A restaurant gets into the wine business

The River Jetty Restaurant Group is known for its restaurants in Orange County’s coastal cities. A Restaurant and a Market in Newport Beach, CdM Restaurant in Corona del Mar and A Crystal Cove in Newport Coast are places diners know they can count on for a good meal. Now they can also count on an exclusive bottle of wine as the River Jetty Restaurant Group gets into the winemaking business.

“As we witnessed our brand evolving, we felt an innate urge to explore new horizons and share something delightful with our extended family, our guests,” said Jordan Otterbein, a partner of River Jetty Restaurant Group. “We realized that a fine wine would perfectly complement our ethos.”

A’s cabernet sauvignon is crafted by winemaker Andrew Jones and available exclusively at River Jetty Restaurant Group’s restaurants. Jones is the winemaker behind Field Recordings, Fiction, the Fableist, Alloy and Wonderwall wine brands and is said to have set foot in every vineyard on the Central Coast. Jones is also known in the winemaking industry for locating lesser-known vineyard sites with budding potential.

The cabernet is the result of a four-month journey that began with RJRG partners Joseph “McG” Nicho, Otterbein and other team members, including restaurant sommeliers and managers, traveling to Paso Robles to delve into the world of winemaking. Otterbein said they spent time meticulously blending flavors and refining their creation over numerous sessions in the California city well-known for its wineries and olive groves.

“After several trips and countless hours spent perfecting the blend, we experienced that magical moment when everything fell into place — ‘that’s the one’ was the collective sentiment,” said Otterbein.

A Restaurant in Newport Beach opened in 1926 as the Arches and was a popular hangout for actor John Wayne, who made his home in the beach city. When Nichol and Otterbein took over the space in 2008, they preserved the old-fashioned red booths and nostalgic feeling of the restaurant. A Crystal Cove in Newport Coast opened in the summer of 2022 and blended elements of A Restaurant with the speakeasy feel of CdM to create a new 5,400-square-foot hotspot centered around a 24-seat, oval-shaped bar with a drink rail.

A’s cabernet sauvignon is priced at $25 a glass and $100 for a bottle and can be found at at A Restaurant, A Crystal Cove, A PCH, CdM and A Market.