November Wine Club
Lightwell Survey Wines ‘Colorwave’ 2022
The vibe: This month we’ve got some really special bottles lined up (hi, it’s Nick - I think after this last week we’ve had we’ve earned it). Every bottle this month is from a winemaker we’ve never worked with before, so that is pretty dang exciting. In addition to that, this bottle right here came all the way from the state of Virginia, for the first time ever. That’s right, Virginian wine is in Washington, people! And you tasted it here first! For you east coast folks, it may come as no surprise that Virginia actually has quite an established viniculture scene. In fact, it holds the title of being the birthplace of wine in this country. New settlers in Virginia who wanted to be a part of the community were required to plant several rows of vines - after all, entire global powers had been built with wine as their central currency and export. Unfortunately, European vitis vinifera didn’t fair well and they saw little success in the beginning. However after several decades of experimentation, a new hybrid grape was born in Virginia: Norton (a personal favorite of Thomas Jefferson’s). There’s a ton of history to unpack here, but the long and short of it is - there are a ton of hybrid varietals in this wine, and they were developed to thrive in Virginia! This wine is a genre-bending blend of red and white varietals, presenting as somewhere between orange and rosè, with a complex but effortless palate leaning more toward a full white wine. This is the perfect mid-seasonal-shift wine for when the sun peaks out from behind the clouds after a downpour and a rainbow unfolds on the horizon. It would also make a great pre-dinner or first course Thanksgiving wine. It’s wine from Virginia, and it’s in your glass!
The winemaker: Lightwell Survey is a Virginia winery shining a new light on the traditional wine-scape. Their small batches of lively reds, dense whites and unique combinations of the two come with no preconceived descriptions or traditional aspirations. They aim for a bullseye yet prefer to land slightly off center. Started in the fall of 2015 with the first harvest in partnership with Early Mountain Vineyards in Madison, VA, their wines will continue to delve into traditional and not so familiar territory as they bring wines to market. Formed by partners Sebastian Zutant, Ben Jordan, Jay Zutant, Julian Caustrita, and John DeNapoli.
The geeky details: Combination of direct press and whole cluster fermentation (three weeks on skins) on Vidal, two day skin maceration on Traminette, no SO2 on the fruit, Chambourcin on the skins for eight days, then pressed and combined with everything else in a big co-fermented varietal soup. It finished primary and malo in tank and aged on lees until bottling.
Serve: With a chill.
Food pairing: Foods with heat or punchy flavors like fish in curry sauce, hard cheeses, pork.
Album pairing: Kokoroko - Get The Message EP
La Grange du Nord ‘Kalamite’ 2021
The vibe: If you recall last month’s lineup, you may (fondly, hopefully) recall the ethereal grape Grolleau from Damien Menut and our rambling on about how it’s the perfect grape for the perfect fall wine. Well, that led to an exploration of Grolleau from other producers, including a fantastic cuvée from La Grange aux Belles, which happens to be the winery where this bottle’s winemaker got his start. That was a rather backward way to say, we are very excited to be working with La Grange du Nord and this is the first bottle we are sharing with y’all! We tasted this at a recent trade tasting and while most of the event was a blur, this bottle stood out the most. We’ll blame Thanksgiving dinner on our mind but it’s giving spiced cranberry sauce and allspice dram. But seriously, if this wine was a candle scent we’d be burning it in the shop for the month of November. It’s got a metric TON of spicy complexity and fleeting whiffs of herbaceousness, bright red fruit, and light crunchy acid. Did we mention the spices though? Such a perplexingly nuanced profile for such a light, quaffable red. All of the wines this month are Thanksgiving wines but this one, man…
The winemaker: Agneray was born in the département du Nord, in the Hauts-de-France region of France bordering Belgium. He spent years in Paris studying literature and frequenting wine bars. His interest in wine brought him to Loire to work with La Grange aux Belles before settling in Sabran, the Gard, to pursue his own winemaking in 2013. His enthusiasm for arts and culture is apparent on his wine labels, referring to Faulkner and Alain Bashung. Starting with a plot of 3 hectares (named the Saint-Pons), the domain now extends to 8.5 hectares of vines in production. A team of four work the domain on a regular basis: Arouna, an apprentice, Alexis, a part time worker who is also developing a market garden with a hen house, Fred and his sister Delphine. All together they are actively building a shed to store their vineyard equipment, and plan to complete a wine making cellar within 5 years.
The geeky details: 40% Cinsault, 40% Syrah, 20% Grenache. Grapes macerate whole-cluster for 7 days prior to pressing and spontaneous fermentation in a combination of fiberglass/stainless steel tank. Bottled after a short maturation unfined, unfiltered, no additional SO2. 12.5%ABV
Serve: With a light chill.
Food pairing: STUFFING, CRANBERRY SAUCE, BRUSSELS SPROUTS
Album pairing: Blank - Nowadays Records Birthday Mix
La Dernière Goutte ‘Moonwalk’ Gamay Noir
The vibe: No November wine club lineup is complete without at least one proper Gamay. While everyone knows Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of the month, the third Thursday of November is a pretty big deal too. Beaujolais Nouveau Day celebrates the release of France’s most popular vin de primeur (early wine). These wines are bottled and sold within just a few weeks of harvest. Since they see less time on the skins before pressing, these wines are light, fruity and effortless. They also happen to make perfect Thanksgiving pairings. This wine isn’t technically a Beaujolais Nouveau as those haven’t been released yet, but it fits the theme and it is an absolute stunner, plus we’ve been wanting to bring in this wine forever. Cyrille Vuillod’s La Dernière Goutte bottle aesthetic is unmistakable on the shelf, with catchy label designs and that signature light red Gamay glow - the only grape he grows. This is one of the best Gamays we’ve ever had, like period. So now it’s yours. Do with it what you will. But we suggest pairing it with IKEA meatballs and lingonberry sauce like we did. Mashed potatoes optional, but recommended.
The winemaker: Cyrille Vuillod has headed up La Derniere Goutte since 2012. Before launching himself into winemaking, Cyrille worked as a ski instructor in his native Hautes-Alpes region. He always loved wine purely out of the enjoyment he took in drinking it, and he worked for years in Beaujolais doing harvests for friends to earn extra money in his off-season. He finally decided to take up the métier of vigneron full-time. He dedicated himself to a three-year apprenticeship of sorts in the cellar of Jean-Claude Lapalu, an extremely respected figure in the world of natural wine and someone whose experimental and boundary-pushing spirit has rubbed off on Cyrille. In 2011, Cyrille produced a first vintage of his own in Lapalu’s cellar, and since then he has been producing at his own place on the edge of Brouilly. Cyrille works just under 5 ha and has always farmed organically without certification. In fact, he chose to use the organically permitted sprays in his first three years of farming, but has since forgone their use completely. Now Cyrille also works biodynamically. Cyrille farms a patchwork of parcels around Vaux-en-Beaujolais filled with gnarly old vines on pink granitic sand, flint, and clay.
The geeky details: 100% Gamay. Each individual parcel is macerated semi-carbonically over periods ranging from 10-15 days. Everything is basket pressed, and the juice undergoes an élevage in different containers including used barrique and ceramic tank for 9 months before bottling without fining, filtration, or sulfitage.
Serve: With a light chill.
Food pairing: IKEA cafeteria fare. Seriously.
Album pairing: Blue Material - Reasonings
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WHAT THE FUNK?!
Nibiru ‘Tradition’ Red NV
The vibe: Obviously we’re keeping this Thanksgiving wine theme going, but let’s make it Austrian. This is a crunchy, juicy blend of Zweigelt and Merlot, packed with ripe red and black fruit, vibrant herbaceousness and crunchy acidity, with slightly funky, earthy undertones. It also sees over three years in barrel before bottling, so this is a liter than can hang with the big kids. You could bring this to Thanksgiving dinner and your uncle who has a wine cellar would probably drink it. Probably. They named the winery Nibiru after an ancient Sumerian myth about Planet X (more on that in the section below), so it’s got an edgy side. They’re probably playing into the fact that low intervention wines in Austria go against the grain in terms of the conventional, chemical-ridden wines the Kamptal region was known for back in the 1980s. They were adding antifreeze to their wines among other things which like, why? Yuck. Anyway, this wine is totally natural and represents the best of what Austria has to offer these days. It’s so good.
The winemaker: Named for a Sumerian myth about a planet that goes through our solar system every 3600 years - and the weirdest thing about it is that the planet appears to move the opposite direction as all other planets which probably fuels all the conspiracy theories about it. Josef & Julia named their project Nibiru Wines as a nod to the oppositional, rare mythical planet that seems to symbolize the difference in their approach from the imposing, chemical-ridden, classical past of the Kamptal and their hopes for what may be possible in this region in the future.
The geeky details: Grapes were fermented separately in open-top fermenters for two to four weeks, were pressed into stainless steel for malo, then after malolactic, moved into big fass from Josef’s grandfather’s dugout cellar. The wine has been aging since Nov ’18, so nearly 40 months in a barrel, bottled Feb 2022.
Serve: With a light chill.
Food pairing: Bratwurst, those soup bread bowls, hearty stews, rich cheeses.
Album pairing: Ginger Rose - Afternoon Delight
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EASYYY
Victor Sornin AOC Beaujolais Villages Rouge 2022
The vibe: You want easy? You got it. This bottle is too perfect for Thanksgiving not to include in this month’s lineup. This is a really cool one to compare to Moonwalk since they’re both Gamays from different regions in Beaujolais. While the Moonwalk is in Brouilly, a region known for fruit-forward quaffable wines, this is from near Morgon, known for granite-centric, mineral-driven wines. See if you can taste these elements! This wine is by Fred Sornin, whose son Victor is learning the ropes to carry on the family legacy into its 10th generation, including designing labels. We think this wine is just as lighthearted as his drawings, with tons of crunchy red fruit. Throw a little chill on it and try not to chug. ;)
The winemaker: Fred Sornin is the 9th generation winemaker at this estate based in the Regnie Cru. His vines are between 50 and 60 years old. Named after the winemaker’s son Victor, this bottle is a special project with the focus of building upon their existing organic winemaking to make wines that are as natural as possible using the best grapes.
The geeky details: 100% Gamay from one of the 5% of the best classified wines in the region. Harvested from a 60-year-old vineyard planted on granitic soil near the Morgon Cru. Fermented with indigenous yeast and aged in concrete tanks to keep it clean and fresh.
Serve: With a light chill.
Food pairing: Pizza! Light enough to pair with starters, but would also lighten up any heavier courses. Leftover turkey sandwiches? Picnic in November??
Album pairing: The Offline - Les Cigales