WCLA x GCF: Wine Flight Deets!
CALIFORNIA LOVE.
Although we love wines from all different regions around the world, tonight we’re sharing our love for California Wines and Winemakers. We didn’t seek out to do this on purpose, but the wines that resonated the most with us out of Amy Atwood’s current lineup all happened to be from our current home state.
California is beautiful. California is diverse. And even when we face our own difficulties, we easily find beauty all around us. And these wines are an exact expression of that. Inconsistent weather and fires have made farming and winemaking (ESPECIALLY natural/low intervention winemaking) extremely difficult and, yet, these folks have been able to create some truly magical shit.
We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Los Angeles River Wine Company: 2020 MEPPP
Notes: Light and bright white wine. A little floral. Partially skin fermented so it’s got a little more “umph” to its flavor.
Grapes: 100% Pecorino from Temecula (Imported from Abruzzo)
Vinification: 70% whole cluster pressing/30% skin-fermented for 2 weeks. Fermented & aged in neutral oak barrels for 7 months. No so2.
Something Cool: “MEPPP” stands for “Modified Emidio Pepe Pecorino Protocol”. Emidio Pepe is an OG low-intervention winemaker from Abruzzo, so this wine pays homage to him. Also, these winemakers “Scholium Project” have recently found their home in Southern California, along the LA River. They are known for exploring and reviving extremely old (and forgotten) grape vines across California.
L'Arge d'Oor: 2019 Skin Fermented White Blend
Notes: Super flavorful skin contact (“orange”) wine. Fuller bodied like a red and yet refreshing like a white!
Grapes: 50% Voigner/50% Chardonnay from three different vineyards in Santa Barbara County.
Vinification: Voigner is fermented 243 days/8 months on skins & Chardonnay is fermented 155 days/5 months on skins. Aged for 18 months in neutral French oak on the gross lees. (Lees = leftover residue of yeast, skins, seeds, stems, etc.) This can produce a creamy/yeasty/brioche flavor. Unfined/Unfiltered. 28 ppm of so2 added at bottling.
Something Cool: We picked this one to include because of the long amount of time this wine was skin-fermented. L’Arge D’Oor is the brand created by Scott Sampler, who also spearheads the label Scotty Boy! Wines.
Dirty & Rowdy: 2020 Brosseau Vineyard Grenache Rose
Notes: Juicy and fruity, light red raspberry juice with a touch of minerality! Not your basic b*tch rose.
Grapes: 100% Grenache from Brosseau Vineyards in Monterey.
Vinification: Direct press to rose (no skin contact). Aged in 8-10 year old neutral barrels after 6 months of elevage. (Elevage = the process of nurturing the wine from fermentation to barrel to bottling.)
Something Cool: Brosseau Vineyards was the first vineyard to be certified organic in their appellation in Monterey! This happened in 2011. (10 years is not so long ago!) The soil at this vineyard consists of limestone and granite. Maybe this is where it gets that minerality from? Also, the winemakers Dirty & Rowdy are parting ways, so this may be one of their last vintages! That’s not “cool”, per say, because they make delicious wine. But we are glad to be able to share it with y’all.
Vinca Minor: 2020 Mendocino Carignan/Petit Sirah/Gewurztraminer
Notes: Another super juicy and fruity wine! Stone fruit and berries, like a super ripe, end-of-summer fruit salad.
Grapes: Carignan, Petit Sirah, & Gewurztraminer grapes from the Redwood Valley, Anderson Valley, & Mendocino.
Vinification: Carignan and petit sirah were co-fermented for five days on the skins and gently pressed into old French barrels. The gewurztraminer was blended in the following spring.
Something Cool: These three grapes are the LSG of wine combos. (Levert. Sweat. Gill.) An R&B supergroup of flavor. Gewurztraminer makes delicious skin contact wine. One of our favorite grapes that we seemingly will never learn how to say (or spell) properly. This is a chillable red/dark rose/rosatto that is the perfect transition into Los Angeles “fall” weather.
Margins: 2020 Neutral Oak Hotel
Notes: A tart, fruity, slightly fuller-bodied red. But still delicious chilled!
Grapes: Cabernet Franc/Mourvèdre/Counosie/Chenin Blanc/Muscat Blanc blend from a bunch of vineyards all over Central California, Northern California, and the Bay Area.
Vinification: 100% destemmed, all fermented and aged separately, then blended right before bottling. Aged in neutral oak for nine months. Native fermentation, unfined, unfiltered, 25 ppm so2 added during elevage & 20 ppm added a week before bottling.
Something Cool: Margins Wine is the creation of Megan Bell in Santa Cruz. She is the single employee of Margins Wine. I can’t even imagine how difficult that is! She typically makes wines that are single varietal or made of one type of grape only. So, this blend is a playful project that ended up deliciously!
About the Distributor: Amy Atwood Selections
Amy Atwood started California-based Amy Atwood Selections (Cleanskins Wine LLC) in 2009 through the desire to work with wines she loves and winemakers she respects. Her group’s focus is on smaller production wineries who make wines more naturally. (Organic or sustainable farming at minimum, with little to no intervention in the winery.) They distribute SO MANY of our favorite winemakers.
Huge shout out to Doug Swim for walking us through our tasting and helping us pick out these superb bottles for you tonight!
