Grapes: 90% Gimelli Vineyard Chardonnay + 10% Siletto Vineyard Freisa
Region: California
Vintage: 2022
Viticulture: Organic
Yeasts: Native
Vinification: Stainless steel as vin clair (sparkling wine base wine before secondary fermentation)
Aging: Neutral oak barrels for 7 months before being fortified with brandy that has been aged for 3 years in neutral oak
Notes from the Importer: Our winemaker and founder, Josh Hammerling, started working in cellars, vineyards and tasting rooms in Washington State in 2014. Many low-intervention experiments in friends’ garages led to a fascination with classic and experimental expressions of sparkling wine. In 2017 he moved to Berkeley to work for Broc Cellars and Donkey and Goat while he got his project off the ground. He settled on Berkeley for his winery to take advantage of its proximity to the Central Coast to the south and Mendocino to the north. It’s the ideal location for sourcing fruit from distinctive, responsibly farmed vineyards.
Over the past few years we’ve been experimenting with making understated vermouths with our vin clair. The wines read as dry because of their elevated acidity, and are a perfect aperitif, best served over ice with a twist, or as an ingredient in cocktails that call for dry vermouth.
The fortified wine was then lightly sweetened with 5 g/l sugar from Ortiz Jr. Farms Blackberries and honey. An additional mixture of cinchona bark and wormwood were added to the fortified wine for a one week maceration to add a hint of bitterness.
