Sometimes the best product reviews don’t happen at your kitchen counter. Sometimes they happen in a luxury cabin in the mountains, surrounded by a group of boss babes in sweatpants, with laptops open and brunch on the table. Let me explain.
The workcation road trip with fellow Sober Curator contributor Carolyn Bunn couldn’t have come at a better time in my life. I’m in the middle of some major life transitions between work and home. On a clear, cold Pacific NW Monday, we packed up and headed to the Cle Elum Cabin for a social media retreat put together by my cousin Sheena Kalso. And because I never miss an opportunity to spread the gospel of zero-proof living, I brought along the full Tomorrow Cellars lineup to share with a group of women who are not as familiar with the NA beverage space as I have become.
Spoiler: they were impressed. Very impressed.
The Retreat
First, the setting. Sheena is the founder of Behind Your Scenes Co, where she helps speakers, coaches, and leaders who know they “should be on Instagram more” actually show up on camera with confidence. She captures ready-for-social videos of your real work and teaches you how to film content that actually feels like you. She’s also the owner of the Cle Elum Cabin, and I’ve been watching her build and curate this space on social media for the last two years. Finally seeing it in person? Even better than I imagined. Fun fact: the cabin recently made the cover of 425 Magazine. Casual name drop. NBD.
The concept was simple and kind of genius: get a small group of women together who all wanted to get shit done from the comforts of their sweatpants, a cabin, and behind their laptops. No kids. No laundry. No side quests. Just deep work in a stunning mountain setting with incredible food and even better company. Yoga, naps, games, and hot tubbing optional.
All of the food was handled by Amy at Social Creative Workshops, who guarantees to nourish your soul, stomach, and Instagram feed with her goddess-like dishes. She delivered on every count. Every. Single. Meal. I also think I either amused or overwhelmed her with my storytelling during a long, late morning hot tub soak. Fingers crossed this doesn’t lower my chances of getting her to feed me again in the future.
The group of women Sheena pulled together was next level. Jamie from The Wonder Brew. Amanda with Storytellers Grove. Katie Hanchi of Windermere. Carolyn and me. The common thread connecting everyone? Sheena. That woman knows how to build a community. Runs in the family, you know what I’m sayin’?
Bringing the NA Party to the Mountains
Here’s the thing about what I do with The Sober Curator: every room I walk into is an opportunity to educate people on what’s happening in the non-alcoholic beverage space and sober lifestyle communities. Most people have no idea how far NA wines have come. They still picture that sad, sweet, grape-juicy stuff from 10 years ago and assume that’s where the category lives. It doesn’t. Not even close.
So when I had a captive audience of smart, curious, entrepreneurial women who were genuinely interested in learning? I was in my element. I walked them through the trends, the brands that are doing it right, and where the industry is heading. And then I opened the bottles and let the wine do the talking.
The brand I brought along: Tomorrow Cellars, a California-based winery that’s been making serious waves in the NA space. Their approach is refreshingly simple. They make real wine from sustainably farmed Northern California grapes using traditional winemaking techniques, and then gently remove the alcohol. No weird additives. No trying to fake it. The New York Times named them one of ten nonalcoholic wine producers who have “cracked the code,” and after tasting the full lineup with the group, I get why.
The Tasting
Tomorrow 2024 Rhône Blanc
We started with the white. Made from Marsanne grapes, the Rhône Blanc opens with notes of ripe pear and honeysuckle and finishes with a lively citrus zest that keeps things crisp and interesting. It’s light, it’s refreshing, and at only 20 calories and 4 grams of sugar per glass, it’s basically guilt-free. This one is a Bronze Medal winner at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, and you can taste why. The group loved how clean and bright it was. A few of them said they’d absolutely serve this at a dinner party and nobody would question it.
The vibe: Patio season. Book club. An easy weeknight pour when you want something that feels elevated without any of the consequences.
Tomorrow 2023 Red Blend
NA red wine has historically been the hardest category to nail. Most of them miss the mark by a mile. Tomorrow Cellars partnered with Ian Blessing, a former sommelier at The French Laundry (yes, that French Laundry), who developed a proprietary botanical extract to bring the flavor and aroma back to life after alcohol removal. Grounded in Petite Sirah, this one delivers blackberry, baking spice, and cocoa with a dry, structured finish.
At just 10 calories and 2 grams of sugar per glass, it’s a red wine that actually tastes like a red wine. The group was split on this one, which tracks because red wine preferences are so personal. Some loved the depth, others gravitated back to the white or the sparkling. That’s the beauty of having options.
The vibe: Date night. Cozy winter dinner. The glass you reach for when you’re cooking something slow and want a red that matches the mood.
Tomorrow 2024 Sparkling Blanc de Rhône ⭐ THE GROUP FAVORITE
And then came the sparkling. This is where things got fun.
The Sparkling Blanc de Rhône was the clear winner of the weekend. Lively bubbles, subtle floral notes, a zesty citrus peel finish, and all the celebratory energy of popping a bottle without any of the next-day regret. At 20 calories and 4 grams of sugar per glass, this is the kind of bubbly that makes you wonder why you ever needed the alcohol in the first place.
But the real magic happened at brunch. We paired it with fresh OJ for NA mimosas, and I watched an entire table of women who had never tried a non-alcoholic sparkling wine before absolutely light up. The bubbles, the brightness, the OJ making it feel like a proper brunch cocktail. It was one of those moments where you realize that this lifestyle isn’t about missing out on anything. It’s about discovering that the experience you loved was never really about the alcohol. It was about the moment. The people. The clinking of glasses with women who are out here building something.
That table full of boss babes with their laptops closed for 30 minutes, laughing over NA mimosas and Amy’s incredible brunch spread? That’s the whole point. That’s what we talk about when we talk about sober living being aspirational, not restrictive.
The vibe: Every brunch from now on. Period.
The Bottom Line
Tomorrow Cellars is doing something really right. They’re approaching NA wine the way it should be approached: start with quality winemaking, source great grapes, respect the craft, then remove the alcohol. Co-founded by wine industry veteran Tracy Sweeney alongside her Napa Valley neighbors David Risher (CEO of Lyft) and his wife, author Jen Risher, this brand was built by people who actually love wine and wanted to create something for the rest of us who love it too but choose to skip the alcohol.
You can find Tomorrow Cellars at tomorrowcellars.com and at select retailers including Boisson, Spirited Away in NYC, and major online NA marketplaces.
And if you’re looking for your own deep work escape? Keep your eye on Sheena’s next retreat at the Cle Elum Cabin. Submit your information to get on the waitlist, as this one fills up fast. Also, we’ve got a sober version of the retreat at the same spot in the works; details and dates to be announced at a later date. You gotta give me a minute. A gal needs time to pull things together after such an incredible experience.
Why was this a perfect pairing? We got to hideaway in the mountains, get work done, create content, eat incredible food, and maybe, just maybe, even discover a new favorite NA wine over brunch with a group of women who get it.
Sip like tomorrow matters. We know we will.
For more NA wine reviews, visit our NA Wine & Bubbles section. For sober-friendly travel and retreat experiences, check out our Travel & Events section and our Sober Retreats Calendar.
Reels for days
- @alysseinthecity Road Trip Reel
- Women’s Workation by @itscarolynbunn
- What Does a Social Media Workcation Look Like by @behindyourscenes.co
- Women Need Retreats by @socialcreativeworkshops
- Who Knew Vacation and Work Could Go Together SO Well? @storytellersgrove
- @thewonderbrew Left on a Natural High!
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