Two Shepherds Pinot Meunier Hopkins Ranch 2022

The vibe: Pinot Meunier! We love this red grape so much. Typically found in sparkling wines like Champagne, it’s less commonly made into still red wines. But when done well, it’s sublime. Those same punchy black cherry, raspberry notes that it lends to sparkling wines come out in full force here. This is a juicy red! We’re excited to debut Two Shepherds in the club, a winemaker we’ve admired for some time for producing light bodied yet nuanced and layered wines - just our cup of tea. The grapes in this bottle in particular come from the oldest planting in the Russian River, a lucky encounter when the winemakers were buying their goats, Chabi and Chou.

The winemaker: Two Shepherds was founded by William Allen, a garagiste for years before moving into commercial production in 2010 and joined by his partner and wine industry veteran, Karen Daenen in 2015. Two Shepherds’ first harvest back in 2010 was native yeast and neutral barrel, and they’ve kept that ethos to date. Specializing in Rhone varieties, they soon adopted other fun varietals as they grew their sourcing, keeping each release limited to 25-400 case small lots. The Two Shepherds farm is home to 3 mini donkeys, 5 goats, 6 chickens, 2 dogs and 3 cats, and now 2 Kune-Kune herbivore lady pigs. When one of the wines matches their personality, they get a wine named after them.

The geeky details: 100% Pinot Meunier from 45 year old vines in the Russian River Valley in Sonoma. Native yeast, low sulfur, 10 months in neutral barrel.

Serve: With a light chill.

Food pairing: Cookout vibes! Smokey charred ribs or roasted duck and grilled veggies. Anything herb-roasted. You could even throw some truffle-heavy dishes at this!

Album pairing: Underground Canopy - Séquences EP