For Matt Fowler, Slouch Hat Wines has never been about asking people to travel across the country to find a great wine experience.

It has always been about bringing that experience to them.

“When I started Slouch Hat, I recognized not everyone lives near a vineyard, but we all work hard at whatever it is we do,” Matt says. “Therefore, my mission became to bring the serenity of the vineyard to wherever you open a bottle rather than asking you to travel to seek me out.”

For the first several years, that philosophy meant focusing heavily on wholesale distribution. But when the opportunity arose to open a tasting space in Rogers, Matt immediately saw how naturally it fit the Slouch Hat mission.

Rather than booking flights, hotels and an entire California getaway, Northwest Arkansas wine lovers can now enjoy a little taste of Santa Ynez much closer to home.

Matt’s own introduction to wine began far from California.

Born and raised in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Matt left the state to attend Tulane University before joining the Marine Corps. While stationed in Quantico, Virginia, in 2017, he discovered Virginia wine country.

Visiting wineries and vineyards quickly became his weekend escape.

“The serenity I felt was the opposite of the hardworking, disciplinarian Marine Corps lifestyle,” Matt says.

The experience had such an impact that when it came time to leave the Marine Corps, Matt decided to defer his law school admission and take a job at a winery instead.

Law school never happened.

Wine did.

In 2022, Matt launched Slouch Hat Wines, with his wines grown and produced in California’s Santa Ynez Valley, approximately 30 minutes north of Santa Barbara.

Today, Matt continues producing his wines there while building the next chapter of Slouch Hat here in Northwest Arkansas.

The new Rogers location, which Matt calls the Slouch Hat Tasting Outpost, was designed to feel a little unexpected from the moment guests arrive.

From the outside, the understated warehouse gives little indication of what is waiting beyond the doors.

“It has an awesome speakeasy feel,” Matt says.

Inside, guests find an intimate, elevated lounge and wine cellar created for slowing down, settling in and enjoying the experience. Rather than focusing on Slouch Hat’s core wines available through select retailers, Matt typically pours reserve wines, small-batch releases and even wines that have not yet been released to the public.

“You’ll only taste exclusive wines that I haven’t released anywhere else,” he says.

Matt also personally leads each tasting, sharing the stories behind the wines, the choices that went into creating them and the journey of Slouch Hat itself.

Since opening, the response has exceeded his expectations.

“The amount of outreach and support from both neighbors and complete strangers honestly caught me off guard,” he says.

Matt sees the outpost fitting naturally into the Northwest Arkansas dining and entertainment scene, whether as a relaxed date-night destination, a stop before dinner or an intimate gathering place for friends. It offers guests something a little different: the chance to experience Santa Ynez wines and hear their stories directly from the winemaker, all without leaving Rogers.

Although the wines themselves are produced in California, Matt is already finding plenty of ways to make the Rogers experience distinctly local.

Slouch Hat currently collaborates with Bloom Cheese in Fayetteville to offer curated wine and cheese pairings, and Matt sees plenty of room for additional partnerships.

“There is so much going on in our area that the possibilities to collaborate and support other local businesses seem endless,” he says.

He has already begun conversations about future collaborations but is keeping some of his longer-term plans under wraps.

“I have a good idea as to what is going to happen next,” he says, “but I’ll keep the cards close to my chest for now.”

For now, the focus remains on what inspired Slouch Hat in the first place: helping people find a little calm, connection and enjoyment in the middle of busy lives.

Guests may technically be sitting in Rogers, but with a glass of small-batch Santa Ynez wine in hand, a winemaker sharing the story behind it and nowhere they need to rush off to, Matt hopes it feels just a little bit like vineyard country.

Because sometimes, the best wine trip does not require a plane ticket at all.