September 2025 Wine Club
Semillas Farm Winery ‘Colors Everywhere’ 2023
The vibe: With the first official day of fall just a week away (holy moly, already??) we’re taking a look at three wines that are difficult to put into existing, well-defined categories. These are real genre-defiers, wines that are transitional, fluid in their disposition and perfect for this time of year where sunny days seem to be fewer and far between and the rain is just starting to roll in. Hunker down with this first bottle from a new producer to us, Semillas Farm Winery. Self-described by winemaker Sterling Whitted as a dry tropical red, it’s actually a blend of both red and white varietals with skin maceration (so, red meets orange??). Again, we don’t need to put a definition on it because it’s absolutely delicious. The fruit hits like a textural rosé, with aromatics and subtle structure from the orange wine and a pleasant herbaceous, almost Amari-like finish that pairs perfectly with the early fall air.
The winemaker: Winemaker Sterling Whitted worked stints at Owen Roe, Cameron and Teutonic Wine Company while studying for an advanced enology degree at Oregon State University. Since then he has founded Holden Wine Company, followed by Semillas Farm Winery, and draws from his experiences traveling to Italy, Georgia and Ecuador and the people behind the wine and culture in each country.
The geeky details: From the winemaker: This was something that began as an experiment that I am extremely stoked on how it turned out. During the pandemic when I took a bit of time away from winemaking and went back to school, through OSU I hit the Galapagos and and the rest of Ecuador for a Food systems trip and came up with the idea of attempting to make a wine that goes well with Latin food, Tostones, etc. My mom is from Puerto Rico and that just kinda sounded like a fun project. So instead of making a chillable red through the means of just pressing early. This is a blend of Pommard (fermented as a red, Caroline Vineyard, Yamhill Carlton AVA) Riesling (J.Wrigley Vineyard, McMinnville AVA, and Orange Sauvignon (Roxboro, Columbia Valley) with about 3 weeks on the skins. Essentially it is a dry tropical Red. It went over super well down here.
Serve: With a light chill.
Food pairing: Herb-crusted chicken, seasonal produce like butter squash and sweet potatoes, light Italian-inspired pastas.
Album pairing: Bruno Pernadas - Those Who Throw Objects at the Crocodiles Will Be Asked to Retrieve Them
Stagiaire Wine 'Sultana of Swat' 2023
The vibe: Yes yes YES. Not sure how it’s taken us this long to discover Stagiaire Wine but we had to get a bottle of this insane Carignan in the club immediately to share with y’all before it runs out. In last month’s pickup we talked about the French term ‘buvabilité’ to describe the drinkable quality of Philippe Tessier’s ‘Grain Noir’ and it absolutely applies here too, which makes sense given winemaker Bren Mayeaux’s timing apprenticing (or, staging) in France. This being an old vine Carignan (120 year old vines), it gives Southern France or even Ardeche; the wines of Le Mazel immediately come to mind, and not just because of their preference for bottling under crown cap rather than cork. This wine screams ‘drink me right now!’ Wines like this are the perfect example of a layered, complex wine made in a style that is anything but complex to understand. You understand the assignment, don’t you? Throw a chill on this, crack it open with friends or drink the whole bottle. It’s here for a good time and not a long time and we’re absolutely here for that.
The winemaker: Stagiaire Wine is the brainchild of New Orleans native Brent Mayeaux. The project takes its name from Brent’s time spent as an apprentice - or stagiaire - at various wineries around the world at the beginning of his career. He began by working under more conventionally-minded winemakers in California, but it was during experiences in Australia and then France, where his head was turned towards natural wine by the likes of luminaries such as Philippe Bonard in the Jura and Gareth Belton of Gentle Folk in the Adelaide Hills. Mayeaux returned to California in 2018 armed with a more European sensibility around winemaking and the role of the vineyard. He now makes wine in a former industrial space on Treasure Island, a reclaimed piece of land in the middle of the San Francisco Bay.
The geeky details: Organically farmed 100-120 year old (!!) Carignan vines from Hopland, Mendocino County. Whole cluster maceration for 10 days followed by pressing, fermentation in tank and aging in neutral barrels for one year.
Serve: With a light chill.
Food pairing: Carignan is a classic food wine and this one should be no different. The brambly, herby and subtly earthy profile should pair up nicely with roasted or grilled veggies like pumpkin, eggplant or mushrooms. Serve it with anything seasoned with five spice or fresh herbs.
Album pairing: Felipe Gordon - Natural Born Climber EP
Ezio Cerruti ‘Rifol’ Pét Nat 2021
The vibe: In this part of Italy’s Piemonte region, Nebbiolo takes a backseat to Moscato. While most producers here make wine in large quantities and in an industrialized, profit-focused fashion, Ezio Cerruti is known for his dedication to biodynamic farming, despite being surrounded by industrial vineyards. These 60 year old vines are planted on steep hillsides at 1,300 feet in clay and limestone soils. If ever there was a terroir Moscato, this is it. Because of his neighbors and their market saturation, Moscato often gets a bad rep for being a sweet wine lacking character or finesse. Here, we see what’s possible when a winemaker dedicates themselves to crafting expressive wines with little intervention, which includes leaving the wine un-disgorged, ‘col fondo’ style. You’ll find lees and sediment at the bottom of the bottle, which is what lends the cloudy appearance, complex aroma and bread-like richness that you find in the best col fondo proseccos.
The winemaker: Ezio Cerruti grew up among the Moscato vines of Castiglione Tinella, a place he has always called home. He began his winemaking journey in a cooperative, learning from the shared wisdom of the community. Inspired to push beyond expectations, he acquired a 1,000-year-old estate, determined to craft a more refined and expressive version of Castiglione Tinella Moscato. In a region dominated by industrially farmed vineyards and large-scale Asti Spumante production, Ezio is an outlier—an organic island surrounded by conventional farming.
The geeky details: 100% hand-harvested Moscato, spontaneous fermentation in concrete tanks and aged 7 months in concrete before re-fermentation in bottle. No disgorgement of lees, making for a vibrant col fondo!
Serve: With a chill.
Food pairing: The aromatics and crispness here will make an excellent pairing for Thai and Indian cuisine, curries, and spiced dishes. Or, treat it like an aperitif, served with soft cheeses. Or a dessert pairing! Fresh fruit and ice cream or lemon tarts.
Album pairing: El Michels Affair - Yeti Season
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WHAT THE FUNK?!
Semillas Farm Winery ‘Skin Maceration’ Chardonnay 2023
The vibe: Winemaker Sterling Whitted describes the nose as smelling like “one of those oranges that people put cloves into” and we have to agree with him there. This is one of the most unique orange wine profiles we’ve experienced in recent memory, and we drink a lot of orange wine! Prominent notes of stone fruit pith and skins, apricot nectar, subtle tropical notes and even some sage. Underscored what is a discernible but ambiguous savory component. It’s like an autumnal charcuterie board slipped off the sailboat deck into the setting sun over Hawaii. Or at least that’s where I’d like to be while drinking it.
The winemaker: Winemaker Sterling Whitted worked stints at Owen Roe, Cameron and Teutonic Wine Company while studying for an advanced enology degree at Oregon State University. Since then he has founded Holden Wine Company, followed by Semillas Farm Winery, and draws from his experiences traveling to Italy, Georgia and Ecuador and the people behind the wine and culture in each country.
The geeky details: Just 48 cases made. 100% Chardonnay with 21 days on skins and stems, only foot treading.
Serve: With a light chill.
Food pairing: This is a complex wine with lots of different notes! Try pairing it with light dishes like a fresh fall harvest salad or light meat or tofu based dishes with subtle umami flavors. It could even be a great nightcap wine to go alongside your pumpkin pie and vanilla bean ice cream.
Album pairing: Various Artists - Beach Disco Sessions Vol. 2
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EASYYYYY
Casa Aurora ‘La Nave’ 2023
The vibe: Finally, an excuse to share this wine in the club! Since we are (very nearly) officially in red wine weather territory, it’s time to start easing back into the familiar soft tannins of a fuller-bodied red. This wine is right where we’ve been lately (mentally, spiritually, all the above) and offers up a superb constellation of dark red and blue fruit, earthy soil tones, some cigar smoke and light spices on the finish, all coming in at a quaffable 13% alcohol. Though technically not classified as an official Bierzo Tinto due to the remote location of these old bush vines, wines from this region are a great example of why we recommend Spanish reds this time of year - they’re fresh, lively, and they’re the perfect transitional wine to ease into bigger reds in the winter months.
The winemaker: Casa Aurora is German Blanco's homage to his great-grandmother, one of the first female miners in Spain, who raised him in Albares de la Ribera, a small village in Leon. Here, in a tiny hamlet just outside the Bierzo DO, German makes pure wines from micro-vineyards that dot the landscape, and are usually planted with very old vines of a variety of different grapes. The higher altitude and the iron-rich clay soils of the area give these mountain wines a great balance between a soft mouthfeel and firm tannins. There is also a fair amount of granitic rocks in the terroir, which are probably responsible for the floral, distinctive aromas you find in his wines.
The geeky details: 90% Mencia, 10% Garnacha, Tintoera & Palomino. 46 year old bush vines. Aged for 9 months in oak foudres, neutral barrels, stainless steel and flex eggs.
Serve: Cellar temp.
Food pairing: Paella, obviously. If you don’t have a paella pan (honestly fair) we’d go for chorizo pasta, charred steak or a hearty Spanish-inspired stew.
Album pairing: Kraak & Smaak - Scirocco EP