in defiance.
release 22. July 2023
in defiance.
release 22. July 2023.
All of these wines speak to a strong-willed nature that just won’t quit, and a spirit of defiance that can’t be chastised out. When you sip on these wines, I hope they inspire you to keep seeking that perfect tension between safety and discomfort in your wine, or in all things. That’s where the magic happens.
Contra Soarda Vespaiolo 2022
Grapes: 100% Vespaiolo
ABV: 13%
Region: Breganze, Veneto, Italy
Winemaker: Marcello Gottardi
Viniculture: These grapes come from the Contra Soarda estate, a biodynamically-farmed family vineyard in the Veneto.
Winemaking: fermented in stainless steel, then aged for 6 months on the lees in the same vessel.
You’re not supposed to take a dessert wine grape and turn it into a terroir-driven, dry white wine! Breganze is a wine region near Venice, and is the home of the great Torcolato sweet wines, made by Maculan and other producers. These wines are made from the sweet, fragrant Vespaiolo grape that is named for the bees it attracts in the late summer as the bunches fill with sugar and become irresistible. Torcolato dessert wines are really special–they can age for decades and become fleshy, nutty, complex masterpieces. But this wine is not that.
Contra Soarda is breaking a major rule with the Vespaiolo grape, turning it into something totally different than the typical dessert wines. This is a lush, elegant white wine, but one based on dryness and texture rather than sugar.
Cantina Contra Soarda was purchased by Mirco and Gloria Gottardi in 1999, and they began to realize their dream of running an organically-farmed country estate in the Veneto region. Now their children Eleonora and Marcello are taking this work into the next stage of its evolution. Within a deep, wavy-ceilinged cellar dug into the rock of the hillside, their cuvées take form and age patiently.
This Vespaiolo is as clean and straightforward an expression of the grape that you’ll find. It’s firmly structured and ripe-fruited, and carries wonderful tanginess and acidity. This one brings notes of fresh apricot skin, dried chamomile blossoms and grapefruit pulp.
Music: “Ease Side” by Raw Poetic & Damu The Fudgemunk
Description: this wine’s effortless structure and invitational manner begs for a chill, silky beat with some laid-back bars
Food Pairing: Bigoli with Anchovy and Onion sauce
Description: a classic Veneto dish that brings plenty of tang and saltiness to pair with this dry, fruity wine
Music Pairing: this wine’s effortless structure and invitational manner begs for a chill, silky beat with some laid-back bars
Caves São João Espumante Rosado 2020
Grapes: 60% Baga, 40% Touriga Naçional
ABV: 12.5%
Region: Bairrada, Portugal
Winemaker: Costa family, owners since 1920
Viniculture: Sustainably and organically-farmed vineyards in the Bairrada hills
Winemaking: Harvest in the first two weeks of September. Grapes are de-stemmed and lightly pressed for a light rose color. The must is fermented in temperature controlled vats for 15 days. At the beginning of December the wine is bottled. After three months on the lees, bottles are disgorged in March.
Jackson’s Notes:
You’re not supposed to make Baga and Touriga Naçional into a sparkling wine! What do they think they’re doing over at Caves São João? Touriga Naçional is as ubiquitous in Portugal as Merlot is in Bordeaux. It’s planted on many hillsides and in many valleys. It forms the core of Port wines and has been made as either a dense, chocolatey red–either dry or sweet–for most of its existence. Baga holds a similar role in red winemaking to Touriga, although it tends to have higher acid and less weight. To see these grapes both blended into an elegant sparkling cuvée was quite a refreshing discovery.
Caves São João is based in the Bairrada region of central-northern Portugal. Their proximity to cool breezes from the Atlantic ocean makes them uniquely suited to the production of sparkling wines. But it’s only in more recent years that sparkling has been a priority. They were founded in the 1920s, when fortified wines were all the rage. But due to their being located south of the Douro River Valley, they weren’t able to label their wines as Port. This ended up being a fortuitous obstacle–it led them to focus on ageworthy dry reds and whites, and eventually sparkling. This winery has some of the oldest stocks of wine for sale in Europe. You’ll regularly see 20+ year old Arinto and Cabernet Sauvignon for sale from them, coming straight from their cellar, with all the aging done in house. Pretty cool stuff for an obscure Portuguese winery to be able to offer!
I had never tasted their sparkling wines before, but when I popped this on a hot afternoon for the first time, it hit all the buttons that a sparkling rosé should: bone dry, with a good fruit profile, crisp bead, and tangy, tart finish. I have absolutely zero complaints. If you were with us for our May release, you’ll remember that we had a sparkling Portuguese rosé pèt-nat in that box too. That’s what you get with Crunchy Red Fruit–the strange, the obscure, the delicious. Thanks for being along for the ride with us.
Food Pairing #1: Pastéis de Bacalhau by Leite’s Culinaria
Description: crispy, crunchy salt-cod fritters with a dash of fresh lemon juice are one of the best things you could ever pair with dry Portuguese bubbly.
Food Pairing #2: Bacalhau a Bras from Food & Wine
Description: one of my favorite ways to pair orange wine is to set it up with foods that have strong smoky or oily flavors–the textural/bitter elements of the orange wine pair nicely with the strong flavors of the food.
Music: “Astrology Joint” by Col3trane
Description: this wine wanted a song that was laid-back, fun and vibey.
Alvar de Dios Camino de los Arrieros 2019
“Aromas of dried flowers, cumin and resinous Esteva leaf”
Grapes: Rufete, Juan García, Trincadeira Preta, Merenzao, Mandón, others...
ABV: 12.5%
Region: Arribes, Tierra de Castilla y Léon, Spain
Winemaker: Alvar de Dios
Viniculture: organically-farmed old vine sites throughout the Toro/Arribes region
Winemaking: Hand harvested, whole cluster, natural yeast fermentation in 1000L French oak vats, pigeage. Aged 6 months in 500L French oak barrels and 1000L French oak foudres, vegan
Jackson’s Notes:
You’re not supposed to make fresh red blends in the Toro region of Spain!
The Toro and Arribes region are to Spain what the Yakima Valley is to Washington State. It’s a hot area deep in the continent, marked by mesas, sweeping brown hills and an occasional ribbon of river. It’s only recently been discovered as a great winemaking region, and exploited as such. It’s known mostly for its big, powerful dry Tempranillo wines that have a fair dollop of new French oak. While these wines are really delicious and ageworthy, they’re not always the most versatile.
That’s why I was very surprised to discover this interesting cuvée of old vine red made from grapes you hardly ever see written on paper, let alone made right near the Toro region. It doesn’t read like anything I’ve ever had from this part of the world.
Alvar de Dios grew up in the Toro area. Even though he grew up around family vineyards, he didn’t really engage with the craft of winemaking until his time in the Madrid region with the über-talented Dani Landi and Fer Garcia at Comando G. It was here that Alvar learned how to create wines that reflect the land they’re grown in. Upon returning home, he went vine hunting and found some amazing vineyards in both Toro and the nearby Arribes region, where he set up shop.
Enter Camino de los Arrieros. It’s not practical to create a red from Toro/Arribes that goes against the grain of every other commercially successful wine from that region. Most often, you’ll discover the wines of Bodegas Resalte, Pintia, or Numanthia–cannon-like reds made from Tempranillo, called Tinta de Toro locally. This is akin to deciding to market a fresh bubbly from Napa Valley. It’s not impossible, but it’s tough to prove your case.
Camino de los Arrieros is a throwback to another time in Spain’s winemaking history, when field blends were more commonplace. You can sense the windswept desert, wildflowers and dry sagebrush as you lift your nose to the glass–these are notes shared with classic Toro Tempranillo, but that’s where the similarity ends. Rufete and Juan Garcia lead the blend here and provide notes of dense, baked red fruit. There’s pleasant tartness and herbaceousness that leaves this warm-climate wine sitting light and fresh on your palate. Pair this with roasted white meats or grilled veggies.
Food Pairing: Stephen Raichlen’s Grilled Pork Chops with smoked paprika
Description: the buoyant fruit in this Arribes red blend is made for a dish with powerful grilled flavors
Music: “Violeta Se Fue” by Brisa Flow
Description: this wine evokes dusty, windswept Spanish plains.
The Marigny “Mixed Emotions” 2022
Grapes: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris
ABV: 11.8%
Region: Willamette Valley, OR
Winemaker: Andy Young
Viniculture: organically farmed grapes farmed by Jarad Hadi (of Grape Ink, see below) and Andy Young.
Winemaking: this is about as strange as it gets-a blend of skin-contact Pinot Gris, white Pinot Gris, carbonic Pinot Noir, and Pinot Noir Rosé. The wines are all made separately then blended together. Minimal SO2 is utilized at The Marigny.
Jackson’s Notes:
I’ve been following the work of Andy at The Marigny/St. Reginald Parish for many years. He’s not the first person to make natural wine in the Willamette Valley, but he’s certainly helped put the scene on the map. He makes his wines as clean and naturally as possible, eschewing the use of any pesticides or herbicides in the vineyard, and any chemicals in the winery.
In fact, one of Andy’s vineyard partners is Jarad Hadi, who is also a winemaker featured in this box. Oregon wine is a small scene and chances are that if you make wine in a low-intervention way, you know other natural winemakers who do so as well.
This wine is one of the first of its kind I’ve tried–it’s rare enough to see white and red wines blended together (occasionally it’s done to make rosé)–but this one is especially cool with the addition of skin contact and rosé wine. The wine is variations on a theme of freshness and balance. This sees no new oak and only a tiny bit of sulfur at bottling. It’s as forward and unpretentious an Oregon wine as you could ever enjoy.
This has notes of raspberry yogurt, tangy cranberry, fresh herbs, lemon and spruce tips. It smells like a red then it hits your palate like a rosé, with the acid of a refined white and the tannin of an orange wine. It manages to be four things at once. It’s a very silly and fun experience.
Food Pairing:
Description:
Music: “Monster” by ALASKALASKA”’
Description: zippy, tangy, silky and bright all at once.
Sage Rat x Sonder “Cat Watermelon” Carbonic Nebbiolo 2022
Grapes: 100% Nebbiolo
ABV: 12.7%
Region: Yakima Valley, WA
Winemaker: Riley Miller (Sonder) x Dusty Jenkins (Sage Rat)
Viniculture: organically-farmed Nebbiolo grapes
Winemaking: carbonic maceration, short fermentation time
Jackson’s Notes:
You’re not supposed to grow Nebbiolo in Washington state! There’s a lot of unspoken rules in winemaking today. Suppose you asked the experts how to have a successful Washington winery. They’d say things like “grow Cabernet, it’s the best cash crop,” and “make sure you give your wines plenty of time in new, toasty French oak barrels, that’s the flavor people like.” They’d never tell you to plant Nebbiolo grapes, or to make your wines in a bright, pale style.
This Sonder Carbonic Nebbiolo is a splash of cold water in the face of the staid, comfortable Washington wine industry. You’re not going to see anyone drinking a wine like this in Woodinville Wine Country, but then again why should that ever determine what’s good and worthy of attention?
This wine is a collaboration project started by Dusty Jenkins of Sage Rat and Riley Miller of Sonder. It’s farmed organically and made with minimal intervention. The watermelon cat on the front label is having such a great time that I was primed to enjoy this wine before I even tasted it. That’s the effect that a good label can have on me.
Tangy, cranberry fruit and dried fresh herbs lead the way on this Carbonic Nebbiolo, followed by fresh rose petal and violet. Watermelon pulp, juice and rind come through, rinsed by high-quality blanco Tequila, an herbal note from the desert these grapes were grown in.
Food Pairing: Esquites mexican grilled corn salad from Serious Eats
Description: this shouldn’t be overthought. Just look at the bottle.
Music: “On the 5” by Winnetka Bowling League
Description: Summer vibes for a wine that screams pure summer refreshment.
Grape Ink “Days Until Harvest” Pinot Noir 2021
Grapes: 100% Pinot Noir
ABV: 12%
Region: Tualatin Hills, Willamette Valley, OR
Winemaker: Jarad Hadi
Viniculture: Organic/Biodynamic farming, completely by hand, from vineyards that are walkable from Jarad’s front door.
Winemaking: this wine is made in two separate batches- one is whole cluster, the other one entirely destemmed. After a moderate maceration period, the wine ages in 500L and 1000L neutral barrels to settle down for 18 months, then they’re blended.
Jackson’s Notes: You’re not supposed to let poets make wine! Jarad Hadi would not introduce himself as a winemaker. A published author as well as a deep thinker, he’s just as content walking among the vines as he is crafting verses with the English language. His wife is an artist from Italy, and creates labels from scratch for their rosé bottles, with oil on canvas. In fact sometimes their rosé shipment is delayed because of the painting. That’s as good a reason as I've heard for a delayed shipment.
Jarad Hadi is a singular creature as you know, and one of his tenets for quality winemaking is only working with vineyards that he can walk to from his house. This severely limits the quantity he’s able to make, but lets him focus on making the most interesting and dynamic wines possible.
By working with vineyards he only knows intimately, Jarad is able to create special experiences with each bottle of wine. Days Until Harvest is a meticulously-farmed Pinot Noir cuvée made from half destemmed grapes and half whole-cluster grapes. It ages in neutral barrel for 18 months. Tualatin Hills is one of the newest AVAs in the Willamette Valley, focused around the coastal mountain range and its foothills, and this wine is meant to express the elegance and tension of this fruit to its fullest potential.
Just-ripe strawberry, fresh tarragon and dandelion are all here, vying for attention. It’s a style of elegant, tautly-balanced Oregon Pinot that is atypical, but is surprisingly homey and familiar.
Food Pairing: Salmon Burgers with Fennel Slaw and Remoulade by Serious Eats
Description: salmon and oregon pinot noir are a match made in heaven.
Music: Don’t Forget by Sultan + Shepherd
Description: a moody, elegant beat for a wine that calls to mind dark leaves and muddy paths.