DECEMBER 2021 FEATURED WINES
WINE ONE: LOS CHUCHAQUIS SPARKLING ALBARIÑO
About: The grapes for this cuvée come from Matthew Rorick’s Heritage Vineyard high in the Sierra Foothills and C5 Vineyard in Santa Ynez to the South. Whole clusters were pressed into stainless steel for a warm and fast fermentation. A small amount of juice was frozen and reserved as liqueur de tirage. The wine was bottled in the spring with a small amount of frozen juice for secondary fermentation. The resulting wine has about three atmospheres of pressure. No Sulphur was added, and it was not disgorged.
Taste: This wine is pale lemon and bubbly in the glass. The nose is crunchy and zesty with aromas of tangerine, lemon oil, peaches, spruce tips, guava, lime leaf, and meringue. It’s playful, charming, jovial, ready to roll down snowy hills. The palate is equal parts electric and soft; there’s a fluffy quality that’s hard to pin down, like the bubble beards you’d make in the bath as a child. The acidity is refreshing but not overpowering, and despite its joyousness, the finish is lengthy. You’ll find further flavours of candied sage, nectarine, ginger, lilac, and wonder bread.
Pairing: Let’s try a little stream of consciousness. The first thing that comes to mind is the deep-fried prawn head tacos Cody Willis (founder of Native Tongues) made for a pop up called Taco or No Taco. We ate them while chugging margaritas and watching a luchador wrestling watch at the Legion. The only thing that would have made it better is this wine. I’m also utterly obsessed with raw scallops, especially with a citrus component - yuzu koshu comes to mind. I’ve also been on a bit of ramen kick. A rich milky double chicken broth would-be killer. This reminds me of this unsung spot in Edmonton called Dookbaeki. They specialize in this fantastic Korean soup with a milky white broth, opaque from boiling bones for a ludicrous amount of time. You should try it.
WINE TWO: ELSE PINOT GRIS
About: The grapes for this cuvée were farmed by Stephen Hacking in Summerland. Whole clusters were foot crushed before being gently pressed into stainless steel for fermentation. After a short élevage in tank, the wine is bottled with 20ppm of SO2. One hundred twenty-nine cases were made.
Taste: This wine is pale orange in the glass. The nose is docile, coy, kind. It has aromas of clementine, persimmon, squash blossom, sea buckthorn, dried apple, and birch bark. The palate is gossamer, a lace-like texture, loose-knit, letting the light shine through. It’s the patch of sunlight on your floor you liked to curl up in as a child. Comforting. It has incredibly subtle tannins, a gentle hand on your elbow. The acidity is bright but not bracing. You’ll find further flavours of oolong, mandarin, kumquat, and chrysanthemum.
Pairing: We’re firmly into squash season, and I’m fully embracing it. I had a stir-fried kabocha squash with fish sauce a few months ago, which I think would do the trick. I’m also a fan of roasted pumpkin, especially if you can borrow the Chilean technique of burying the pumpkin in the ground over some coals. It steams and gets saturated with sweet earth and smoke. Devine. This wine also loves trout, poached, grilled, or however else you feel like cooking it. We’d serve some parsnips, turnips, or rutabaga on the side - notoriously hard to pair vegetables that just happen to go well with this bottle.
WINE THREE: MEINKLANG ROTER MULATSCHAK
About: This wine is made from a combination of Zweigelt and Sankt Laurent. Whole clusters were added to a stainless-steel tank and fermented for a week before being pressed off back into tank. After a short élevage time, the wine was racked and bottled without fining nor filtration. It is named after the local word for an outrageous party.
Taste: This wine is medium purple in the glass. The nose is outlandish, festive, like self-aware mischievous fireworks launching themselves from the glass. The second I smell it, I can’t help but think: “let’s get rowdy”. You’ll find aromas of wild raspberry, liquorice, strawberry juice, perfect rose petals, clove, cubeb, and concentrated watermelon. The palate immediately starts pulling you into the celebration, grabbing you firmly by the hand, kissing you with plush, glossy, sticky lips. Your head is spinning, and you feel ecstasy. The tannins are as soft as they can be, the acidity makes you want another sip, and it feels weightless on your tongue. You’ll find further flavours of ripe red plums, black cherries, lavender, and sage.
Pairing: Microwave some bagel bites and get on the dance floor y’all. We’d suggest ‘Gimme the Night’ by George Benson to get in the mood.