I couldn't be more thrilled to offer Nik and Julia Krankl’s Fingers Crossed wines at K&L, direct from their cellars. I’ve known Nik and Julia since my days in Boston, where they owned a coffee shop, of all things. Their ability to perfect their craft (Nik was one of the nation’s top baristas for several years) has always defined them. After Nik spent a few years training at Sine Qua Non, they poured everything into their own project, originally named Faethm and now Fingers Crossed, starting with the 2017 vintage. The artistic bottles and limited mailing list offerings evoke a bit of that Sine Qua Non spirit, and the wines share that SQN-like combination of luxurious texture and remarkable, weightless concentration. Yet, they show a touch more restraint and classical character: deeply flavored but elegant. There’s always so much in reserve, yet I’ve never had a bottle that doesn’t show beautifully right out of the gate. I also can’t recommend their white wines enough, it’s been well publicized, but they are clearly making some of the best whites from the Central Coast and beyond. They may share a name with Manfred, but what Nik and Julia are doing here is uniquely their own-something truly special, born of their dedication to the craft and nothing else. And at our current pricing, you’re getting an inside track on one of California’s great cult producers. -Ryan Moses, K&L