October 2025 Wine Club
Kobal Bajta ‘Belo’ 2022
The vibe: Alright y’all get excited because this month we’re going with a theme! This month we are featuring three wines from the country of Slovenia! Not only is Slovenia an ancient winemaking region predating Roman influence by centuries (yeah, like extremely ancient winemaking) but these wines are also absolutely perfect for this time of the year. This month we’re featuring two dry “white” wines and a red. White in air quotes because as is typical to this neck of the woods, white wines from Slovenia often have skin contact, lending a richer, more textural profile. These wines are sometimes referred to amber wines and can drink closer to a red than a white, requiring just a slight chill at most. This wine is a perfect intro into this style, leaning closer to a sunlight yellow color than a true orange. That light color extends to the palate, which delicately suggests notes of baking spice and apricots. This is not a shouty orange wine with aromatics and tangy zest, this is a gentle kiss of nutmeg and jasmine, the perfect wine to ease into cooler days ahead.
The winemaker: Bojan Kobal produces wine in the Haloze appellation in Štajerska Slovenia, considered one of the top wine-growing sites in Europe since Roman times. Here, old vines root deep into marl slopes and absorb minerality, a signature profile of these wines. Kobal itself is a tiny garage winery, a project of Bojan’s outside of his day job as winemaker at Pullus (another fantastic Slovenian winery). He has a passion for indigenous varietals that rarely make their way out of the country, much less to our shores. Lucky us that his wines made it here!
The geeky details: Laški Riesling (Welschreisling), Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc. Hand-picked grapes went through extended maceration and natural barrel fermentation. All varieties were fermented separately with no added yeasts and seeing 48 days of skin maceration. Matured on lees in used barrique barrels for 2 years. The final blend was made in a stainless steel tank and bottled without fining or filtering.
Serve: With a light chill.
Food pairing: With its delicate aromatics and light texture this skin contact is well suited to herby roast chicken or spicy Thai curry and light enough to not overpower appetizers.
Album pairing: Adekunle Gold - Tequila Ever After
Guerila Retro White 2021
The vibe: Now we move southwest across Slovenia from the lower Styria down into the Vipava Valley near the sea. This coastline is home to Italy and Croatia and produces incredibly unique wines with an undeniable sense of place and terroir. White wines from this region often have a Mediterranean herbaceousness that really comes through with skin contact. This wine in particular is in a region that straddles both alpine and Mediterranean climates, with vineyards planted atop steep mountain tops where the temperature is cooler, and is considered one of the most desirable regions in Slovenia for cultivating vineyards. Retro white is an ode to the traditional style of wine made in the Vipava Valley, a field blend of varietals planted alongside each other, harvested together and fermented together, known locally as ‘Vipavec.’ Two weeks of skin contact amps up the aromatics and complex notes of dried flowers and herbs, with an exotic honey-drenched fruity finish.
The winemaker: Zmagoslav Petrič was born in 1956 to a peasant family, the same year his father Jožef received an award for reviving the grape varietal Pinela. Coincidence or fate? In 2005, after a career in another field, Guerrila was born and vineyards were planted with old local and native varietals. In total there are now 22 hectares of vineyards, with all of the work taking place in accordance with the natural cycles of the biodynamic calendar.
The geeky details: Rebula, Zelen, Pinela, Malvazija (field blend – unfixed percentages). Manual harvest of vineyard selection biodynamically grown grapes sorted in the vineyard. All varieties are harvested and fermented at the same time, with a two-week maceration of the grape mash and spontaneous fermentation occurring with indigenous yeast. Mild pressing and one-year maturation of the wine in large traditional neutral oak barrels in which the process of malolactic fermentation takes place. The wine matures on its own lees without flow for one year. Bottling with minimal addition of sulphur without filtration.
Serve: With a light chill.
Food pairing: Treat this “white” almost like a light red! Serve it around 50F and let it open up throughout the course of the evening. This is a complex, bolder skin contact wine and should pair with equally bold and rich dishes. Moroccan or Ethiopian cuisine for example. I’ve also been dreaming about a crab risotto I had recently and may or may not attempt to recreate it myself and pair with this wine!
Album pairing: French Swimming Club - From Paris
Korenika & Moskon Refosk 2019
The vibe: Ahh Refosk (or Refosco if you’re in Italy). This is such a classically fall-coded red grape. This is a red of depth and body, with pepper and smoke and earth, lifted by bright acidity and popping with currant and raspberry and dried cherry notes. It is a very dark skinned grape, considered to be one of the oldest varieties originating between the karst and coastal Slovenia. With this wine, we’ve moved even further south into Istria, the southwestern tip of Slovenia directly bordering the Adriatic Sea to the west and Croatia to the south. This to us is the ultimate expression of red wine from this region, a classic example of true old world winemaking, and a compelling excuse to book a trip to visit ASAP!
The winemaker: Korenika & Moškon is Slovenia’s largest Demeter certified winery at just 25 hectares! Family owned and operated, they have been recovering and naturalizing their winemaking ethos since the early 1980’s. Situated in Istria on a rolling hillside with an enviable view of the Adriatic, their vines – and olive trees! – stretch from the salt-soaked coastline to higher hinterland. Through minimal intervention practices in the vineyards and cellar, they show us what this picturesque region is capable of.
The geeky details: Grown on sandstone with plenty of marine sediment, the grapes are left for four days of cold maceration to extract soft, inviting tannins, before sitting on lees for 20 months to mature.
Serve: Cellar temp.
Food pairing: Red meat red meat! Honestly any roasted dish is going to pair incredibly with this, depending on your vibe. Roasted eggplant, seared salmon, grilled ribs, the list goes on!
Album pairing: Loure - Westside Movements
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WHAT THE FUNK?!
Libertine Wine ‘You Are Still Alive’ Pét Nat 2022
The vibe: Sparkling Tempranillo rosé from the Willamette Valley?? Ok so this doesn’t totally fit in with the Slovenian theme for this month’s core bottles but hey, we couldn’t resist a cuvée named ‘You Are Still Alive’ and a label like that on this haunted month of October 2025. This is a fun and slightly funky, carefree interpretation of Spain’s iconic red grape. It kind of breaks your brain with its spice and lingering cherry raspberry finish reminding you that, yes this is still Tempranillo, just in chuggable form! A reference to the 2020 pandemic, the first year the wine was released, You Are Still Alive is what this wine serves to remind us and we are thankful for it!
The winemaker: Winemaker Alex Nealy owned a very prestigious wine and cheese shop when one day while riding on a bus he realized that he always reeked of pungent cheese. He had a decision to make and we all benefit that he’s decided to focus on wine! Alex is part of the new wave of natural, non interventionist winemakers in the Willamette Valley whose passion is experimenting and expanding the possibility of new varietals in Oregon.
The geeky details: The wine is 100% Tempranillo - a long way from its home in Rioja! From grapes grown at the prestigious Dion Vineyard in the Chehalam Mountain AVA. The grapes are fermented with native vineyard yeasts and aged in neutral oak barrels with no additives except a smidge of sulfite as a preservative. Unfiltered and unfined.
Serve: With a chill.
Food pairing: Throw out all your classic sparkling rosé pairings and treat this like a light spicy red. Personally, we’d go with chorizo, paella or smoky barbecue!
Album pairing: Tar Blanche - Granada School of Motion
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EASYYYYYY
Miles Garrett Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
The vibe: We couldn’t resist popping another Miles Garrett wine in the club as a bonus this month after last month’s memorable trip to his gorgeous property in Humboldt County in northern California’s remote wilderness. We also couldn’t resist watching ‘Murder Mountain’ on Netflix after getting back and boy are we glad we waited until after the trip was over. That wilderness is as gorgeous as it is extremely cut off from humanity but hey, that’s what makes healthy grapes! Speaking of healthy, this 2018 library cab has aged incredibly well, tasting like a cab with many more years under its belt while retaining so much crunchy red fruit up front. We chalk that up to Miles’ restraint in the sulfite department and quality, fruitful vineyards. Crack this one open and savor it all night long, it’ll open up beautifully over a couple hours.
The winemaker: Miles Garett makes natural wine in Humboldt County with a focus on minimal intervention and never adds sulfites or any other additives during any part of the process. Everything is done by hand by him and his family, friends and volunteers. The resulting wines are honest and expressive yet light and extremely drinkable, reminiscent of California wines of the 70s, when temperatures were lower and wines had higher acid and lower levels of tannins. Growing grapes in a relatively remote area also means he avoids overspray from neighbors, and being in a cooler microclimate means all his wines have bright acidity and crunchy fruity tones.
The geeky details: A closely guarded secret! ;)
Serve: Cellar temp.
Food pairing: With its crunchy fresh fruit giving way to a classic rich cab profile, we’d pair this wine with hearty stews or lamb curry. If you’re pairing with apps, this wine would complement sharp cheddar, aged gouda and even blue cheese, with its mellow fruity notes.
Album pairing: El Michels Affair - Yeti Season