about beer.
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Sommelier-in-Training
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FAQs
Got some questions? We’ve got some answers.
Don't see what you're looking for? Be sure to give us a call. We look forward to hearing from you!
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“Rocks” refers to the French term for “terroir.” It is what makes every wine of quality unique, the sum total of environmental factors and winemaking tradition that make the final wine—from the vineyard’s altitude down to the specific soil type it's grown.
“Acid” is more literal. We loves it in all our wines. If your wine makes your mouth water like the ones we sell, the wine is free game. Besides, a wine’s acidity doesn’t hurt. It actually contributes to its longevity."And?" — Well, every time we ask a guest, “What do you think?” and the guest says “I like it,” we always follow the answer up with “and...?” There is always an “and”. There is always so much to explore! Wine is not just about the soil where the grape comes from nor its acidity. It’s so much more than that. It is a journey of history, region, tradition, culture and passion to explore. When we are tasting wine, we are not only tasting its flavour, its acidity, its terroir, we are tasting years of passion put into each bottle.
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We are proud to carry wines that we want to drink ourselves. It’s easy to grab a bottle from our shelves and trust that it is wine that has been made sustainably, organically, and/or biodynamically.. We do not have a specific regional or stylistic focus.
We do not carry mass produced wines, and it’s common for us to hear from our clientele that they do not recognize any of the bottles on our shelves. We take that as a compliment! If you've purchased a wine from a grocery or big box store before, it's likely not going to be available on our shelves, because the wines we carry have less than a 10,000 case production. This small production is not a coincidence, as these wines are produced by families that have honed their winemaking skills for generations. -
Our shop is laid out to give our clients an open and welcoming feel. All the wines are loosely categorized by style. We understand that it can get overwhelming, so don’t fret – flag down one of our in-house sommeliers and chat about what you’re looking for. We’re happy to assemble a selection for you that fits your needs and make your buying experience more personalized.
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We're open from 12pm to 7pm every Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays we are open from 12pm til 9pm.
We are closed on Mondays.
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We offer semi-private tastings and full buy-out rentals of the space. For semi-private events, we can accommodate parties up to 12 and will customize your event for you. We recommend booking your event a month out due to the number of classes, tastings, and events that we have in the shop.
For semi-private events and full buy-outs, please contact us with inquiries.
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Yes!
As long as a wine is available in the state, we can reach out to our wide network of distributors to get you your wine.
A three- or six-bottle minimum will apply to special orders, depending on the price per bottle.
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We are happy to donate tickets to our wine classes for charities and different causes, but due to the number of solicitations we get, we cannot grant all requests.
Please email us with donation inquiries.
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We offer themed flights every season. We also have around 20 different wines by the glass.
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We do not have a kitchen at the shop, but we offer a wide selection of cheeses, charcuterie, chips, conservas, and more in the shop for you to snack on.
Please feel free to bring in food from our neighbors at Southern Village. However, we request that our clientele respect the space – no food items that have strong odors that might be detrimental to everyone’s experience. -
Yes!
Not only do we allow well-behaved dogs in the shop, we give you $1 off for your first wine by the glass.
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We keep all the wines at 65F, which is the at the best temperature for storage. We love all of you, but unfortunately, we can't sell you ;)
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We unfortunately cannot ship wines. We offer delivery within a 10-mile radius of the shop ($15 flat fee) and curbside pick-up.