Depth Perception

January 2010
Written By: 
Blair Knobel
Photographs by: 
Paul Mehaffey

Hootie and the Blowfish bassist Dean Felber has signed on to a new label—and it’s music to the mouth

In 1994, about the same time his band Hootie and the Blowfish released its platinum album Cracked Rear View, Dean Felber’s wine penchant was piqued. Then, soon after moving to Charleston in 1998, he was pleased to find out that one of the top sommeliers in the country was working down the street at Charleston Grill. The musician sought out Mark Ray’s vino know-how and was hooked.

During tour breaks, Felber would meet up with Ray in Napa Valley for crash courses in wine, and Ray eventually approached the guitarist about turning his hobby into a full-blown business. Now, eleven years later, Felber and Ray are partners (along with their longtime friend Shane MacNicholas) in Perception Wines, an artisanal California winery offering handcrafted Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay from the Golden State’s sublime Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast.

To ensure the finest output possible, winemaker Ray intends to keep Perception a small operation, selling wines via its Web site, www.perceptionwines.com, and at select wine shops and restaurants across the United States. The winery releases its blended Pinot Noir and Zinfandel lots in the spring and its single-vineyard Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay offerings in the fall. All five wines of the 2007 vintage are now available.

In addition to songwriting and performing, Felber plans to stay tuned to all-things-wine: “I hope to be in the wine business for the rest of my life. I love going to Napa and Sonoma. I enjoy the whole experience.” And, truly, he, Ray, and MacNicholas are making music of a different sort—with notes of cherry, smoke, oak, and vanilla.

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