Piri Naturel Ponderosa

Grapes: Pinot Gris + Pinot Noir

Region: Nahe, Germany

Vintage: 2019

Viticulture: Biodynamic

Soils: Devonian Slate

Vinification: Grapes are hand-harvested, and left as whole bunches. The bunches are foot stomped and ferment semi-carbonically for about one week. The wine is then pressed to oak barrels to finish fermentation on the full lees.  The wine is not stirred and no batonnage is performed and it is bottled, unfined, unfiltered, and with zero addition of sulfur. The wine ends up a light red color due to the small amount of skin contact on the Pinot Gris combined with the red color from the Pinot Noir. 

Aging: 12 - 18 months

Fining or Filtering: None

Sulfur: None

Notes from the Importer: Piri Wein has been run by Christine Pieroth’s family since 1781, in the Nahe region of Germany in Burg Layen. Christine decided to split off her line of wine under the Piri Naturel label, to show a distinction between the classic wines her family continues to make and her own line, focused on organic viticulture and natural methods in the cellar. Christine has been inspired by her own work in her vegetable gardens, and is becoming more and more interested in biodyanamic practices. Christine works only with wild yeast, never fines or filters, and adds either zero or very low amounts of sulfur. Her labels show local flora that she collected in or around her vineyard sites, handprinted on fabric, and that had digitized to make the labels. 

Ponderosa is Christine’s affectionate name for where these grapes grow. The rows of vines are very close together. Christine wanted to name the wine this way to call attention to the special place the grapes come from, rather than highlighting the individual grape varieties in the wine.