Wine Shop and Wine Bar to Debut in Long Beach

After nearly a decade as the Director of Operations and Wine Director at fundamental LA, the popular neighborhood restaurant in DTLA, Sommelier Alicia Kemper will launch her own wine shop and wine bar in Long Beach.

Since 2015 Kemper has led The Tippler Club, a beloved local wine club that hosts tastings and offers a monthly selection of wine curated by Kemper and delivered directly to your door. From month to month, the wine varies in style based on the season, winemaker or inspiration from a specific grape or country. The Tippler Club provides background, tasting notes, and food pairing recommendations for each wine.

As with The Tippler Club, Soif will have a natural wine focus and feature hard-to-find and more obscure, small production wines from all over the world including Austria, Germany, Italy, Japan, California and a strong presence of France, where Kemper has worked with Champagne-based wine brand since 2018. Aside from its extensive range of sparking white, rosé, and red wine, Soif will also have merchandise, charcuterie kits, and prepackaged foods such as cheeses, olives, and pickles available for purchase.

Kemper told What Now Los Angeles that Soif began construction at 1147 Loma Avenue yesterday and anticipates launching in September. The approximately 1,250-square-foot shop will have a casual yet elegant design with earthy greens, birchwood shelves, and Japanese hanging lights across the long, narrow space with giant windows on both ends. Soif will feature a stunning outdoor patio with a beautiful garden and olive and lemon trees, where Kemper will host The Tippler Club’s monthly tastings. With Lodge Bread moving in next door, Kemper invites patrons to enjoy their wine with a loaf of fresh bread on Soif’s outdoor patio.

Soif, located near the Traffic Circle in Long Beach, will provide a charming space where locals can commune and taste delicious wine. Be sure to follow Soif and The Tippler Club on Instagram for updates on the development of the natural wine shop and wine bar as well as upcoming wine tastings currently hosted at local parks until it settles into its permanent Eden.