{"title":"Chilly Red","description":"\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"section__title section__title--desc section__title--center home-rich-text__title js-sr-loaded\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"section__title section__title--desc section__title--center home-rich-text__title js-sr-loaded\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"section__title section__title--desc section__title--center home-rich-text__title js-sr-loaded\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"section__title section__title--desc section__title--center home-rich-text__title js-sr-loaded\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"section__title section__title--desc section__title--center home-rich-text__title js-sr-loaded\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"section__title-text\" data-live-text-setting=\"section.16143590462e02e4d3.section_title\/escape\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e🚀 LAUNCH YOUR CELLAR! 🚀\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e🛫 SATELLITE NOW SHIPS TO 45 STATES! 🚚\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"home-rich-text__content u-text-center rte js-sr-loaded\" data-live-text-setting=\"section.16143590462e02e4d3.text\"\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e-10% Off 3+ \/ -\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e15% Off 6+ \/ -20% Off 12+ Bottles\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch6 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.satellitesb.com\/club\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eJoin Our Wine Club For Even Deeper Discounts!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"bitoque-en-tinaja-negra-criolla-camargo-cinti-valley-bo-2022","title":"Bitoque - 'En Tinaja' - Negra Criolla - Camargo, Cinti Valley, BO - 2022","description":"\u003cp\u003eNegra Criolla Tinaja 100% Negra Criolla (aka Listán Prieto or País) from 100-200-year-old untrained, ungrafted vines that climb up the sides of the local Pink Peppercron trees. The soils are sand and the vines are at 2300-2400m. Grapes were harvested by hand, destemmed and fermented in ancient clay tinajas without temperature control. After fermentation, the wine was moved to rest for 4 months in a 500L steel tank and bottled without fining, filtering, or sulfur addition 4 months later.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e===\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThree hours into the mountains from the southern city of Tarija en route to Potosi, the Cinti Valley is among the highest growing regions in the Americas. Located in the Andean region in the southwest of Bolivia at 2400 meters above sea level, many of the country's vineyards grow in locations more than a mile high. The land-locked country is home to a huge variety of terrain and climates with a high level of biodiversity. It is partly due to this difficult terrain that Bolivia’s wine production has yet to catch up to other countries in South America, and mostly that conventional wineries choose to grow and produce international varietals that are not indigenous to the land. When the Spanish colonized Bolivia, they left behind vines of Negra Criolla and Moscatel de Alejandria. Even after the war, the Spaniards returned in an attempt to take the vines back, yet they were unsuccessful. \nToday, these ancient ungrafted vines are farmed by local farmers. The vines climb up the abundant Pink Peppercorn (Schinus molle) trees, whose canopies protect them from the intense, high altitude sun. The dry climate and the age of the hardy, well-adapted vines make chemical treatments and heavy pruning unnecessary. Bitoque focuses on these old vines to produce Negra Criolla (also known as Listan Prieto in the Canary Islands or Pais in the Western Hemisphere), Moscatel de Alejandria, and an indigenous natural hybrid cross of the two known as Vischoqueña. In the cellar, the wines are made simply and without machines; macerations are short, alcohol levels are low, and no additives are employed. \nBitoque began as a collaborative effort with Alejandro’s late father Herland Medina, a Bolivian native, who searched for ancient vineyards that met Alejandro’s specifications. After searching for vines that met their requirements, they discovered that there was a bounty of old vines to work with. The project began in 2018 with its first vintage in 2019.\nAlejandro Medina is the Owner and Managing Partner at Bibi Ji, Santa Barbara’s first modern Indian restaurant and natural wine bar, JuiceBox, a low-intervention wine distribution company in Colorado, and makes his own wine in Bolivia under the label Bitoque. Having traveled to Bolivia since a newborn, it is the inspiration from his homeland to make these wines and share them with the world. Bitoque is the first natural wine from Bolivia to come to the US after years in the making. \nHaving grown up in Santa Barbara, he has strong ties to the region and its food and wine industry. At just 38 years old, Medina has become a fixture in the local Santa Barbara restaurant community. In 2018, Medina partnered with James Beard award-winning sommelier Rajat Parr to open Bibi Ji, a restaurant offering an approachable and modern twist on traditional Indian cuisine, in Santa Barbara. The now Michelin-recognized and critically acclaimed restaurant opened in February of that year. The wine program reflects the beliefs and ideologies of the two, only offering rare, honest, and non-intervention wines. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46396831826171,"sku":"00075567","price":63.9,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/f6e1727a84e69405eb677a860fb8ea7e.jpg?v=1723584231"},{"product_id":"domaine-laustral-pourpre-cabernet-franc-chenin-blanc-grolleau-gris-loire-valley-fr-2021-1500ml","title":"Domaine l'Austral - 'Pourpre' - Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Grolleau Gris - Loire Valley, FR - 2021 - 1500ml","description":"\u003ch2\u003eSatellite's Hot Take\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn incredibly subtle and elegant - if unusual - blend. A 'Super Loire' of Chenin, Cab Franc, and Grolleau Gris. Not the typical suspects when you think of a Loire blend! \nWe've got red, we've got white, we've got in between! All with time blended together aging quietly in a single amphora. It takes on the subtle clay texture of the vessel. \n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChillable or not, the wine is so elegant and loves to be at a cellar temp at most. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThink crushed strawberries and the most wonderful cherries - a little black tea, a soft lingering hint of drying hay in a loft (but no horse to be smelled!). This wine is. a. total. delight. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSomewhere on the light side of perfectly elegant red - with a texture that somehow leans skin contact white. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe really love it and got the last 5 bottles of the vintage in CA! When it's gone, it's gone!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e✌️\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eLaurent is originally from the Alps, and Pauline from Brittany. They met at engineering school; he is a land-surveyor and Pauline a plastic and materials engineer. They worked for one year as engineers in France but we were not very happy stuck in front of a computer.\u003cbr\u003eThey travelled and worked in Australia in different farms and in a winery on the west coast. This is where they fell in love with wine, and where the name L'Austral comes from.\u003cbr\u003ePauline then studied in Burgundy to become an enologist; during which time Laurent was a ski instructor during winter and sailing instructor during summer to fund the project.\u003cbr\u003eDuring her first internship, Pauline worked with Mélaric, who introduced them to Françoise and Philippe Gourdon in Le Puy-Notre-Dame, who in turn had vines to lease.\u003cbr\u003eThey now work the parcels of Amandiers, 253 and Vigneaux.\u003cbr\u003eThe local Tuffeau (fossil-rich limestone) characterises the wines as well as the local architecture, vineyards typically being clay topsoil with Tuffeau underneath.\u003cbr\u003eThe weather systems coming in off the Atlantic are forced upwards by the Mauges hills to the West of Anjou. This causes a rain shadow which gives Saumur more of a continental climate. Le-Puy – being practically the most southerly point – averages less than 200mm\/year. The elongated growing season this allows enables the wines to achieve ripeness.\u003cbr\u003e-Wines Under the Bonnet\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47045175935227,"sku":"00076120","price":73.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/Satellite-1451.jpg?v=1743213571"},{"product_id":"general-psychotic-activity-special-request-lite-red-mourvedre-templeton-gap-paso-robles-ca-2023","title":"General Psychotic Activity - 'Special Request Lite Red' - Mourvèdre - Templeton Gap, Paso Robles, CA - 2023","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gpawines\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003ch4\u003e@gpawines\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e3 day semi carbonic pressed\ndark fruit, light pepper, violet, floral - medium high tannins, medium acidity , balanced alcohol\nHollyhock Vineyard, Templeton Gap Paso Robles AVA, Organic farming, no sulfites added \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eGeneral Psychotic Activity was born at a dinner table. In retrospect, that's exactly where we would have wanted it to come to life. Today, tomorrow and whenever ever forward, we hope GPA shares company with a good idea and better company, dinner table or otherwise\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47148194332923,"sku":"00076321","price":46.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/99df339efb7be4ced607d886aad3c041.jpg?v=1746562092"},{"product_id":"kleemeier-pinot-noir-santa-barbara-county-ca-2023","title":"Kleemeier - Pinot Noir - Santa Barbara County, CA - 2023","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003ePinot Noir, River Bench and North Canyon Vineyards, organic and sustainably farmed, Santa Maria AVA. 1200 bottles produced, light extraction, only sulfured after MLF less than 60 total ppm, light fruit, red fruit, cranberries, rainier cherries and beautiful baking spices. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eKleemeier Wines is a practice of conscientious winemaking, using classic techniques from responsibly farmed vineyards that focuses on showcasing the depth and nuances of Santa Barbara County as an imperative player in world class wines. with only a couple hundred cases of wine a year, Kleemeier Wines is able to give all of the needed attention it takes to producing wines that truly resemble the terroir of this county and its multiple and unique wine making regions. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47148195479803,"sku":"00076210","price":59.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/3c18945c45b6ac813beb51e8bccf4548.jpg?v=1746562117"},{"product_id":"piazza-carbonic-graciano-ballard-canyon-santa-barbara-county-ca-2024","title":"Piazza - 'Carbonic' - Graciano - Ballard Canyon, Santa Barbara County, CA - 2024","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eOur most unique and delicious vintage yet! With striking notes turmeric, cardamom and black pepper mixed with pomegranate, this wine is sure to bring you back to the glass. From our organically farmed vineyard in Ballard Canyon, this wine is 100% whole cluster and 100% carbonic as we seal its tank for 3 weeks. 20ppm so2\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"OUR BOUTIQUE WINERY\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRon and Nancy Piazza have roots in Santa Barbara County and the Santa Ynez Valley soil that go back decades. Inspired by family, friends, and winemakers, Ron and Nancy planted what became a small family vineyard within sight of the region's originators, Sanford \u0026amp; Benedict, more than a decade before the Sta. Rita Hills AVA was founded. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn partnership with a group of cloistered Carmelite nuns, Ron and Nancy founded Mt. Carmel Vineyard, supplying pinot noir and chardonnay fruit to a small group of Santa Barbara's most esteemed winemakers. With their interest piqued, they searched for a vineyard site where they could build their future. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eABOUT THE FAMILY\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLiving among the vines, Ron and Nancy Piazza have found a place to retreat from city – a ranch with sweeping views of the vineyard.  The production facility is just a short walk down a dirt path, a path well-trodden with their footprints.  With views of Stolpman Vineyard and Beckmen’s La Purisima Vineyard, Piazza Bella Vista Vineyard is in good company.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA successful restaurateur, Ron Piazza is a gardener at heart. He likes to plant seeds, grow something, and see the results. Every so often, Ron takes a step back, brushes the dirt off his jeans, and admires what he has built. “We planted that,” he thinks to himself, the work his greatest reward. Nancy, always working by his side, is the heart of the ranch. Happiest when she loses track of time and the outside world, she is quick with a helping hand. The winemakers can expect to see her bringing lunch, checking on the animals, and visiting with neighbors. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOriginally hailing from Queens, New York, Ron is proud of his rich Italian heritage, from which his Grandfather Dominic handed down a passion for life and gardening. Ron remembers Sunday family dinners, wine paired with Dominic's stories, jokes, and subtle wisdom. Inspired by those recollections, Ron's focus is on the meals that families share and the \"handcrafted\" character within their wines. With decades of hard work under his belt, Ron and his wife Nancy are now planting the seeds and growing their own family roots, creating wine to share with you and yours.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom organic farming to natural winemaking, sustainability is something the Piazzas take to heart. With Bella Vista Vineyard, they set out to make natural wines with minimal interference. They are planting the seeds and growing a legacy winery for their five children and multiple grandchildren, family the emphasis in the Piazza Family Wines. With that in mind, they work together to make wine meant to be shared.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47153685659899,"sku":"00076397","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/1e8b9af0d92f48177084fef663dff3bf.jpg?v=1746747681"},{"product_id":"kolfok-all-universe-together-field-blend-burgenland-at-2022","title":"Kolfok - 'All Universe Together' - Field Blend - Burgenland, AT - 2022","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA fun and unique new wine from Kolfok. A blend of up to 20 different old vine varieties, harvested and fermented together. A true representation of a historic way of thinking about wine and grapes. In many cultures a variety of grape types were often planted together near people's homes and used to make fresh young wines for personal consumption. These 60-80 year old vines, a mix of Hungarian, Austrian reds, several Traminer and Burgundian varieties, Muskat and Furmint were blended to make a fresh and evocative wine somewhere between a rose and a red that is a joy to drink. Best served chilled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe word Kolfok has its origins in a regional dialect and describes a person, critical to common thoughts — an unconventional thinker.\nWinemaker and Kolfok in chief Stefan Wellanschitz was born into winemaking at the family's estate in Neckenmarkt, a winery that dates back to the early 19th century, to a time when this part of Burgenland was still Hungarian and not Austrian.\nWhile still also working at the family's estate, Stefan decided to launch his own wines back in 2013, wines that are a clear deviation from the family's more traditional style, towards natural winemaking and a purist low-tech approach that would highlight soils and micro-climate, aka terroir.\nSome parts of the vineyards are directly at the border of Hungary, especially the town Neckenmarkt shows a unique combination of alpine soils and Pannonian climate. In the middle of the Oedenburger Valley, Neckenmarkt is located at a relatively high altitude, the vineyards are up to 500 meters above sea level with a smorgasbord of soils coming into play. In the higher parts soils range from schist, gneiss to limestone, and in the lower vineyards from ferrous loam to volcanic clay.\nSays Stefan: \"I want to show those exceptional conditions in my wines. That's why I work naturally both in the vineyards and in the cellar. To prevent monoculture the vines are growing organically together with other herbs and plants. In the cellar it's very easy - the wine leaves the press without the use of pumps into local oak barrels which can be from 600 liters (Halbstueck) to 1200 liters (Stueck), this is where the stays without fining, moving or even sulfuring. At the optimum time, they are bottled unfiltered with minimal addition of sulfur.\"\n\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47168259326203,"sku":"00076401","price":38.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/73749ef63ec13ac922ad44a449b7a3de.jpg?v=1747363441"},{"product_id":"solminer-delanda-vineyard-carbonic-syrah-los-olivos-ca-2024","title":"Solminer - 'DeLanda Vineyard' - Carbonic Syrah - Los Olivos, CA - 2024","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo create the freshest, chillable red wine possible, we used Carbonic Maceration which lets the wine ferment whole cluster untouched in a sealed tank. After 7 days we press the grape clusters to barrel. That's it. No manipulation or additions of any kind.\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe result is an incredibly bright, fresh and zippy wine with a light ruby, amethyst color. It's completely dry yet delightfully fruity, with aromas of watermelon jolly rancher and flavors of fresh ripe strawberries. Be warned: The first sip literally makes your mouth water - it's the most crushable bottle of wine we have ever consumed!  Serve Chilled.\u003cbr\u003eVarietal: 100% Syrah\u003cbr\u003eAVA: Santa Ynez Valley\u003cbr\u003eVineyards: 60% Coquelicot Vineyard (CCOF Certified Organic), 40% Ballard Canyon Ranch (No synthetic pesticides, herbicides)\u003cbr\u003eFermentation: 7-12 days Carbonic Maceration in tank\u003cbr\u003eResidual Sugar: None\u003cbr\u003eAging: 2 months in stainless steel tank and neutral oak bottled with NO ADDED SULFUR\u003cbr\u003eCases Produced: 301\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSol-miner as in mining the \"Sun\" which in turn nourishes the soul. The name inspires us to discover and unearth the treasures in the soils of the California Central Coast. Our decisions have always been personal (not commercial) and involve what we call \"conscious farming\". As we learn about our little piece of earth and our place in it, the picture begins to widen. We have a feeling of connectedness as each trip around the sun gives us the chance to experience the magical process of exchange from the dirt, plants, fruit, wine, humans, sky, moon, sun and stars.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe found our vineyard and farmhouse in 2012 and named it “deLanda” a combination of our first and last names. It reflects our personal desire to produce natural wines using varietals related to our Austrian heritage. Certified organic in 2014 and Biodynamic® in 2018 deLanda is evolving as we evolve as farmers. Ultimately it shines with individuality and biodiversity as we incorporate chickens, donkeys, sheep, bees, fruit trees, native plants, biodynamic compost, preparations and herb teas all to support the microorganisms in the dirt and health of the vineyard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first seed was planted meeting in 2009 and falling in love with Santa Barbara wine country and each other. We married soon after and while visiting Anna's family in Austria, a desire to settle down and create a life together in a more agricultural setting started to take root. We were pregnant with our first child and back in California (in LA the walls were closing in) when a chance meeting with a winemaking mentor and a property for sale with vines in the front yard grew into something we could no longer ignore. We went \"all in\" and decided to buy a fixer farmhouse and vineyard in Los Olivos and call the fruits of our labor of love \"Solminer\". Our son Linus was born the same year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur personal desire is to reflect the vineyard in the wine and experiment with Austrian varietals. Since the beginning, we thought Grüner Veltliner would do well here and soon after we discovered that the Austrian red grape, Blaufränkisch, is perfect for our climate as well. We've rounded things out with a bit of Muscat to create an Austrian inspired dry \"Muskateller\" and some Syrah for Rose, Sparkling Syrah, a blend and a single vineyard Syrah. We also have new plantings of Riesling to add to our sources from neighboring vineyards that we have selected for their climate, soils and sustainable growing practices. 1900 cases were produced in the 2018 vintage\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2018 we were happy to open our tasting room in Los Olivos. Located in the heart of downtown, we are proud to be one of very few Los Olivos wineries to pour natural wine. Come and join us for not only wine tasting, but also a glass or bottle of wine on one of our two outdoor patios.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47295200461051,"sku":"00076499","price":33.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/2913dfe5d9c230ebd6b74dce8e9ca229.jpg?v=1751076098"},{"product_id":"fond-cypres-premier-jus-grenache-carignan-languedoc-fr-2023","title":"Fond Cyprès - 'Premier Jus' - Grenache, Carignan - Languedoc, FR - 2023","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eVINTAGE: 2023\nREGION: Languedoc, France\nAPPELLATION: Corbières\nGRAPES: Grenache, Carignan\nYEASTS: Indigenous\nMACERATION: Carignan - 2 days whole\ncluster.\nFERMENTATION: Carignan added to\nfermented grenache before pressing\nAGED FOR: 6 months in stainless steel\nCLARIFICATION\/FILTRATION: Unfiltered\/\nUnfined\nFARMING: Biodynamic\nALCOHOL CONTENT: 11.5%\nADDED SO2: 2g at bottling\nSOIL: Calcareous, blue marl\nVINE AGE: 15 years\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the Brigitte Bardot of Corbières and her endearing husband come the wines of Fond Cyprès, a soulful, luscious lineup of Carignan, Syrah, Grenache, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Viognier, Muscat, Cinsault and blends thereof. \nThe couple, whose real names are Laetitia Ourliac \u0026amp; Rodolphe Gianesini, is intent on producing wines that express their sultry slice of the Languedoc — specifically, Escales, in the northernmost part of the Corbières AOC. Their domaine begins at the end of a road lined with Cypress trees and extends in either direction across 15ha of lush vegetation, a secret garden of olives, tomatoes, eggplants, wild herbs, and newly-born kittens. \nWe first met Laetitia and Rodolphe in the deep, damp recesses of Cave Ackerman on a February afternoon in the Loire, and even then their wines were singing. But when we pulled up to their home in August and were greeted by bowls of freshly grilled palourdes, mussels, garlic, and parsley cooked in the juice we were about to drink, we understood their wines had made it feel like summer all along.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47349163557115,"sku":"00076533","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/8eb37127d005b42648caa38715cc9416.jpg?v=1752971985"},{"product_id":"frank-cornelissen-susucaru-nerello-mascalese-blend-etna-sicily-it-2023","title":"Frank Cornelissen - 'Susucaru' - Nerello Mascalese Blend - Etna, Sicily, IT - 2023","description":"\u003ch2\u003eSatellite's Hot Take\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA rare and allocated treat from our stash to you!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eOur entry-level red wine is a field-blend of mostly Nerello Mascalese (85%) with other local varietals from all our vineyards: Nerello Capuccio, Allicante Boushet, Minnella and Uva Francesa. Our Susucaru® Rosso expresses Etna as produced in a more traditional way of blending different contrada’s as well as different varietals to obtain a fragrant, elegant and fluid wine with structure and personality.\n\/\/\/\nRegion: Etna, Northern Valley\nVineyards: Picciolo, Malpasso, Campo Re, Crasà, Piano Daini, Feudo di Mezzo\nVarietals: Nerello Mascalese 85%, Nerello Capuccio, Minella, Allicante Bouschet and Uva Francesa\nVinification: Destemming and light crushing of the grapes\nFermentation: starting with a “pied-de-cuve” using only indigenous yeasts and skin contact for about 30 days\nAging: In neutral epoxy tanks from 2500 liters to 7000 liters\nFining: No\nFiltering: Before bottling with cartridges of 3 micron\nSulphur: values can vary from 15 to 50 mg\/l., added or not, depending on the quality of grapes and stability of the wine.\nAnnual production: 35.000 bottles\nFirst vintage: 2003\nDenomination: IGP Terre Siciliane Nerello Mascalese\nBottle type: Transparent burgundy bottle\nAvailable sizes: 750ML, 1500ML, 3000ML and 5000ML (special request only)\nRecommended stemware: Zalto Bordeaux\nHOW TO RECYCLE: please verify in your town of residence the correct recycling instructions and separate all possible components accordingly. We suggest to re-use rather than recycle wherever possible; obviously without counterfeiting…\nBottle:  in glass-recycling;\nClosure: Ardeaseal  in plastic-recycling; natural cork  in organic waste, screw cap  in glass-recycling, pouring closure olive oil  in plastic recycling\nLabel: Susucaru  in plastic-recycling, MunJebel, Pistemutta and Magma  in paper-recycling\nWax cap:  in non-recyclable waste\nCase: carton  in paper-recycling, wood case  best to be re-used\nPallet: wood  or plastic  best to be re-used\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrank Cornelissen is the owner of 19 hectares of vines rather high up on Mount Etna. Uniquely, he has been involved in wine his entire life. As the son of a wine broker in Belgium, he had the opportunity to be immersed in wine on a professional level from a very young age. Frank went on to produce his first wine in 2001 when he started with only 0.40 hectares of vines.\nFrank is obsessive over details in an effort to make wines that truly express terroir with perspective. He is a meticulous vineyard worker and keeps an extremely clean and organized cellar. The evolution in his wines are intriguing as well. Earlier vintages were linear, angular, precise, and full of minerality. He has often said that in the early days his goal was to create liquid stone. His wines have softened with time now striking balance between fruit and dynamic minerality.\nWhile there are are many important details in his winemaking method, the key is in the vineyards. Frank is not Sicilian, so choosing Mount Etna was deliberate. The main reason to choose the North Valley of Etna was for its it’s incredible and unique diversity of volcanic soils that have an immutable voice. This in tandem with Etna’s primary varietal Nerello Mascalese, he believed he could make wines of great complexity and distiction. He has describes Nerello Mascalese to be somewhere between Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo. Frank’s best wines have the dry and sharp tannins you find in great nebbiolo, but with the lusher fruits of Pinot Noir.\nFrank works without the use of herbicides, pesticides, nor any other chemicals. He occasionally uses biodynamic treatments, but not in the ways outlined by biodynamic calendars as he feels his vineyards have their own unique schedule!\nA few words by Frank himself…\n“Our farming philosophy is based on our acceptance of the fact that man will never be able to understand nature’s full complexity and interactions. We therefore choose to concentrate on observing and learning the movements of Mother Earth in her various energetic and cosmic passages and prefer to follow her indications as to what to do, instead of deciding and imposing ourselves. Consequently this has taken us to avoiding all possible interventions on the land we cultivate, including any treatments, whether chemical, organic, or biodynamic, as these are all a mere reflection of the inability of man to accept nature as she is and will be. The divine ability to understand the ‘Whole’ was obviously not given to man as we are only a part of this complex and not God himself.”\nIn the winery his work follows the same philosophy of using what nature provides him. There are no industrial yeasts, sulfites, or anything else added to the wines. All of the wines are fermented in small, neutral tanks and no wood is used in the cellar in order for all the wines to express their specific territory to the full extent. Frank uses neutral epoxy tanks and anforas because he likes the round shape which allows the wines to be nourished with the fine lees moving freely during the aging process.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47393700872443,"sku":"00076573","price":56.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/0ed55ee5568ac7fa26b114c472a7ed89.jpg?v=1754019065"},{"product_id":"jean-christophe-garnier-gamay-pineu-daunis-anjou-loire-valley-fr-2024","title":"Jean Christophe Garnier - Gamay, Pineu d'Aunis - Anjou, Loire Valley, FR - 2024","description":"\u003ch2\u003eSatellite's Hot Take\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eIncredible - This wine floats on air\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eColor\/Style: Red\nGrapes: Gamay Pineau d'Aunis\nSO2: No sulfur added to the wine\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eJean-Christophe Garnier\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor years now, Jean-Christophe Garnier’s complex Chenin Blancs and easy-drinking reds have been wines we’ve loved and admired from afar. From first discovering them at The Ten Bells in the late aughts (the cash-only days!), to ordering bottles whenever in Paris, or the obligatory magnum following post–Dive Bouteille romps at Le Cercle Rouge in Angers, Garnier’s work has long inspired us as fans. Based on the immediate excitement from customers after his wines returned to the U.S. market following a six-year hiatus, it seems many of you feel the same way!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e⸻\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Sommelier to Winemaker\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith no family ties to viticulture or winemaking, Garnier found his passion for wine while working as a sommelier in his native Brittany. In the late 1990s, he took a year off to study viticulture, originally intending to open a wine bar with a friend. Due to its proximity to Brittany, he enrolled in a school near the Anjou region, where he apprenticed with Mark Angeli of the legendary Ferme de la Sansonièrre.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTrue to form, Angeli encouraged JC to start his own estate. After finishing his studies, Garnier briefly returned to restaurants, but ultimately came back to Anjou in 2002 when Angeli found him a couple of hectares to farm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e⸻\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnjou in Transition\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the time, Anjou was far from the hotbed of forward-thinking producers it is today. The region was known mostly for its sweet Bonnezeaux and Coteaux du Layon, with generic Anjou whites made as cloying, sterile-filtered imitations. Reds were equally uninspiring—tannic, rustic Grolleau and Cabernet blends, or overly sweet Rosé d’Anjou, which had become difficult to sell by the turn of the millennium.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlongside pioneers like Angeli, Richard Leroy, Patrick Baudoin, and Agnès \u0026amp; René Mosse, Garnier seized the opportunity to work with cheap, readily available land. These outsiders saw the potential for dry and off-dry Chenin Blancs that showcased the region’s diverse schist terroirs, micro-climates, expositions, and elevations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e⸻\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVineyard Development\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStarting with 2.3 hectares in 2002, Garnier focused on single-vineyard expressions of Chenin Blanc. His early bottling Les Dreuillés (no longer in production) was later joined by Bézigon, La Roche, Rouchefert, and more recently Les Justices and 13 Vents. Each wine carries the name of its lieu-dit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Chenins are direct-pressed, vinified and aged in various vessels, but always with the goal of expressing terroir. These wines are approachable young but designed to age gracefully.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e⸻\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReds: A Vin de Soif Approach\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGarnier began producing reds in 2010, working with Pineau d’Aunis, Grolleau, Gamay, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. In contrast to his serious Chenins, the reds are made in a vin de soif style: short, whole-cluster infusion macerations, bottled early (sometimes by November), and meant to drink young.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne exception is “Les Tailles”, a Cabernet Franc from a lieu-dit vineyard. It undergoes a 12-day whole-cluster infusion maceration, then spends 12 months in barrel before release.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e⸻\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFarming Philosophy\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe estate has been certified organic from inception. Garnier now farms 10 hectares across four distinct sectors—three near Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay and one in Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné. He prefers dense plantings (6,500–7,000 vines per hectare) compared to the regional norm (5,000–5,500), encouraging deeper root systems and competition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn addition to his own vines, Garnier purchases the equivalent of two hectares of organically farmed fruit from a neighboring grower with similar soils. This includes the négociant cuvée “Les Nouettes.” Production is split roughly 50\/50 between white and red wines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e⸻\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the Cellar\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince 2006, Garnier has vinified without added SO₂, the same year he chose to declassify his wines from Anjou AOC to Vin de Table (a radical move at the time). Between 2006 and 2016, most vintages were made entirely without sulfites, with only occasional minimal additions at press.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom 2016 onward, he has followed a strict zero-SO₂ policy, not from dogma but from conviction: his careful, cerebral approach has led him to believe this method best expresses his terroirs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47444792049915,"sku":"00076595","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/85b4b18a9c2e1c59e7c9bf116b082390.jpg?v=1755313619"},{"product_id":"wonderwerk-big-juicy-california-usa-2024-1000ml","title":"Wonderwerk - 'Big Juicy' - California, USA - 2024 - 1000ml","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eDescription\nWonderwerk Big Juicy is a vibrant, chillable red that bursts with personality. Hailing from California, this natural wine is a blend of organically farmed grapes—Montepulciano, Zinfandel, Chenin Blanc, Grenache, Torrontés, Alvarinho, and Verdelho. The Montepulciano undergoes carbonic maceration to enhance its fruit-forward character and soften tannins, while the remaining varieties are fermented on their skins for varying durations to build layers of texture and complexity. Fermented with native yeasts and bottled unfined and unfiltered, Big Juicy is a pure expression of minimal intervention winemaking and California terroir.\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTasting Notes\u003cbr\u003eLight ruby in color, it opens with lifted aromas of ripe red berries, wildflowers, and a touch of tropical fruit. The palate is juicy and refreshing, offering flavors of cherry, raspberry, and citrus zest, all leading to a crisp, clean finish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePairing Suggestions\u003cbr\u003ePerfect with pasta alla norma, the classic Sicilian dish of eggplant, tomato, and ricotta salata. Its bright acidity and supple fruit complement both the savory and sweet elements of the dish.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eWonderwerk: House of Fermentation\u003cbr\u003eis Issamu Kamide and Andrew Lardy, two high school friends from Virginia seeking new directions in fermentation. Since our inception we’ve worked with amazing farmers and vineyards from all over California to make wines that everyone can wavelength with. We produce and bottle with our own hands and feet. Every bottle begins as a concept - a look, a feel, an occasion, a vibe - that range from low-intervention to high-innovation production methods in the cellar. Wonderwerk began as a long night on a disco dancefloor finally wound down and we didn’t want the party to end. Now, it’s flowed from there into the wines you see and drink today. Come along for the ride, bring your dancing shoes and an open mind, we promise we won’t disappoint.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47445578875131,"sku":"00076587","price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/803ecb047f2d24f53b2874ccca7edb62.jpg?v=1755377107"},{"product_id":"solminer-x-satellite-moon-wrangler-malbache-malbec-grenache-santa-barbara-county-ca-2024","title":"Solminer x Satellite - 'Moon Wrangler Malbache' - Malbec, Grenache - Santa Barbara County, CA - 2024","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe did it again, and we did it even better. This year's (our FIFTH edition!) Malbache is more profound, more smashable, more serious, more textured, and with absolutely Ø SO2 added. It's also stable AF! Leave it in the fridge overnight, if you can handle not drinking it. We think you will 🫡\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSol-miner as in mining the \"Sun\" which in turn nourishes the soul. The name inspires us to discover and unearth the treasures in the soils of the California Central Coast. Our decisions have always been personal (not commercial) and involve what we call \"conscious farming\". As we learn about our little piece of earth and our place in it, the picture begins to widen. We have a feeling of connectedness as each trip around the sun gives us the chance to experience the magical process of exchange from the dirt, plants, fruit, wine, humans, sky, moon, sun and stars. In 2018 we were happy to open our tasting room in Los Olivos. Located in the heart of downtown, we are proud to be one of very few Los Olivos wineries to pour natural wine. Come and join us for not only wine tasting, but also a glass or bottle of wine on one of our two outdoor patios. deLanda Vineyard - Certified Biodynamic® \u0026amp; Organic We found our vineyard and farmhouse in 2012 and named it “deLanda” a combination of our first and last names. It reflects our personal desire to produce natural wines using varietals related to our Austrian heritage. Certified organic in 2014 and Biodynamic® in 2018 deLanda is evolving as we evolve as farmers. Ultimately it shines with individuality and biodiversity as we incorporate chickens, donkeys, sheep, bees, fruit trees, native plants, biodynamic compost, preparations and herb teas all to support the microorganisms in the dirt and health of the vineyard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47479675977979,"sku":"00076608","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/23b5c30795e5c8d9e5e558fc5146255d_69d541bd-2388-4f28-9e3d-8f9e375d0a31.jpg?v=1756669598"},{"product_id":"bobinet-piak-grolleau-loire-valley-fr-2024","title":"Bobinet - 'Piak!' - Grolleau - Loire Valley, FR - 2024","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003ePiak! When the mouth is too dry, it sounds like”Piak!”. A kind of relief for the thirsty! This quaffable wine is the most recent addition to the family.\nPiak is a blend of the most basic grapes from the domaine. After a short maceration (carbonic and \/or pelicular) and three months aging in vats, comes a “primeur” cabernet franc: light with a juicy structure and expressive aromas of bright red fruits. The perfect thirst-quencher!\n---\nThe Domaine Bobinet is Émeline and Sébastien: two paths that cross, two personalities that come together to share skills and experiences.... the wealth of complementarity.\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSÉBASTIEN BOBINET\u003cbr\u003eSebastien grew up in and around wine. From the age of 7, he was helping his grandfather in the vineyard and cellar. Later, as a young adult, he worked in a wine lab.\u003cbr\u003eHe then spent some time in the world of glass- making and it wasn’t until his early thirties that he came back to take over the family business. As the eighth generation of a family of winemakers, Sebastien had some stubbornness to contend with in order to introduce his way of doing things.\u003cbr\u003eBut eventually his hard work and determination won the family’s approval. For a while he was happy tending his two hectares of vines but on turning 40, the desire to grow and diversify took hold of him. Meeting Emeline had also given him the strength and drive to undertake the new venture he’d been dreaming of.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEMELINE CALVEZ\u003cbr\u003eBefore making wine, Emeline was a professional dancer. After an injury she was forced to find a new career path and chose the world of wine. She trained as a sommelière in the famous University of Suze-la-Rousse, finishing first in her group. With her diploma in hand, she came back to Paris to work in the wine shop La Quincave.\u003cbr\u003eIt is here she discovered natural wine and the people who make it. After two years in the shop recommending these wines, she decided to go and meet the growers and their terroirs for a year-long wine trip around France. From pruning to bottling, she turned her hand to every job involved in the vineyard and the cellar.\u003cbr\u003eAfter this life-changing experience, she decided to make a career in the wine trade, planning to open a wine shop\/bar in Paris. But meeting Sebastien changed the course of her life and, once again, she changed career and became a wine maker with him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHistoric\u003cbr\u003eThe domaine was formed in 2002 when Sebastien took over 1.8 hectares of vineyard and cellar from his maternal grandparents who had retired 15 years previously. The decision to work organically was imperative, especially under the influence of Olivier Cousin. Sebastien started off with 1.5 hectares of Cabernet Franc and 0.3 hectare of Chenin Blanc which he vinified in the domaine’s historic cellar, carved in the tuffeau (limestone) of the Coteaux of Saumur. These wines, which are aged in barrels, gave birth to the first cuvées Amateus Bobi and Echalier.\u003cbr\u003eIn 2007, his thirst for experimentation led him to meet Bernard Pontonnier “Ponpon” who introduced him to the process of carbonic maceration.\u003cbr\u003eNext came time to expand. In 2010, Sebastien took over a tenancy of 2 hectares of Cabernet Franc. He also wanted to vinify grape varieties other than Cabernet and Chenin and decided to buy some Pineau d’Aunis, Gamay and Cot. Du Rififi a Beaulieu was born!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe domaine is situated outside Saumur, in the village of Beaulieu. Most of the vines are within walking distance of the cellar, on the slopes of Saumur (in the Hauts de Dampierre), some are a little further, between Dampierre and Souzay.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe terroir in Saumur is distinguished by the ubiquitous tuffeau, the soft, white limestone rock that was used to build the famous castles of the Loire Valley. The tuffeau’s distinctive characteristic is its ability to restore the water reserves to the vines’ roots, which are able to dig deep down due to the softness of the stone. As limestone has a basic PH, wines from vines anchored in this type of soil are characterised by a wonderful acidity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut terroir isn’t only about soil. The topography, the climate and the cultural practices of the winemaker are also factors which form the identity of the terroir.\u003cbr\u003eThe landscape in Saumur is characterised by the Loire, the great and wild river overlooked by our plots on the slopes. The region is green and lush, many forests and groves having been preserved. Our vineyards aren’t lost in a sea of endless vines. As a result, the ecosystem is abundant and very diversified.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have a temperate, mainly oceanic climate, sunny and not too rainy except in exceptional cases (2012 and 2013).\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47500837388539,"sku":"00076621","price":31.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/086f2dd9d29c645906f692735d33234c.jpg?v=1757112349"},{"product_id":"fattoria-sammontana-alberese-sangiovese-trebbiano-tuscany-it-2023","title":"Fattoria Sammontana - 'Alberese' - Sangiovese, Trebbiano - Tuscany, IT - 2023","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eDescription:\nNamed for the limestone-based Alberese soil that predominates in the Chianti area and to which the Sangiovese grape is so amenable. It is an easy-drinking, light-bodied wine packed with earthiness. Best enjoyed lightly chilled. Produced through organic and biodynamic viticulture .\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGrape Varieties:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSangiovese\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTrebbiano Toscano\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVineyard Details:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eExtension: 2.0 hectares\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eViticulture: Organic and biodynamic\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVine training system: Guyot and archetto toscano\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePlanting density: 3,500 vines\/ha\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAverage vine age: 30–50 years\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAverage production per hectare: 40.0 hl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHarvest:\u003cbr\u003e100% manual\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVinification:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSpontaneous fermentation in stainless steel and cement vats\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShort maceration on the skins\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBottled without clarification or filtration\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProduction:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAverage annual production: 10,000 bottles\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Story\nThe Fattoria di Sammontana, with its adjacent Romanesque church of the 12th century, was originally a property of the Medici family, Grand Dukes of Tuscany. It was donated to the religious canons of the church of San Lorenzo in Florence. The monks used the property as a place of rest and retirement, but they also built a large underground cellar and a grand furnace with overlapping arches for the production of pottery and terracotta.\nIn 1867, the main building along with the church, furnace, and entire farm was purchased by Michele Dzieduszycki, a Polish nobleman who loved spending his vacations in Tuscany. His son, Maurizio, specialized in art and Renaissance literature, married an Italian woman, and settled permanently in Tuscany. But it is Maurizio’s son, Massimo, who first directed the farm toward excellence in quality wine and olive oil production.\nToday, the family—now in its fourth generation—runs the farm according to organic and biodynamic principles, preserving the traditions and winemaking secrets of this land.\nThe Land\nOur vineyards and olive groves slope gently down the hillsides that border the east side of the Arno Valley in Montelupo Fiorentino, just 20 km from Florence. We tend about 13 hectares of vineyards and more than 3,000 olive trees, planted between 70 and 150 meters above sea level.\nThe soil is alluvial, full of stones, gravel, and pebbles of various sizes, technically referred to as “skeletons.” This soil, often defined as “ungrateful,” is precisely what gives character and personality to our wines.\nOur Work in the Vineyard\nOur philosophy is traditional, rooted in old habits and respect for the land. The transition to organic and later biodynamic agriculture was a natural step.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSeasonal practices: Work begins in the fall after harvest with “green manure,” sowing legumes and grasses between the vine rows. In spring, these are cut and buried to enrich the soil. When needed, manure is added.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePruning \u0026amp; training: Manual pruning and tying are carried out—using spurred cordon in some cases and Guyot in others.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGreen harvest: Before summer, we selectively thin grapes to reduce yields, ensuring healthier vines and higher quality fruit.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBiodynamic treatments: We apply preparations like “manure horn” (cow horn filled with composted manure) to the soil and silica sprays to the leaves, both diluted in “dynamized” water. Treatments with sulfur and copper are used sparingly, only when necessary, and always according to lunar rhythms.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHarvest: All grapes are harvested by hand, beginning with white varieties and early-ripening reds, followed by the traditional varietals, and finally grapes for Vinsanto, which are dried on straw mats.\u003cbr\u003eOur Work in the Cellar\u003cbr\u003eOur aim is for our wines to express the personality, peculiarities, and characteristics of our terroir.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhite grapes: Softly pressed, the juice is separated from the skins and left to decant at low temperature before moving to steel tanks, where fermentation begins naturally on indigenous yeasts.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRed grapes: Fermented naturally in large concrete tanks without added yeasts, enzymes, or tannins. The must undergoes frequent pump-overs, délestages, and punch-downs. After fermentation, open-air rackings are carried out multiple times to oxygenate the wine, avoiding filtration or clarification that could diminish its originality.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAging: Depending on the wine, some are bottled young, while others mature in oak barrels or terracotta amphorae.\u003cbr\u003eThrough all these processes, a line of continuity emerges: wines that carry the distinctive mark of our land and our work, expressing a unique soil and environment distinct from much of Chianti.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47547683733755,"sku":"00076661","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/549babd7bfc86acf274ba0bc80357c3d.jpg?v=1758690161"},{"product_id":"bobinet-californie-pineau-daunis-loire-valley-fr-2024","title":"Bobinet - 'Californie' - Pineau d'Aunis - Loire Valley, FR - 2024","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA touch of flirty reduction on the nose gives way to a crisp, lively palate—light, spice-kissed, and bursting with bright red fruit. Serve it with a chill and let the good times roll!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe domaine is situated outside Saumur, in the village of Beaulieu. Most of the vines are within walking distance of the cellar, on the slopes of Saumur (in the Hauts de Dampierre), some are a little further, between Dampierre and Souzay.\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe terroir in Saumur is distinguished by the ubiquitous tuffeau, the soft, white limestone rock that was used to build the famous castles of the Loire Valley. The tuffeau’s distinctive characteristic is its ability to restore the water reserves to the vines’ roots, which are able to dig deep down due to the softness of the stone. As limestone has a basic PH, wines from vines anchored in this type of soil are characterised by a wonderful acidity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut terroir isn’t only about soil. The topography, the climate and the cultural practices of the winemaker are also factors which form the identity of the terroir.\u003cbr\u003eThe landscape in Saumur is characterised by the Loire, the great and wild river overlooked by our plots on the slopes. The region is green and lush, many forests and groves having been preserved. Our vineyards aren’t lost in a sea of endless vines. As a result, the ecosystem is abundant and very diversified.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have a temperate, mainly oceanic climate, sunny and not too rainy except in exceptional cases (2012 and 2013).\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47584854868219,"sku":"00076717","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/cb21386d9acc8bcd4841678bd128baae.jpg?v=1759788981"},{"product_id":"domaine-rimbert-cousin-oscar-cinsault-languedoc-fr-2024","title":"Domaine Rimbert - 'Cousin Oscar' - Cinsault - Languedoc, FR - 2024","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eCousin Oscar is a fun, summer, thirst-quenching red Jean-Marie made for fun. Its label is a combination of designs Jean-Marie put together from 50’s magazines. He named the wine after his girlfriend’s cousin (Oscar) who is apparently irresistible to the ladies.\n\/\/\/\nType: Dry red\nColor: Pale, transparent purple. \nAppellation: Vin de France (all estate fruit in Saint-Chinian)\nSite \u0026amp; Vines: single parcel of old Vine Cinsault on schiste. 50+ year old vines\nVinification \u0026amp; Elevage: Whole cluster, carbonic maceration in stainless steel.\nElevage: Aged in stainless steel and enamel lined concrete tanks.\nAgeability: glug, glug, glug. Oscar's never been around long enough to know how ageworthy he is. \nSuggested pairings: fowl with prunes, lamb with rosemary, canard à l'orange. \nNotes: Juicy, immediate, and irresistable like Jean-Marie's famed cousin, Oscar. Oscar was apparently quite the charmer - everyone wanted a piece of him and could never get enough. Hence the charm and frustration of such a delicious and small production cuvée. Rarely is there enough to go around, especially in recent vintages when yields have been particularly challenging. Grab Oscar when you can and when he's not available, savor the memory and pray to Mother Nature for a re-appearance.  \n---\nJean-Marie Rimbert, a native of Provence, arrived in the Languedoc nearly 25 years ago \u0026amp; managed the vineyards at Château de Flaugergues for 5 years until he saved up enough to purchase his first parcels of gnarled ancient Carignan vines that had been nurtured in schist-laden soils for the better part of the last century.\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eToday, Domaine Rimbert is 20 hectares spread amongst 40 diverse parcels each with different soil compositions \u0026amp; expositions. The village of Berlou (where Jean-Marie has his Chai) has the highest elevation in all of the St. Chinian AOC \u0026amp; is the only place in the region that possesses Schist rich soils. From the beginning, his objective was to cultivate vineyards with the utmost respect for the environment \u0026amp; his wines reflect all of the natural beauty, depth \u0026amp; flavor from those vines. The wines Jean-Marie crafts are a passionate testament to this region's multidimensional \u0026amp; ever-expanding potential.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e===\u003cbr\u003eLanguedoc, Saint- Chinian, Berlou\u003cbr\u003eCertified Organic\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJean-Marie Rimbert, self proclaimed defender of the Languedoc’s native Carignan grape, is a benchmark grower for the region and also a maverick. Self proclaimed “Carignaniste” and “Carignator” (aka defender and champion of Carignan) his cuvées show just how pleasurable and vibrant this often misaligned grape can be when planted on the right soils and farmed and vinified responsibly. He likes to say “Carignan is my Pinot” and it's an apt comparison. With his low yields (30hl\/ha max, often less), intimate knowledge of his individual parcels, and delicate extractions (punchdowns), he brings out undeniable delicacy, nuance, elegance and ageability in the grape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJean-Marie’s AOC wines have become classics since he established himself as the first grower to bottle under his own name in the commune of Berlou in the late ‘90’s. His irreverent and playful VDF bottlings and keen sense of humor and imagination have inspired many. Today Berlou is recognized as one of the top Crus of Saint Chinian due to its high elevation and brown schist driven terraced vineyards and AOC and VDF bottlings alike brim with energy, lift and a crunchy, savory herbal expression that belies the soil’s minerality and the aromatic garrigue studded slopes. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday Jean-Marie has 45 hectares spread between many diverse parcels, locally called travers, each with a slightly different soil composition and exposition. He started from the get go in the mid 90's with agriculture raisonnée and native yeast ferments and began converting to organic certification in 2013.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/vinsdomainerimbert.fr\/\"\u003ehttp:\/\/vinsdomainerimbert.fr\/\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-Floraison Selections\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eLanguedoc, Saint- Chinian, Berlou\u003cbr\u003eCertified Organic\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJean-Marie Rimbert, self proclaimed defender of the Languedoc’s native Carignan grape, is a benchmark grower for the region and also a maverick. Self proclaimed “Carignaniste” and “Carignator” (aka defender and champion of Carignan) his cuvées show just how pleasurable and vibrant this often misaligned grape can be when planted on the right soils and farmed and vinified responsibly. He likes to say “Carignan is my Pinot” and it's an apt comparison. With his low yields (30hl\/ha max, often less), intimate knowledge of his individual parcels, and delicate extractions (punchdowns), he brings out undeniable delicacy, nuance, elegance and ageability in the grape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJean-Marie’s AOC wines have become classics since he established himself as the first grower to bottle under his own name in the commune of Berlou in the late ‘90’s. His irreverent and playful VDF bottlings and keen sense of humor and imagination have inspired many. Today Berlou is recognized as one of the top Crus of Saint Chinian due to its high elevation and brown schist driven terraced vineyards and AOC and VDF bottlings alike brim with energy, lift and a crunchy, savory herbal expression that belies the soil’s minerality and the aromatic garrigue studded slopes. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday Jean-Marie has 45 hectares spread between many diverse parcels, locally called travers, each with a slightly different soil composition and exposition. He started from the get go in the mid 90's with agriculture raisonnée and native yeast ferments and began converting to organic certification in 2013.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/vinsdomainerimbert.fr\/\"\u003ehttp:\/\/vinsdomainerimbert.fr\/\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-Floraison Selections\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47640086511867,"sku":"00076752","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/cc0a59d4ea43a25da7cd879eb2b0b51a.jpg?v=1761270649"},{"product_id":"domaine-les-enfants-sauvages-bouche-bee-carignan-muscat-cotes-catalanes-fr-2024","title":"Domaine Les Enfants Sauvages - 'Bouche Bée' - Carignan, Muscat - Côtes Catalanes, FR - 2024","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eRidiculously fun wine that has real spirit - the undertone of Muscat powers up the fruit and character of this juicy yet serious bottle. A great estate\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eCarolin et Nikolaus BantlinAfter completing my architectural studies I worked for two years in the Stuttgart office of Kohlhoff \u0026amp; Kohlhoff as a project manager. After the birth of our first son Falk in 1996 I joined the family business of my husband Nikolaus as head of office organization and accounting.\nHaving fallen in love with the South of France after many vacations there, our original goal was to buy a second home in the South of France in order to move a part of the production of the family business and live in France. We then began our search during the nineties.\nIn autumn 1998, our second son Juri having just been born, a Bergerie with 7.5 ha of vines caught our attention and finally conquered us.\nWhen we arrived at the place, we got out of the car and our first impressions were decisive, this place was so beautiful, calm and charming, that we said to ourselves \"Yes, that's it\".\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47719796375803,"sku":"00076867","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/7cb218e37bdaebfbc2c77c6b16ec540b.png?v=1763761894"},{"product_id":"bodegas-parra-jimenez-gulp-hablo-fresco-garnacha-tinta-syrah-verdejo-macabeo-castilla-la-mancha-sp-2024-1000ml","title":"Bodegas Parra Jiménez - 'Gulp\/Hablo Fresco' - Garnacha Tinta, Syrah, Verdejo, Macabeo - Castilla-La Mancha, SP - 2024 - 1000ml","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eNestled on the high-desert plateau of La Mancha, Bodegas Parra Jiménez is renowned for its production of wines, crafted from a blend of native and international grape varieties grown in certified organic and biodynamic vineyards. For generations, the Parra family has been deeply rooted in the agricultural traditions of La Mancha. However, it wasn’t until 1993 that brothers Francisco, Javier, and Luis Parra established their winery in the village of Las Mesas, near Cuenca, and chose to pioneer organic wine production in the area.\nIn 2004, the Parra family embarked on an ambitious expansion, constructing new facilities at the Cuesta Colorá estate. Their vision was to create a biodynamic, self-sustaining ecosystem. This led them to diversify their agricultural practices, incorporating livestock rearing and the cultivation of garlic, grains, peas, and lentils, thereby completing the agricultural cycle. Today, the estate boasts Sohiscert organic and Demeter biodynamic certifications and also produces organic garlic and Manchego cheese.\nGulp Hablo Fresco is a wine that looks back at the roots of Spanish wines, when viticultors would plant red and white grapes together, ferment them together, and release them as fresh as possible.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt a Glance\n• The Parra Family’s winemaking journey began with three brothers in La Mancha - Francisco, Javier, and Luis. They farm organically and biodynamically their own vineyards near Las Mesas, Cuenca.\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e• Their vineyards include Entresendas, in an ancient riverbed with alluvial soils, and Olla del Monte, known as Cuesta Colorá, with chalky clay slopes and heat-retaining pebbles that balance desert nights.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e• They produce a co-fermented blend of organic and biodynamic grapes, including Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Verdejo, Moscatel, Macabeo, Chardonnay, Tempranillo, and more, using ambient yeast fermentation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e• Their certified Verdejo and Garnacha are hand-harvested, fermented in stainless steel, lightly filtered, and bottled without malolactic fermentation.\u003cbr\u003eAbout Gulp Hablo\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNestled on the high-desert plateaus of La Mancha, Bodegas Parra Jiménez is renowned for its production of wines, crafted from a blend of native and international grape varieties grown in certified organic and sustainable vineyards. The winery is committed to producing wines that are not only pure and elegant but also structured, reflecting the unique terroir of the region.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor generations, the Parra family has been deeply rooted in the agricultural traditions of La Mancha. However, it wasn't until 1993 that they established their winery, at a time when organic viticulture was still a novel concept in the area. Undeterred by this, brothers Francisco, Javier, and Luis Parra chose to pioneer organic wine production.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey founded their winery in the village of Las Mesas, near Cuenca, and by 1996, they were exporting their first certified organic wines. In 2004, the Parra family embarked on an ambitious expansion, constructing new facilities at the Cuesta Colorá estate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTheir vision was to create a biodynamic, self-sustaining ecosystem. This led them to diversify their agricultural practices, incorporating livestock rearing and the cultivation of garlic, grains, peas, and lentils, thereby completing the agricultural cycle. Today, the estate boasts Sohiscert organic and Demeter biodynamic certifications and produces not only wine but also organic garlic and Manchego cheese.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince 2017, Pablo, Javier's son, has led the winemaking efforts at Bodegas Parra Jiménez. Drawing on his education from the University of Ribera del Duero and mentorship from the esteemed Juan Antonio Ponce, Pablo has curated a collection of concentrated, well-structured wines. His innovative approach has introduced new techniques and styles to the estate, including the production of orange wines, pet-nats, and amphorae-aged wines, alongside traditional methods.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnder Pablo's guidance, Bodegas Parra Jiménez continues to be a beacon of biodynamic farming and winemaking in La Mancha, pushing the boundaries of traditional viticulture and enology to new heights.\u003cbr\u003eAdditional Details:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProducer: Bodegas Parra Jimenez\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVarietals: Verdejo, Garnacha, Sauvignon Blanc\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLabor Practices: Harvest at Bodegas Parra Jimenez is a family affair, with Paul being assisted by his father Javier – a 30-year veteran winemaker – plus his brother Paul and winemaker Juan Antonio Ponce.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOrganic Practice Certificates: Sohiscert Certified\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVegan Process Certificates: European Vegetarian Union V-label Certified\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBiodynamic Certificates: Demeter Biodynamic Certified\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47719796605179,"sku":"00076861","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/05306e3b72ed276ca5741079fd2a298b.png?v=1763761898"},{"product_id":"fond-cypres-de-toi-rouge-syrah-grenache-corbieres-fr-2023","title":"Fond Cyprès - 'de toi Rouge' - Syrah\/Grenache - Corbières, FR - 2023","description":"\u003ch2\u003eSatellite's Hot Take\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA classic of the region and of these times - Fond Cypres makes wines you just want to drink - not overly complex for the mind- but with so much wine that you could find yourself quite immersed in the complexity of this surprisingly well structured juice. We love Fond! \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the Brigitte Bardot of Corbières and her endearing husband come the wines of Fond Cyprès, a soulful, luscious lineup of Carignan, Syrah, Grenache, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Viognier, Muscat, Cinsault and blends thereof. \nThe couple, whose real names are Laetitia Ourliac \u0026amp; Rodolphe Gianesini, is intent on producing wines that express their sultry slice of the Languedoc — specifically, Escales, in the northernmost part of the Corbières AOC. Their domaine begins at the end of a road lined with Cypress trees and extends in either direction across 15ha of lush vegetation, a secret garden of olives, tomatoes, eggplants, wild herbs, and newly-born kittens. \nWe first met Laetitia and Rodolphe in the deep, damp recesses of Cave Ackerman on a February afternoon in the Loire, and even then their wines were singing. But when we pulled up to their home in August and were greeted by bowls of freshly grilled palourdes, mussels, garlic, and parsley cooked in the juice we were about to drink, we understood their wines had made it feel like summer all along.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47764882227451,"sku":"00076922","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/Satellite-2075.jpg?v=1765580376"},{"product_id":"dunites-dune-song-syrah-grenache-slo-coast-ca-2024","title":"Dunites - 'Dune Song' - Syrah, Grenache - SLO Coast, CA - 2024","description":"\u003ch2\u003eSatellite's Hot Take\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eYUM\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA cooler-climate example of this variety, which is often described as “heat loving.” Grenache thrives in the shallow soils that are abundant in granite rocks at this hillside site. The cooling influence from the nearby Pacific Ocean contributes to an extended hang time where the grapes ripen slowly while developing complex flavors without producing wines of excessive alcohol. Partial whole cluster vinification, native yeasts, and aging in 500-liter neutral French oak puncheon were all employed to ensure purity and balance. The finished wine is juicy with ripe berry and plum flavors and brightened by lively acidity and a saline finish with subtle, firm tannins. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eDunites Wine Company \n\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe are a small wine brand named after an eclectic group of 1930s metropolitan refugees known as the Dunites who settled in the beach dunes of San Luis Obispo county. This group proudly described themselves as a collection of free thinkers, artists, nudists, and poets. Together they shared meals, cohabited a mutual gathering space, philosophized, dissented, and generally allowed one another to live and express themselves freely outside of the cultural norms of the time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDrawing inspiration for this project from the remote beauty of the coastal dunes and the progressive ambition of the Dunites to aspire towards a clear goal; to produce pure and elegant wines that respect the coastal influence of vineyard sites located on the uplifted seafloor and ancient sand dunes of the SLO Coast. Combining diverse vineyard sites with traditional techniques in the cellar allow for these small production wines to express the distinct characteristics of their sites.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe are a husband - wife team who combine our experiences to craft these wines. Together we have worked for over a dozen wineries and vineyards around the world where the people, cultures, and wines have influenced our approach to growing and making wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile we are not dogmatic, we try to adhere to the following guidelines when possible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhole cluster inclusion of varying percentages for aromatic complexity, freshness, and structure\u003cbr\u003eMinimal use of sulfur and vinification without sulfites lead towards competition between different yeasts and bacteria\u003cbr\u003eGentle extraction by pigeage (foot treading!) to release juice from the berries without breaking the seeds and stems\u003cbr\u003eAgeing the wine on healthy lees for protection from oxygen and to promote a smooth, seamless mouthfeel\u003cbr\u003eMaturation in neutral oak barrels to showcase the great vineyards we work with\u003cbr\u003eBottling without fining or filtration to not remove anything from the wine. Plus, if we have done our job well then these steps are unnecessary\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAbove all, they should be delicious.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47778213200123,"sku":"00077020","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/718c3cc227fb73916ee54239147d0e27.jpg?v=1766006287"},{"product_id":"fongoli-rossofongoli-sangiovese-montepulciano-montefalco-umbria-it-2023","title":"Fongoli - 'Rossofongoli' - Sangiovese, Montepulciano - Montefalco, Umbria, IT - 2023","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/cantina_fongoli\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003ch4\u003e@cantina_fongoli\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSatellite's Hot Take\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSimply one of the most carefree reds I've ever had. This wine stands out for its structure and simply beauty - eminently quaffable!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e60% Sangiovese\/40% Montepulciano. From biodynamically farmed, certified-organic, hand-harvested estate vines. The grapes are destemmed and fermented spontaneously in stainless steel tanks with no temperature control or sulfur and with a maceration of about 10 days. The wine is aged in stainless steel for 3  months and bottled without fining, filtering or sulfur. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe’ve known Giampiero Bea from Paolo Bea in Montefalco since the early nineties and have been fans of his wines even before that. Throughout the nineties into the aughts, we would ask “Giampiero, is there no one in Umbria working the way you do and making real wines?” The response was always a half-hearted pause in the guise of rumination and then a definitive “No.” We imagine his response remains the same today.\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOver the course of time Montefalco wines have been driven in demand in good part because of Bea’s great work and as a result there’s been a blossoming of wineries and vineyards. It was the Etna before there was ETNA! The trendy region for the in-the-know wine group. Since the late nineties, it seemed the area was taking a turn for the worse - spoofy wines, made for quantity and consistency rather than terroir. But more recently, there is a swing back to less immediate, more traditional and stoic wines – the wines that actually express the work in the vineyard and the grape and soils of the region.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAngelo Fongoli is the fourth generation to be making wine at the Fongoli family estate. Since the early 2010’s, Angelo has taken the estate--that was, of course, until the eighties a poly-cultural farm using conventional systemic viticulture, then moved towards an almost monoculture farm--back to a more diverse farming culture concentrating on biodynamic techniques.  The estate is now almost 40 hectares of vines, vineyards, olive trees, forest and natural truffle production. About 20 of these hectares are now planted in traditional grape varieties of the region – Trebbiano Spoletino, Grechetto, Sangiovese, Montepulciano and Sagrantino – the oldest of which are more than 40 years old. The vines have been certified organic by Ecocert since 2013, and since then only the use of sulfur and limited copper on the vines, the planting of soveccia - legumes, grains and other nitrogen-rich, complex-rooted plants that open the soil and add nutrients.  More recently, Angelo with his wife Letizia have begun working the farm completely in biodynamic techniques, seeking quality grapes over quantity production. They are fully satisfied with the results and now make the wines without the addition of sulfur  or any other enological products.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe vinifications range from stainless steel with and without temperature control to aging in barrels or demi-muid. They also make two wines in anfora that are made in the nearby town of Deruta – Maceratum for the 100% Trebbiano Spoletino white and Fracanton for the 100% Sagrantino red made in the style of his grandfather and great-grandfather. There is also a 100% Trebbiano Spoletino metodo ancestrale frizzante refermented in bottle using reserved must. There are also still red and white wines – notably some very traditional Montefalco Rosso, Bicunsio, and a Riserva, Serpullo.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTasting the wines, we have to say that we think Giampiero is not entirely right. There are winemakers in Umbria with the dedication and respect to their vineyards, terroir and traditional wines. The wines that Angelo and Letizia are making are among the finest from the entire region.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLouis Dressner Imports\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47782244974843,"sku":"00077027","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/7e6933371bbc71369cedbb077afe4a4e.jpg?v=1766206019"},{"product_id":"ch-teau-du-c-dre-juveniles-malbec-cahors-fr-2023","title":"Château du Cèdre - 'Juveniles' - Malbec - Cahors, FR - 2023","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe brand new Juvéniles incorporates organic grapes from the sandy-clay soils of the 2nd terrace of the Lot valley. After a short vatting period of one week, the wine was matured in concrete\nvats for a year and a half.\nThe 2023 Juvéniles is a light and lively Malbec expressing bright red fruits aromas with a soft, supple texture. The polished palate leans on a bright acidity to keep the red plum, raspberry and cherry flavors tasting fresh. Medium-bodied with melted tannins, this is a textural Malbec with a succulent wild berry character on the mid-palate and a vivid, flavorful finish.\nSo drinkable and so delicious now. Why wait ?\n\nGrape varieties\n100% Malbec\nCountry\nRiss terrace with old alluvial deposits from the Lot river (loamy and sandy soils)\nAge of vines\n15 to 30 years\nVinification\nShort vatting period of one week - No winemaking additives are used except for low levels of sulphites before bottling\nMaturation\n18 months maturing in concrete vats\nTasting\nCritics' Scores - 2023 Vintage :\nWine Enthusiast : 89 pts\n« An open wine, with a raspberry aroma that shows ripe young fruits and spicy flavors. It has a tang of acidity along with a softly textured aftertaste. Drink from 2026. » — Roger Voss\nBottling\nLight sulfur addition at bottling\nResidual sugars\nFully fermented to dryness (0 g\/L)\nAlcoholic degree\n12,5%\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e Léon Verhaeghe is born in the small town of Moorslede in the Flemish region of Belgium. When WW1 is declared in 1914 and the country is annexed, Léon is among the millions of Belgians who flee. He travels through France by bicycle and takes refuge in the Lot.\nLater, his son, Charles Verhaeghe, meets Marie-Thérèse Rives, whose family owns a traditional multi-crop farm in Vire-sur-Lot. While cultivating the land and his love for it, he develops a growing desire to expand the scope of his practice. He watches with fascination as some of his neighbours transform their grapes: his project is clear. He too wants to produce his own wine.\nThe couple continue their multi-crop farming activities and plant their first hectare of vines alongside the lavender in 1958. This piece of land, characterised by limestone scree cones, forms part of the great terroir we know today.\n1973 sees the result of all the hard work. Self-taught, Charles and Marie Thérèse Verhaeghe carry out their first wine bottling, alongside their usual distillation of lavender.\nWhen Charles is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1987, the work becomes too difficult. His sons, Pascal and Jean-Marc, decide to return to the estate to help him.\nPascal, trained in viticulture and winemaking at Jean-Marie Guffens and then in Napa Valley, and Jean-Marc, a graduate of La Tour Blanche in Sauternes, have the necessary knowledge and desire to manage the vineyard.\nWorking in synergy, they inject their enthusiasm into the business and constantly experiment. Quality becomes the absolute priority.\nWith this common goal, they share the work: Jean-Marc makes cultivating the vines his speciality and Pascal devotes himself to making, maturing, and marketing the wine. In fifteen years, they take Château du Cèdre to the top of the Cahors appellation.\nToday, they are still pioneering, supported by an excellent team. Pascal’s sons Jules and Robin have joined the family business, bringing a new dynamic to the estate.\nThe vineyard’s three parcels have the best two soil types in the Cahors appellation area.\nOne of parcels is established on a cone of limestone scree, on the hillsides of Bru. The quaternary ice-age broke down the limestone sides surrounding this plot of land. Over the centuries, these scree slopes have created the soil of today.\nThe grapes from this rare terroir are characterised by great finesse and aromatic complexity.\nThe other two parcels are located on two distinct, though geologically identical, ridges. These are the Mindel high terraces, formed 500,000 years ago from the river’s alluvial deposits. This soil is made of rolled pebbles mixed with reddish ferruginous sand on the surface, while clay and silica dominate the deeper levels.\nThe grapes from this terroir are characterised by a great richness and density.\nThe specific micro-climate at Chateau de Cèdre has a lot of influence on its terroir. At equal distance from the Atlantic Ocean, The Pyrenees Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, the climate is oceanic until June then Mediterranean from the month of July. In September, the river Lot cools the air, and the autumn wind blows across the vines.\n\nOur objective is to exploit the full potential of our grapes. To achieve this, no oenological inputs are used during the vinification process. Wine production is carried out with indigenous yeasts and without added sulphites.\nAs a result of these choices, we have observed finer tannins and greater aromatic complexity.\nThis way or working requires technical skill. The grapes are perfectly ripe and healthy. The hygiene of the cellar is rigorous. Fermentation starts quickly using the pieds de cuve technique and is completed in the best possible conditions: temperatures are controlled to provide the yeasts with the ideal environment for their development.\nAs with the vinification process, our wines are matured without oenological input. Control is crucial, because Malbec is a grape variety with character, which requires time.\nThe wines mature on the lees in large containers, 500-litre barrels, and foudres. They evolve freely in ideal conditions of temperature and hygrometry.\n\nOur thinking on organic agriculture began in the early 1990s. We stopped using chemical weedkillers in 1992 and ten years later we abandoned synthetic plant protection products altogether. In 2012, we were certified as organic.\nTo preserve microbiological life and minimise soil compaction, the vineyards are grassed between rows and we work with straddle tractors. The various tasks such as pruning, thinning-out, de-budding, lifting, leaf removal and green harvesting are all still carried out by hand.\nEvery year we analyse the branches and the soil from the three vineyards. These results, supported by our own observations, enable us to better understand the relationship between the plant and the soil and ensure balance for the vines.\nGreat wines generally come from old vines. Our viticultural practices are therefore primarily aimed at keeping these precious old vines in production. However, their life expectancy is not eternal. Each year, we work to replace the vines one by one, as they disappear.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eGrapes \u0026amp; Style\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eMalbec\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMalbec is an old southwest French grape that became famous in Argentina. In Cahors, where it’s historically known as Côt or Auxerrois, it can make dark, tannic, earthy wines; in Mendoza and other Argentine regions, it often shows a plusher, more generous side while still holding color and structure.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, Malbec needs warmth and sun but can lose freshness if pushed too far. It has relatively thin skins for such a deeply colored grape, and it can be sensitive to frost, coulure, and rot. In Argentina, altitude has been especially important, helping preserve acidity and aromatic lift.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Malbec usually shows dark plum, blackberry, violet, cocoa, spice, and sometimes a smoky or earthy note. It can be soft and fruit-forward, or firm, savory, and mineral depending on place. The best versions balance their natural generosity with freshness and enough tannin to keep the wine grounded.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Martine's","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47782246088955,"sku":"00077018","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/o1Mt0o87dxtjGcO7_erS0WKYztth58PEPgbUGAyJoLM.jpg?v=1782413108"},{"product_id":"niepoort-nat-cool-red-baga-bairrada-pt-2024","title":"Niepoort - 'Nat Cool Red' - Baga - Bairrada, PT - 2024","description":"\u003ch2\u003eSatellite's Hot Take\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis wine is ideal - casual and at home on any table while perfectly aligning with food - because this wine is food and it pretty much goes with anything. And it's a liter!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eVineyards \u0026amp; Viticulture\nNat Cool is about producing low-intervention, terroir driven wines from indigenous varietals. Average vine age 40-100 years.\nSoils\nCalcareous clay\nHarvest \u0026amp; Vinification\nFrom various old vineyard blocks and was fermented in stainless steel for 5 weeks, with carbonic maceration. After undergoing malolactic fermentation and some ageing in these stainless steel tanks, the wine was bottled unfiltered.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy light and easy-to-drink wines we mean wines with lower alcohol levels, where other elements, such as the aroma, mouthfeel, clarity and colour of the wine, are given pride of place. Examples include the red “Drink Me”, produced in Bairrada, and the white “Drink Me”, which stems from the Vinho Verde region. These wines do not claim to be the best in the world, but they are the ones you will enjoy drinking time and time again because they provide unencumbered drinking pleasure.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47782247629051,"sku":"00077005","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/dcd3ff80dcac4172cf86476f35a177f4.jpg?v=1766206073"},{"product_id":"escoda-sanahuja-nas-del-gegant-field-blend-catalunya-es-2023","title":"Escoda-Sanahuja - 'Nas del Gegant' - Field Blend - Catalunya, ES - 2023","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA kitchen-sink blend of cabernet franc, sumoll, red grenache, and macabeo. A juicy glugger to serve cold. \n.. straight undeniably delicious\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eJoan spent years working in a large cellar in Catalunya and traveling the vineyards of France. His experiences helped guide him to the biodynamic farming and natural wine movements.\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1999 he began a winemaking project in his wife’s village, Conca de Barberà, which is near Montblanc. In 2005, Joan began making his wines without sulfites, which is a practice that he continues today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJoan founded PVN with his friend Laureano Serres. It’s the first association of natural wines in Spain. Each year they organize H2O, a wine fair that only accepts wines without sulfites.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe family cultivates over ten hectares of olive groves, almond trees and vines, as well as a vegetable garden for their own sustenance. There is a small farm with chickens, turkeys, sheep, cows and horses.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis helps complete the biodynamic cycle of life on the farm. This enables them to supply their own composts completing the cycle of life on the farm, and independent of foreign chemicals. It’s fundamental for working the land in a natural way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA living ground cover always protects the soil of the vineyards in order to maintain their blance and ensure that the soil is rich humus and microorganisms. It also helps the soil maintain moisture, which is cruicial in the dry climate of Conca de Barbera.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the beginning the vineyards of Escoda-Sanahuja have been biodynamiclly farmed using organic preparations made on site. The vineyards are located in various areas around Montblanc, all utilizing different systems of planting depending on the location, soil and grape variety. There are a wide variety of grapes planted, from many international varieties that Joan personally loves, to autochthonous varieties.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe likes to play with the grapes and feel for the expression of the vintage. He’s always looking for complexity and freshness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome of the constant cellar practices are that spontaneous fermentation is always the only way. Sulfites are completely banned in the cellar. The wines are always made completely naturally and as simply as possible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Wine is 95% water… with the rest vegetable matter!”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIndie Wineries, Importer\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47813167055099,"sku":"00077028","price":38.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/08d77d8cd00165334464ef69edf633e2.jpg?v=1767309576"},{"product_id":"press-gang-trash-fire-grenache-chardonnay-santa-barbara-county-ca-2023","title":"Press Gang - 'Trash Fire' - Grenache, Chardonnay - Santa Barbara County, CA - 2023","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e2\/3 Chardonnay, 1\/3 Grenache\nwhole cluster co-ferment in stainless steel open top. Punch downs and pump overs. Native yeast. Aged in neutral oak for 5 months.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince 2010, we have been creating small batches of exciting wines from interesting Santa Barbara County vineyards.  Press Gang fruit is hand picked, hand sorted and fermented with native yeast. We love the \"tried and true\" winemaking methods, but also consider ourselves to be very progressive in the cellar. \n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKyle learned winemaking from the ground up, starting with harvest at a local winery.  He spent a vintage abroad in Western Australia and fell in love with the craft.  Upon returning home, he jumped right back into another harvest until he worked his way up to Assistant Winemaker.  He knew, early on, that he wanted to create something different, against the grain so to speak, to represent his winemaking style.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCheers,\u003cbr\u003eKyle and Savanna Knapp\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47813167481083,"sku":"00077029","price":33.3,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/Satellite-2134.jpg?v=1768428549"},{"product_id":"solminer-x-satellite-gamma-ray-gamay-santa-rita-hills-ca-2025","title":"Solminer x Satellite - 'Gamma Ray' - Gamay - Santa Rita Hills, CA - 2025","description":"\u003ch2\u003eSatellite's Hot Take\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnother banger from the gang at Sominer - we coudn't be more stoked. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eCheck out our latest collab with Solminer! \nSuper fresh - full flavored - majestic. This wine is super alive and brimming with fresh blue\/purple fruity goodness that gamay is so good at. There's a kiss of salty-savory goodness that screams and makes this wine amazing with all kinds of food (and anytime there isn't food too!). Complex and deep but light as a feather and ready for your next get together. \nThe Kessler Haak vineyard is radical and incredibly well farmed. \nWe decided to add a touch of so2 this year to ensure stability and this wine will absolutely rock this year and for years to come. \n\n\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNotes on Kessler Haak Vineyard\u003cbr\u003ePlanted in 2005, soils in the vineyard vary from sandy to sandy loam with patches of clay loam. 7 Pinot Noir clones on 3 different rootstocks are planted amongst 30 acres of the vineyard's rolling hillsides. A 2.5 acre east-facing hillside was reserved for 3 clones of Chardonnay (76,96,95), planted on low vigor 110R rootstock to showcase the exceptional character of cool climate Chardonnay. Over the years, we have grafted some of our Pinot Noir to heritage Chardonnay clones from Clos Pepe and Sanford vineyards and additional clone 96 Chardonnay.  Another 2 acres of pinot noir was grafted to Syrah along with 2 acres of Gamay Noir and 1\/3 acre of heritage Riesling from Lafond vineyard.\u003cbr\u003eAlthough we are not a certified organic vineyard, vineyard practices are strictly organic. Our farming approach strives for balance, harmony and co-existence between the vines and plant, animal and insect populations. We use no pesticides or herbicides and only organic fertilizers. Weed control is done mechanically.  Pest control is done through natural predators (hawks, badgers and coyotes) and trapping.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eRead up on our homies at Solminer! We've made more collaborations with David and Anna than any other winery and we're so in love with what they do - and how they do it. Pragmatic natural vignerons to the core.\u003cbr\u003eWhat is Solminer?\u003cbr\u003eSol-miner as in mining the “Sun” which in turn nourishes the soul. The name inspires us to discover and unearth the treasures in the soils of the California Central Coast. Our decisions have always been personal (not commercial) and involve what we call “conscious farming”. As we learn about our little piece of earth and our place in it, the picture begins to widen. We’ve incorporated chickens, grazing sheep, the lunar calendar, biodynamic compost, preparations and teas all to support the microorganisms in the dirt and health of the vineyard. We have a feeling of connectedness as each trip around the sun gives us the chance to experience the magical process of exchange from the dirt, plants, fruit, wine, humans, sky, moon, sun and stars.\u003cbr\u003eAnna \u0026amp; David deLaski\u003cbr\u003eFarming winemakers\u003cbr\u003eThe first seed was planted meeting in 2009 and falling in love with Santa Barbara wine country and each other. We married soon after and while visiting Anna’s family in Austria, a desire to settle down and create a life together in a more agricultural setting started to take root. A chance meeting with a winemaking mentor and a property for sale with vines in the front yard grew into something we could no longer ignore. We went “all in” and decided to buy a fixer farmhouse and vineyard in Los Olivos and call the fruits of our labor of love “Solminer”.\u003cbr\u003eEstate deLanda Farm and Vineyard\u003cbr\u003eCertified Regenerative Organic and Biodynamic\u003cbr\u003eWe named our home vineyard “deLanda” a combination of our first and last names. It reflects our personal desire to produce natural wines using varietals related to our Austrian heritage. First certified organic in 2014, Biodynamic in 2018 and ROC Regenerative Organic in 2021, deLanda is evolving as we evolve as farmers. Ultimately it shines with individuality and biodiversity as we incorporate chickens, donkeys, sheep, bees, fruit trees, native plants, biodynamic compost, preparations and herb teas all to support the microorganisms in the dirt and health of the vineyard.\u003cbr\u003eAustrian Inspired Natural wines\u003cbr\u003eWines reflect the place\u003cbr\u003eOur personal desire is to reflect the vineyard in the wine and experiment with Austrian varietals. Since the beginning, we thought Grüner Veltliner would do well here and soon after we discovered that the Austrian red grape, Blaufränkisch, is perfect for our climate as well. We’ve rounded things out with a bit of Muscat to create an Austrian inspired dry “Muskateller” and some Syrah for Rose, Sparkling Syrah, a blend and a single vineyard Syrah. We also have new plantings of Riesling to add to our sources from neighboring vineyards that we have selected for their climate, soils and sustainable growing practices. About 2000 cases are produced each year\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47909650628859,"sku":"00077039","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/bec785e47f4b152a6ab72081920b05e1.png?v=1769811607"},{"product_id":"le-vent-des-jours-malbec-cahors-fr-2021","title":"Le Vent des Jours - Malbec - Cahors, FR - 2021","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter twenty-five years as a sommelier, wine wholesaler and the owner of a Parisian wine bar, forty-eight-year-old Cahors native, Laurent Marre, found himself in a hospital bed. Unexpected life-threatening circumstances and four months confined to a hospital can change anyone’s perspective. After he was released, Laurent and his wife, Nathalie, started to plan a return to Laurent’s familial homeland. Since 2018, they’ve been raising horses (Nathalie’s métier, along with plowing the vineyards) and farming eight biodynamic hectares of vines on their 30-hectare plot surrounded by forest on one of Cahors’ geologically diverse and high-altitude limestone plateaus.\nOur first interaction with Laurent’s impeccably balanced, no-sulfites-added “natural-wine” range (white included), evoked a whole-body YES! The range begins with C’Juste, a welcome and unexpectedly intense mineral and fresh, amphora-raised Gros Manseng, followed by a series of emotion-inducing and minerally fresh Malbecs raised in concrete, amphora, and large old French oak barrels and foudres.\nNo one’s body stays young forever, but at fifty-something, Laurent’s mind seems to have turned back the clock. From the abyss of his hospital bed came rebirth and revelation that brought him back home to Cahors and a dream he had almost forgotten.\nLaurent was in line to be the fifth generation of operators of the Cahors hotel and restaurant, Le Terminus. Hospitality, wine, culinary arts and living well from one meal to the next were their family heritage. They took their vacations in wine countries with good restaurants, and it set the course for his adventures abroad. After high school, he attended viticulture and enology university in Toulouse. Instead of jumping straight into the vineyard and cellar, he worked in Alsace for three years at L’Auberge de l’Ill with Serge Dubs, one of his great mentors and the winner of the 1989 “Best Sommelier of the World” competition. Eventually, Laurent owned a wine bar and also represented various vignerons in the Paris market.\n“I always wanted to be a winemaker. But not coming from a farming family, my former job as a sommelier allowed me to achieve this dream of working in the wine world. Then a serious health issue in 2016 pushed me to achieve my dream to become a vigneron.”\nPut on hold and then nearly forgotten, his original dream took a backseat as he got accustomed to Parisian life where he watched the rest of France and the world passing through the iconic Ville lumière. Now he’s a new-world mind in Cahors’ old-world setting, and there are few vignerons we’ve encountered so sure of their calling to the vines as Laurent.\nIt’s rare in France for outsiders of the wine community (even if they’re French) to make the leap from life in restaurants and wine bars to that of a vigneron. Laurent is an exception with his quarter century in helping to promote young vignerons’ names and reputations in Paris and elsewhere. With full idealism intact, his splash was immediate and perhaps surprising to some. But it wasn’t for those who are familiar with his immeasurable urgency to live life that followed years of reflection on the nature of wine, and the words and ideas of the thousands of vignerons, sommeliers and talented tasters and thinkers who crossed his path. With clarity in his practice, his ideas have come together quickly yet he remains as endlessly curious and enthusiastic as Pollux, his canine vineyard companion.During our first visit, Laurent and Pollux were hardly able to contain themselves, moving quickly through their vineyard and forest playground poking and sniffing, analyzing flowers and herbs and limestone rocks like they’d just discovered them. Laurent paused as we examined the curious six-inch porcelain plates on white limestone rock and he explained that below are highly porous terracotta amphoras beside newly planted vines to offer them micro-doses of water and temperature regulation needed to thread the needle through the hot and dry summers in their crucial years before fruit production and greater root development; these clever and cute pots are a useful gardening technique he saw in Japan that replaces drip irrigation. Some people use punctured plastic containers as well, but that’s neither sexy, cool, nor aesthetically pleasing in such a natural setting.\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou can take the man out of the wine bar, but you can’t take the wine bar out of the man (or something like that). Laurent transformed from rustic wine grower to hospitable Parisian barman (which may seem like an oxymoron) the moment he held the cellar door for us to pass into his winemaking workshop. He described his objectives with each aging container while patiently watching and offering a light commentary to preserve the mystery for each of us to bond with his wine in our own way: to discover something completely new or uncannily familiar; to let our interpretations and creative juices flow; to make our relationship personal and deep in a matter of sips with our unique perceptions that only we sometimes understand. As Andrew Jefford writes in the opening sentence of Drinking with the Valkyries, “We know no moment quite like this.”\u003cbr\u003eChildhood friend and business partner at Le Vent des Jours, François Sudreau is not only a great supporter of Laurent’s dream, he is also one of his biggest fans. With his infectious smile and eyes enlarged by his glasses, a bottle or glass in hand (and sometimes a cigarette in the other), like Laurent, he closely attends to his guests: Water? Wine? A smoke? Perhaps some rillette de canard? A great friend to have for any epicurean, François’ 130-year-old family business carries from the late-1800s to our century the ancient craft of charcuterie quack: confits, rillettes, pâtés, and foie gras a hundred ways. Sudreau-Côte Cave is an evil temptation in the center of Cahors that preys on those of us who lack restraint for France’s Michelin-starred picnic fair. His shop is lined with all their ancient recipes in jar and tin, and also a fabulous collection of wines, piles of the most mythological French cheeses and sausages (especially those from the southwest), along with a room in which to sit, pull corks, enjoy everything on offer, and commune. François brings a dangerously good accompaniment to visits at Le Vent des Jours, and he surely pushes harvest lunches and a quick casse-croûte to a stratospheric level.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce a prolific variety used for its color and structure contribution to Bordeaux, a frost in 1956 exposed Malbec’s Achilles’ heel for this once rare seasonal challenge compared to the Cabernet brothers and Merlot. Commonly referred to as Cot (pronounced like the abbreviation for company: Co.) in other areas of France, its thick skins and dark, lip-and-mouth-staining color earned the name, Malbec, which Laurent explains in the local dialect of Cahors means “bad mouth.” (The Vin de Cahors website, vindecahors.fr says the name’s origin involves a dubiously named and seemingly shameless self-promoter, Mr. Malbeck.) A half-sibling of Merlot, among many other winding vinous relations, Cahors (presumably made with Cot\/Malbec) was also an inspiration for the Roman poets, Horace and Virgil. I suppose this shouldn’t surprise us that Horace wrote about it given that he was from modern-day Basilicata’s Venosa (in his time it was called Venusia and part of Apuglia), a central hub for Aglianico wines of Vulture. Assuming the Cahors of his time was Malbec, this grape is of an equally dark color and structure as Aglianico, though perhaps a little less intense by comparison when measuring tannins and perhaps naturally juicier and more seductive.\u003cbr\u003eIn Bordeaux, Malbec was used as a blending component to beef up Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. But in Cahors, Malbec performs on a world-class level as a single-varietal terroir wine at higher altitudes on limestone bedrock and calcareous topsoil. Perhaps more so than the low-lying and largely alluvial soils of Bordeaux, also similar to the many vineyards inside the Lot River gorge on former flood plains, the limestone roche mare of Cahors seems to naturally impart a more linear and strict architecture to the aromatic and palate textures to this often fruit-heavy wine.\u003cbr\u003eAn hour and a half northwest of Toulouse, three hours by car from the city center of Bordeaux, four hours from Lyon, five from Marseille, and eighteen hours by car, or 400 hours by foot from Horace’s hometown, one doesn’t “happen” to cross Cahors by car on the way to somewhere else. (Imagine how sound the Cahors must have been to travel so far over 2000 years ago and still inspire Horace to immortalize it!)\u003cbr\u003eLocated just west of the western end of France’s Massif Central, an ancient igneous and metamorphic rock mountain range with some young-ish, seemingly (hopefully) dead volcanoes, Cahors is a land of Jurassic limestone plateaus (referred to in French as causse) above a deeply carved, Mosel-like, dizzying meander of the Lot River. The Lot sprung near the Massif Central’s Cévennes and carried a variety of different rock types from the ancient massif to the Lot River Valley, depositing them in cobble form along the limestone ridges and eventually joining the Garonne River after 485 kilometers of travel from its source.\u003cbr\u003eMalbec is perfectly situated in Cahors for many reasons. The most influential factor in determining a grape’s ideal place in the world is the climate. The southwest is generally mild in the winter, wet in the spring, hot in the summer, and humid in the fall. It’s more influenced by oceanic conditions despite being relatively equidistant from the Atlantic and Mediterranean. At the western base of the Massif Central’s Parc Naturel Régional des Causses du Quercy, Lot’s path has a convergence of strong opposing natural forces. The Pyrenees to the south block much of the intense African and Mediterranean heat and spring storms, and, like the Massif Central to the east and north, offer cool mountain air relief; the Massif’s north winds also bring Cahors’ biggest threat of frost. Toward the west, it’s open to the Atlantic, which brings autumnal rains and cool winds. With similarities to Southern France’s famously howling cold north wind, the Mistral, the opposing warm Autan winds originate above the Sahara and roar through the Languedoc and Roussillon gap between the Massif Central and the Pyrenees, through Carcassonne, Toulouse and finally Cahors, and it can be beneficial or dangerous, depending on its duration and timing. Laurent says that it often carries a lot of desert sand, and, like the Mistral, it’s said that it usually lasts for three, six or nine days. If it arrives late in the growing season, it can dry grapes and reduce yields, as it did in 2023. However, Laurent’s biggest concern among these multidimensional influences is hail.\u003cbr\u003eThe vines have been under biodynamic culture now for almost two decades. The conversion began with Fabien Jouves (Mas del Périé), a biodynamic-natural wine vigneron who sold the vines to Laurent and François in 2017. What great fortune to walk into such a thriving ecosystem!\u003cbr\u003eThe following is a lightly edited version of Laurent’s responses to some of our questions, though it should be noted that he speaks English well.\u003cbr\u003eMy agricultural philosophy as a neo-winemaker is as simple as possible. First, the size of the estate is a human scale: eight hectares of vines to make our living, eleven are made up of woods and pastures for our horses, eight for the sheep, one for the truffle oaks, and one with woods for our beehives.\u003cbr\u003eI try to apply a “farmer’s” common sense and replace most Phyto treatments with infusions, porridges, and natural minerals. If my schedule allows it, I follow the planet’s calendar; if I can’t, I deal with those processes the following days. Our animals eat organic hay and graze on organic lands, so they make organic manure which we recover to make our supply of organic elements for our soil health. Our horses also pull our plows and our sheep are part-time mowers and fertilizers. Our bees make honey for our breakfast and to treat our horses’ wounds. White clay is also used to heal the wounds of animals or ours, but we also spray it on the vines as a way of using a natural substance to fight against leafhoppers effectively. All these natural products cost almost nothing, unlike Bayer or Monsanto products which are accompanied by very harmful effects.\u003cbr\u003eSince 2022 we leave the grass cover [which is extremely spare anyway] in the center of the vine rows and till only directly under the vine lines in autumn to build a mound around the vines for winter protection. At the beginning of spring, we put the mound back.\u003cbr\u003eUltimately, Laurent’s philosophy is to first respect nature and work in its flow as fluidly as possible when creating their wines. The second is to make sure his wines bring clear sensations related to this historic vineyard land and most importantly to the rocky and fully exposed terroir.\u003cbr\u003e“Aside from an empty bottle, the greatest compliment is to taste my wine blind and tell me it’s Malbec on limestone.”-Laurent Marre\u003cbr\u003eOn their thirty hectares, just southwest of Cahors’ town center and east of the village, Villesèque, Laurent and François have a single, contiguous, eight-hectare vineyard plot on a limestone plateau. “Maintained with love,” the bordering forests on the north and east offer some frost protection, and the 284-310 meters of altitude (higher compared to neighboring appellations, Bergerac and Gaillac) brings good air circulation that reduces fungus populations resulting in fewer vineyard treatments during the vegetative cycle. Laurent explains that the seasonal average of sulfur and copper treatments is around six to seven times, though in the hot 2022, there were only three, and in the dismal 2023 there were 13, though they still lost 60% of their crop.\u003cbr\u003eThe summer’s diurnal shift when perched up on the causse plateaus is dramatic. The days often hit highs between 36-42°C and then at night plunge to 16-22°C, with the wind always present. The white limestone also keeps the ground cooler in this fully exposed setting, which pushes harvest times (during the last decade) of Malbec to late September and sometimes into early October\u003cbr\u003eEven if it’s a small piece of land, Laurent explains that there are three distinct geological settings. The differences are most evident with Malbec picked over 10-12 days with the first grapes harvested where the central plot thickens with red clay (Quaternary geological age), followed by the red-tinted Jurassic limestone section at the bottom, and the last of the Malbec is picked from the white Jurassic limestone sections in the upper part of the vineyard where the sheep hang out the most. The Jurassic age of the limestones is dated to the Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic). Though they’re more similar than different from the famous sharp but friable and soft Kimmerdigian marls of Chablis and the Upper Loire Valley, they’re hundreds of kilometers away and are not exactly the same.\u003cbr\u003eMuch of the limestone formations have heavy faulting that allows roots opportunities to dig deep. On the top areas of the causse with what seems like impenetrable limestone, the rock is broken up over time from cryofracturing (among many other names with perhaps the most common reference, the freeze-thaw cycle) where water enters gaps in rock and freezes and expands, wedging the rock apart. No known hard rock can resist the 10-11% expansion when water turns to ice, but uniquely, the softer the rock the less it is affected by freezing water; for example, because of the plasticity of mudstones and claystones, they’re not affected.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMalbec is the focus of the domaine and the vine age ranges between 25 to 45 years old (2023). It’s planted with 5000 vines per hectare, which is half of what is typical in the Côte d’Or. It grows on all the soil types, but principally on the rockier limestone sections. The 40-year-old Merlot vines are planted on the heaviest red clay. The 25-year-old Gros Manseng and Ugni Blanc (10% of the C’Juste blend) are on the Quaternay section (red clay) as well but with a large vein of white clay. Chardonnay and Viognier are also inherited and were planted 25 years ago on the poorest limestone soils.\u003cbr\u003eAs a former sommelier who’s had every French wine at his fingertips, it’s understandable that Laurent is not completely satisfied growing what was already planted. This prompted him to cultivate other varieties he loves that thrive perfectly on limestone and clay; they’re also varieties that we love: Chenin Blanc, Pinot Noir, Trousseau, and Syrah.\u003cbr\u003e-The Source Imports\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48543721914619,"sku":"00077152","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/e12413472ef3be4107244c00d000f789.jpg?v=1774213377"},{"product_id":"fongoli-rossofongoli-sangiovese-montepulciano-montefalco-umbria-it-2024","title":"Fongoli - 'Rossofongoli' - Sangiovese, Montepulciano - Montefalco, Umbria, IT - 2023","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/cantina_fongoli\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003ch4\u003e@cantina_fongoli\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSatellite's Hot Take\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSimply one of the most carefree reds I've ever had. This wine stands out for its structure and simply beauty - eminently quaffable!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e60% Sangiovese\/40% Montepulciano. From biodynamically farmed, certified-organic, hand-harvested estate vines. The grapes are destemmed and fermented spontaneously in stainless steel tanks with no temperature control or sulfur and with a maceration of about 10 days. The wine is aged in stainless steel for 3  months and bottled without fining, filtering or sulfur. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe’ve known Giampiero Bea from Paolo Bea in Montefalco since the early nineties and have been fans of his wines even before that. Throughout the nineties into the aughts, we would ask “Giampiero, is there no one in Umbria working the way you do and making real wines?” The response was always a half-hearted pause in the guise of rumination and then a definitive “No.” We imagine his response remains the same today.\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOver the course of time Montefalco wines have been driven in demand in good part because of Bea’s great work and as a result there’s been a blossoming of wineries and vineyards. It was the Etna before there was ETNA! The trendy region for the in-the-know wine group. Since the late nineties, it seemed the area was taking a turn for the worse - spoofy wines, made for quantity and consistency rather than terroir. But more recently, there is a swing back to less immediate, more traditional and stoic wines – the wines that actually express the work in the vineyard and the grape and soils of the region.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAngelo Fongoli is the fourth generation to be making wine at the Fongoli family estate. Since the early 2010’s, Angelo has taken the estate--that was, of course, until the eighties a poly-cultural farm using conventional systemic viticulture, then moved towards an almost monoculture farm--back to a more diverse farming culture concentrating on biodynamic techniques.  The estate is now almost 40 hectares of vines, vineyards, olive trees, forest and natural truffle production. About 20 of these hectares are now planted in traditional grape varieties of the region – Trebbiano Spoletino, Grechetto, Sangiovese, Montepulciano and Sagrantino – the oldest of which are more than 40 years old. The vines have been certified organic by Ecocert since 2013, and since then only the use of sulfur and limited copper on the vines, the planting of soveccia - legumes, grains and other nitrogen-rich, complex-rooted plants that open the soil and add nutrients.  More recently, Angelo with his wife Letizia have begun working the farm completely in biodynamic techniques, seeking quality grapes over quantity production. They are fully satisfied with the results and now make the wines without the addition of sulfur  or any other enological products.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe vinifications range from stainless steel with and without temperature control to aging in barrels or demi-muid. They also make two wines in anfora that are made in the nearby town of Deruta – Maceratum for the 100% Trebbiano Spoletino white and Fracanton for the 100% Sagrantino red made in the style of his grandfather and great-grandfather. There is also a 100% Trebbiano Spoletino metodo ancestrale frizzante refermented in bottle using reserved must. There are also still red and white wines – notably some very traditional Montefalco Rosso, Bicunsio, and a Riserva, Serpullo.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTasting the wines, we have to say that we think Giampiero is not entirely right. There are winemakers in Umbria with the dedication and respect to their vineyards, terroir and traditional wines. The wines that Angelo and Letizia are making are among the finest from the entire region.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLouis Dressner Imports\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48611669246203,"sku":"00077207","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/7e6933371bbc71369cedbb077afe4a4e_796bed38-d4c7-44b9-a41b-138df6ba1529.jpg?v=1775255256"},{"product_id":"piazza-carbonic-graciano-ballard-canyon-bella-vista-vineyard-ca-2024","title":"Piazza - 'Carbonic' - Graciano - Ballard Canyon, Bella Vista Vineyard, CA - 2024","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/piazza.wine\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003ch4\u003e@piazza.wine\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA Piazza favorite! The more vintages we get to make this wine, the more it becomes a unicorn. Always dominated by pomegranate and hints of cola, this wine blossoms with the most unique spice expression of cardamom and turmeric. 100% carbonic and sure to match any vibe or meal!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"OUR BOUTIQUE WINERY\n\nRon and Nancy Piazza have roots in Santa Barbara County and the Santa Ynez Valley soil that go back decades. Inspired by family, friends, and winemakers, Ron and Nancy planted what became a small family vineyard within sight of the region's originators, Sanford \u0026amp; Benedict, more than a decade before the Sta. Rita Hills AVA was founded.\n\nIn partnership with a group of cloistered Carmelite nuns, Ron and Nancy founded Mt. Carmel Vineyard, supplying Pinot Noir and Chardonnay fruit to a small group of Santa Barbara's most esteemed winemakers. With their interest piqued, they searched for a vineyard site where they could build their future.\n\nABOUT THE FAMILY\n\nLiving among the vines, Ron and Nancy Piazza have found a place to retreat from city – a ranch with sweeping views of the vineyard. The production facility is just a short walk down a dirt path, a path well-trodden with their footprints. With views of Stolpman Vineyard and Beckmen’s La Purisima Vineyard, Piazza Bella Vista Vineyard is in good company.\n\nA successful restaurateur, Ron Piazza is a gardener at heart. He likes to plant seeds, grow something, and see the results. Every so often, Ron takes a step back, brushes the dirt off his jeans, and admires what he has built. “We planted that,” he thinks to himself, the work his greatest reward. Nancy, always working by his side, is the heart of the ranch. Happiest when she loses track of time and the outside world, she is quick with a helping hand. The winemakers can expect to see her bringing lunch, checking on the animals, and visiting with neighbors.\n\nOriginally hailing from Queens, New York, Ron is proud of his rich Italian heritage, from which his Grandfather Dominic handed down a passion for life and gardening. Ron remembers Sunday family dinners, wine paired with Dominic's stories, jokes, and subtle wisdom. Inspired by those recollections, Ron's focus is on the meals that families share and the \"handcrafted\" character within their wines. With decades of hard work under his belt, Ron and his wife Nancy are now planting the seeds and growing their own family roots, creating wine to share with you and yours.\n\nFrom organic farming to natural winemaking, sustainability is something the Piazzas take to heart. With Bella Vista Vineyard, they set out to make natural wines with minimal interference. They are planting the seeds and growing a legacy winery for their five children and multiple grandchildren, family the emphasis in the Piazza Family Wines. With that in mind, they work together to make wine meant to be shared.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eGrapes \u0026amp; Style\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eGraciano\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eGraciano is a red grape most associated with Rioja, where it has traditionally played a supporting role in blends. It’s not always easy to grow, but it brings color, acidity, perfume, and structure, which is why it has become increasingly interesting both as a blending grape and as a varietal wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, Graciano ripens late and can be low yielding, so it needs patience and a good site. Its natural acidity is one of its strengths, especially in warmer regions where many red grapes can lose freshness.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Graciano often shows black cherry, blackberry, plum skin, violet, clove, pepper, and a savory herbal edge. It can feel darker and more firmly built than Tempranillo, with a freshness that keeps the wine energetic and ageworthy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Self for Satellite","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48828412854523,"sku":"00077360","price":46.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/E6cZgIgOaIjsHGQYhlbWp9Ldnj0dIUY-a47bTnjAZBo.jpg?v=1782413098"},{"product_id":"camins-2-dreams-siletto-vineyard-cabernet-pfeffer-san-benito-county-ca-2024","title":"Camins 2 Dreams - 'Siletto Vineyard' - Cabernet Pfeffer - San Benito County, CA - 2024","description":"\u003ch4\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/camins2dreams\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e@camins2dreams\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eCabernet Pfeffer is one of those dream varietals we’ve longed to create, as it is a rare and truly special wine.  Originally known as Mourtaou, from the Bordeaux region of France, this grape variety was introduced to California in the 1870s by plant botanist, William Pfeffer.  Over time, it took on his name and became a local rarity.  Today, there are fewer than 22 acres of Cabernet Pfeffer worldwide, with most found in Monterey and Santa Clara Counties.  Our Cabernet Pfeffer is sourced from Siletto Vineyard in San Benito County and is delightfully light, juicy, and peppery.  \n\nThis wine offers captivating aromas of candy apple, strawberry, and pepper, complimented by hints of hibiscus and pomegranate, along with a touch of rose hips.  On the palate, you’ll find a vibrant medley of red fruits, including pomegranate and cranberry, highlighted by bright acidity.  The finish is characterized by velvety tannins, leaving a lasting impression of fruit-forward delight.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eCamins 2 Dreams represents the routes and paths we follow to achieve our dreams. Camins 2 Dreams was founded in 2017. Our grapes are sourced from vineyards in Santa Barbara County with a focus in Sta. Rita Hills. Our philosophy is to make hand-crafted, terroir-driven wines that are fermented with natural yeast and use minimal intervention in the winery, with only minimum amounts of SO2 at bottling. Our wines are also unfined and unfiltered. We believe wine is made in the vineyard and we want to showcase the typicity of each site where the grapes come from. We source fruit from vineyards that share in the same values of respect for the land, the environment, and their workers. We work exclusively with organic, biodynamic, and regenerative vineyards.\n\nWe are a team of two winemakers, Mireia Taribó and Tara Gomez, wife and wife, whose paths first crossed in 2006 through our work in the wine industry. Our friendship grew through wine and travels, which also sparked our love. Our journey of friendship, love, and wine now continues as together we found our dream winery, Camins 2 Dreams.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Direct from Winery","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48828415705339,"sku":"00077358","price":42.3,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/5j4EYUX9FVUogVYo6kQStWsysi454wnpyEpI5IsABkA.jpg?v=1783049442"},{"product_id":"florez-lovebirds-chardonnay-pinot-noir-cienega-valley-ca-2025","title":"Florèz - 'Lovebirds' - Chardonnay \u0026 Pinot Noir - Cienega Valley, CA - 2025","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/@florezwines\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003ch4\u003e@@florezwines\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eHere at florèz wines we embrace old world technique and sensibility. Everything begins with the vineyards and the best quality starting ingredients. \nSome of the vineyards we are farming ourselves using organic practices, and dry farming management. To supplement we source fruit from organically farmed vineyards. We work to stay as local as possible to the Santa Cruz area.\nWe follow through with astute craftsmanship utilizing native yeasts, eschewing additives, racking well but never filtering, and a carefully monitored élevage without sulfur and sur lie.\nAlways in pursuit of improvement we hope to deliver wines of pleasure and ease on the body\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFlorèz wines was founded by James Jelks in 2017. Born in Santa Cruz and raised in Davis California Jelks is a west coast kid. After a decade of wine fascination, attending the UC Davis E\u0026amp;V program, and working worldwide Jelks set his sights on producing wines in Santa Cruz county. \u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48828417507579,"sku":"00077345","price":43.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/96b9a603689343ad5a52fb0b2404d209.jpg?v=1777681884"},{"product_id":"lieu-dit-sans-soufre-cabernet-franc-santa-ynez-valley-santa-barbara-ca-2024","title":"Lieu Dit - '‘Sans Soufre’' - Cabernet Franc - Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara, CA - 2024","description":"\u003ch4\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/lieuditwinery\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e@lieuditwinery\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSourced from own rooted vines planted at the Happy Canyon Vineyard in the east side of the Santa Ynez Valley. The wine is fermented using native yeast. Once dry, we rack the juice and press off the whole cluster lots. The wine is transferred to neutral oak barrels for the winter. Once malo is complete we transfer to tank prior to bottling.\n\nNo S02 was added at anytime during the winemaking process.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Winery\nLieu Dit [lyoo-dee] is a fancy French wine term that means “named place.”\nWe love the idea that the vineyards that grow the best grapes gain enough of a reputation that everyone starts calling them by their name. In our little corner of sunny Santa Barbara, California, we know the best places where the grapes we love are responsibly grown.\nAnd that helps us make simple, delicious, honest wine.\n\nThe Wines\nWe focus on three French grape varieties that make classic, food-friendly wines. Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, and Cabernet Franc.\nFrom these grapes we make wines to enjoy everyday and on special occasions.\n\nThe Winemaker\nJustin Willet is a father, husband, winemaker, and proud son of sunny Santa Barbara, California. It takes a native son to know the names of all the region’s hidden places where responsibly grown grapes can be made into consciously crafted wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eGrapes \u0026amp; Style\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eCabernet Franc\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eCabernet Franc is an old Bordeaux and Loire red grape, and one of the parents of Cabernet Sauvignon. In Bordeaux it’s often part of a blend, bringing lift, perfume, and freshness; in the Loire, especially Chinon, Bourgueil, Saumur-Champigny, and Anjou, it stands on its own as one of the great medium-bodied red wines of France.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, Cabernet Franc ripens earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon, which helps it succeed in cooler regions. It still needs enough warmth to avoid hard green flavors, but when farmed well it can keep freshness while developing real aromatic complexity. It often works beautifully on limestone, gravel, and sandy soils, with style shifting depending on site.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Cabernet Franc usually sits in a lovely middle zone: red and black fruit, fresh herbs, violet, graphite, pepper, and sometimes a subtle leafy edge. It can be light and crunchy or deeper and more structured, but it rarely needs heaviness to make its point. We like it for the way it combines freshness, savory detail, and quiet confidence.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Skurnik","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48834656567547,"sku":"00077337","price":49.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/G-SEDY97TkSWJCTC60FOCkgm3OcBhSp-CQjm1NSdYKA.jpg?v=1783048163"},{"product_id":"pali-my-fruit-trees-gewurztraminer-pinot-noir-pinot-gris-sauvignon-blanc-viognier-cabernet-sauvignon-central-coast-ca-2025","title":"Pali - 'My Fruit Trees' - Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon - Central Coast, CA - 2025","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e30% Gewürztraminer, 20% Pinot Gris, 20% Pinot Noir, 10% Sauvignon Blanc, 10% Viognier, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eFamily owned and operated since 2005. Pali Wine Co. crafts expressive, small-lot wines from its Sta. Rita Hills estate, including Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gamay, Dornfelder, and Syrah. \nNeighborhood is the sketchbook of our winery. Natural wines shaped by Los Angeles, rooted in Santa Barbara county winemaking. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48838761152763,"sku":"00077275","price":46.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/586237727556d46bf6ad3bad1360cd20.jpg?v=1778037816"},{"product_id":"tablas-creek-vineyard-alouette-grenache-noir-adelaida-district-paso-robles-ca-2024","title":"Tablas Creek Vineyard - 'Alouette' - Grenache Noir - Adelaida District, Paso Robles, CA - 2024","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e2024 is the second vintage of our Alouette Grenache, a chillable red featuring the highest-toned, palest, and juiciest lots of Grenache from the vintage. Alouette means \"lark\" in French, with both its English language meanings: the songbird, but also something done spontaneously, or for fun. While in 2023 we only packaged our Alouette in 3L boxes and in kegs, in 2024 we also made a small run in clear glass bottles.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTablas Creek is the realization of the combined efforts of two of the international wine community’s leading families: the Perrin family, proprietors of Château de Beaucastel, and the Haas family of Vineyard Brands.\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTablas Creek is the world's first Regenerative Organic Certified Vineyard and Winery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48847559688443,"sku":"00077266","price":57.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"disko-red-velvet-rhone-blend-santa-barbara-county-ca-2023","title":"Disko - 'Red Velvet' - Rhône Blend - Santa Barbara County, CA - 2023","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eCarbonic Rhone style red wine\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhat we are about\nDisko wines embraces the \"natural wine\" approach to winemaking. We make clean, easy drinking, low alcohol wines to be enjoyed at any time of the day and in any situation. Whether you are hanging out on the beach soaking up the sun or just having a nice picnic lunch, we got you. Are you trying to impress your cool friends with some delicious, juicy chilled wines for a great dinner hang? We totally got you covered. Our wines are versatile and are meant to be enjoyed, not shelved. Pop a bottle and get your disko on!\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll of our wines are fermented with native yeast, minimal sulfur additions, and aged in neutral French oak barrels.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKeep it classy and keep it fresh my friends. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCheers, Sean\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48847561130235,"sku":"00077259","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/51d3004c48439df5adca378e045f89e7.jpg?v=1778280632"},{"product_id":"mazette-natural-tendencies-light-red-grenache-and-syrah-santa-ynez-valley-ca-2025","title":"Mazette - 'Natural Tendencies Light Red' - Grenache and Syrah - Santa Ynez Valley, CA - 2025","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/zachy.petersen,%20mazettewines\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003ch4\u003e@zachy.petersen, mazettewines\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eEqual parts rosé of Syrah and whole cluster Grenache. When blending rosé and proper red wine, and given time together, they two parts balance freshness and depth, resulting in an easy drinking wine that retains a level of complexity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA nascent wine project by one of the brightest stars in a brand new generation of SB vignerons. Zach is making all the right wine choices and, thusly, all the good flavors. \nMazette is for the people, rooted in the desire to share wines that carry meaning beyond what’s in the glass. We are a farming focused winery dedicated to growing in our craft. Zach Petersen, the farmer and winemaker behind Mazette, has always found joy in making and sharing things he cares about. Zach is more of a starving artist than a collector of luxury as a result of relentlessly following passions. He is driven by curiosity, connection, and a deep respect for the old ways of doing things. He buys local, eats organic, and values process over perfection. The wines of Mazette are a reflection of that ethos.\nWe seek a certain wildness in the vineyards we work with—a feeling that they belong to the land rather than being forced onto it. As a small, solo operation just trying to make things work, we’ve turned to rehabilitating small, overlooked plots—half-acre to three-acre sites scattered across the Santa Ynez Valley. Some were planted decades ago and forgotten, others inherited by folks who didn’t quite have a plan for the vineyard. We call them “pocket vineyards,” and we take them in like strays, farming them by hand with the goal of restoring balance to both the vines and the soil beneath them.\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOur approach is rooted in regenerative practices: no-till farming, diverse cover cropping, and reintroducing native species to encourage a healthy, self-sustaining ecosystem. Much of our energy is focused on building soil life. The vines almost feel secondary—dare we say—because we believe that if the vineyard ecosystem is thriving, the best fruit will follow. By listening and adapting to each site’s natural rhythm, we’re able to farm vineyards that are full of life and harmony, and that’s what allows us to make the best possible wines with that true sense of place we are all after.\u003cbr\u003eEven when we’re not directly farming a site, we try to maintain a deep connection to it. We’re in the vineyards across the region, throughout the season. Walking rows, observing the stresses and changes, tending to sites…staying close. Our relationship isn’t transactional—it’s emotional. This closeness keeps us grounded in the vintage and guides every decision we make. We seek out older vines in vineyards with clear coastal influence. Often we are drawn to places that represent the natural habitat of Santa Barbara County and explore them as a way to understand the ever-evolving history of our region’s terroir.\u003cbr\u003eMazette aims to capture the spirit of our slice of California and the immense energy expended to take our grapes to the glass. Every decision in the cellar is an extension of our experiences farming throughout the season. We believe that our farming and vineyard sourcing coupled with our intentional process in the cellar infuses a certain “aliveness” in our wines – an honest representation of time, place and process, captured in a bottle. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFermentations are spontaneous, carried out by native yeast. We use minimal sulfur, refrain from additions, and let the wines take shape naturally. Most all red wines are fermented whole cluster with little destemming, if at all. White wines are barrel fermented. All wines are aged in neutral French oak barrels.\u003cbr\u003eThe result is a range of fine wines, and some wines (like our sparkling Blanc de Blancs) that belong at a long, lingering dinner just as much as they do a house party. We strive to make all our wines accessible and transparent. \u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48847562637563,"sku":"00077318","price":34.2,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/8a853494452251982f1c5229fc13faf0.jpg?v=1778280804"},{"product_id":"solminer-carbonic-syrah-syrah-carbonic-los-olivos-district-ca-2025","title":"Solminer - 'Carbonic Syrah' - Syrah (Carbonic) - Los Olivos District, CA - 2025","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solminerwine\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003ch4\u003e@solminerwine\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eFreshly bottled on Jan 8th, 2026 with no additions of S02 our carbonic syrah is the wine you will want to drink more of this year. This bright and juicy wine is completely dry yet delightfully fruity.  Even so it has more complexity than a typical chillable red or “glou glou” and contains secondary notes of smoke, vanilla and forest floor. It still remains the most crushable bottle of wine we’ve ever consumed so it’s no wonder it’s our most popular and fastest selling wine!\n\nSince 2016, we've been using carbonic maceration for this Syrah which lets the wine ferment whole cluster untouched in a sealed tank. After 9-12 days we press the grape clusters to tanks and neutral barrel. That's it. No manipulation or additions of any kind.\n\nThe result is an incredibly bright, fresh and zippy wine with a light ruby, amethyst color. It's completely dry yet delightfully fruity, with aromas of watermelon jolly rancher and flavors of fresh ripe strawberries and cranberry. Be warned: The first sip literally makes your mouth water! \n\nServe Chilled and Enjoy!\n\nVarietal: 100% Syrah\n\nAVA: Los Olivos District\nVineyard: Coquelicot Vineyard (CCOF Certified Organic)\nFermentation: 9 days Carbonic Maceration in sealed tank \nResidual Sugar: None\nAging: 3 months in stainless steel tank with NO ADDED SULFUR\nCases Produced: 142\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSol-miner as in mining the \"Sun\" which in turn nourishes the soul. The name inspires us to discover and unearth the treasures in the soils of the California Central Coast. Our decisions have always been personal (not commercial) and involve what we call \"conscious farming\". As we learn about our little piece of earth and our place in it, the picture begins to widen. We have a feeling of connectedness as each trip around the sun gives us the chance to experience the magical process of exchange from the dirt, plants, fruit, wine, humans, sky, moon, sun and stars.\n\nWe found our vineyard and farmhouse in 2012 and named it “deLanda” a combination of our first and last names. It reflects our personal desire to produce natural wines using varietals related to our Austrian heritage. Certified organic in 2014 and Biodynamic® in 2018 deLanda is evolving as we evolve as farmers. Ultimately it shines with individuality and biodiversity as we incorporate chickens, donkeys, sheep, bees, fruit trees, native plants, biodynamic compost, preparations and herb teas all to support the microorganisms in the dirt and health of the vineyard.\n\nThe first seed was planted when we met in 2009 and falling in love with Santa Barbara wine country and each other. We married soon after and while visiting Anna's family in Austria, a desire to settle down and create a life together in a more agricultural setting started to take root. We were pregnant with our first child and back in California (in LA the walls were closing in) when a chance meeting with a winemaking mentor and a property for sale with vines in the front yard grew into something we could no longer ignore. We went \"all in\" and decided to buy a fixer farmhouse and vineyard in Los Olivos and call the fruits of our labor of love \"Solminer\". Our son Linus was born the same year.\n\nOur personal desire is to reflect the vineyard in the wine and experiment with Austrian varietals. Since the beginning, we thought Grüner Veltliner would do well here and soon after we discovered that the Austrian red grape, Blaufränkisch, is perfect for our climate as well. We've rounded things out with a bit of Muscat to create an Austrian inspired dry \"Muskateller\" and some Syrah for Rose, Sparkling Syrah, a blend and a single vineyard Syrah. We also have new plantings of Riesling to add to our sources from neighboring vineyards that we have selected for their climate, soils and sustainable growing practices. 1900 cases were produced in the 2018 vintage\n\nIn 2018 we were happy to open our tasting room in Los Olivos. Located in the heart of downtown, we are proud to be one of very few Los Olivos wineries to pour natural wine. Come and join us for not only wine tasting, but also a glass or bottle of wine on one of our two outdoor patios.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Self","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48855628611835,"sku":"00077352","price":57.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/2156ddbcbe26d2758c252c8a0a4ed6ee.jpg?v=1778620832"},{"product_id":"side-street-no-mind-pinot-noir-santa-barbara-carpinteria-ca-2024","title":"Side Street - 'No mind' - Pinot Noir - Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, CA - 2024","description":"\u003ch4\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/sidestreetwine\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e@sidestreetwine\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a small town amongst the mountains and vines. We don’t seek to dominate or conquer but coexist with the land in the gentle embrace, and craft wines that capture the spirit of the Ojai Valley.\nFabien, Elizabeth, Jeremy, Griffin, and Jason, a band of misfits and rebels come together in a raucous blend.\nFrom winemaker to restauranteur, engineer to brewer, their shared goal is to create a unique blend, vintage after vintage.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eGrapes \u0026amp; Style\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003ePinot Noir\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePinot Noir is one of the old noble red grapes of Burgundy, and still the variety most associated with the Côte d’Or’s ability to translate small differences in site into meaningfully different wines. It’s been known under older names like Morillon, Noirien, and Auvernat, and its history reaches back to medieval northern France. Over time, the Pinot family produced or revealed a whole set of mutations — Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Teinturier, Pinot Noir Précoce — but Pinot Noir remains the central red expression.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, it’s famously sensitive. It buds early, so spring frost can be a real issue, and it ripens early enough that warm climates can push it too fast, leaving thin-skinned berries prone to shrivel and sunburn. It prefers temperate climates, calcareous-clay soils, and careful yield control. It’s also susceptible to mildew, botrytis, virus pressure, and plenty of other vineyard headaches, which is part of why great Pinot has such a fragile, hard-won quality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Pinot Noir is rarely about sheer power. At its best, it’s relatively pale, aromatic, and finely structured, with red-fruit notes like cherry and raspberry when young, often moving toward more savory, autumnal, earthy, mushroomy, or truffle-like tones with age. The better examples are compelling because they carry delicacy without feeling thin — fruit, perfume, texture, and place all held in a lighter frame.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"self","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48855631397115,"sku":"00077363","price":40.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/RAi6GoqL16NcKe2aA1h4Fb5s1CL4AoZvOOkW8Co54sY.jpg?v=1783049304"},{"product_id":"whitcraft-slh-escolle-vineyard-gamay-gamay-noir-santa-lucia-highlands-central-coast-ca-2025","title":"Whitcraft - 'SLH Escolle Vineyard Gamay' - Gamay Noir - Santa Lucia Highlands, Central Coast, CA - 2025","description":"\u003ch4\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/whitcraftwinerydrakewhitcraft,%20drakewhitcraft\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e@whitcraftwinerydrakewhitcraft, drakewhitcraft\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eOrganic farming. Granite, north east facing windy and cold. Carbonic for 9 days open top for 2 days. 6 months in Neutral Barrique\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Drake Whitcraft took over the family winery in 2007 (the winery was founded two decades before, in 1985 by his parents, Chris and Kathleen) his goal was to make balanced Central Coast wine of purity, honesty, and finesse. Because he grew up within the culture of wine and California winemaking, he was perpetually under the tutelage of both father Chris and friend Burt Williams, founder of the legendary Williams-Selyem winery in Sonoma. During a two year stint in Australia working at Green Vineyards with first-generation Italo-Australian and biodynamic guru Sergio Carlei, he got a good taste of certain practices he wanted to implement, not only in the vineyard and winery but also on the business side. Now Drake is vinifying with the same old school techniques his dad used (hand-harvesting, foot-pressing etc, no added enzymes or coloration) and with much veneration to Mother Nature herself.\nHis vineyards all use organic and\/or biodynamic practices to produce Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel, Gamay, Trousseau, and Grenache of distinction; he does not de-stem or add water. Drake has chosen to inoculate only with the Williams Selyem strain, a yeast native to the Jackass Hill portion of Lino Martinelli’s Zinfandel vineyard on the Russian River. “It’s a super yeast,” he says “guaranteed to ferment.” Whole cluster fermentation is never subject to pump over and the wines are not racked off the lees. He hand fills and hand corks each bottle. The wine receives just enough SO2 to stabilize it, and the production is super small. It's the only inoculation we allow for still wines at Satellite... in that it's really a wild yeast strain identified and used as part of a natural process.\nThe resulting wines are clean and impeccably balanced. They represent a cross section of the emerging class of site-specific wines coming out of Central Coast California today.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"So Cal - Shiverick, SB and North - The Source Imports","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48855634542843,"sku":"00077353","price":52.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/i_jx2f8vFDd70aH6RhoQdsXdRuqSA7MXGakp2h04tRY.jpg?v=1783727260"},{"product_id":"lone-madrone-bassi-ranch-cinsault-willow-creek-district-paso-robles-paso-robles-ca-2025","title":"Lone Madrone - 'Bassi Ranch' - Cinsault - \"Willow Creek District, Paso Robles\", Paso Robles, CA - 2025","description":"\u003ch4\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/lonemadronewines\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e@lonemadronewines\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eCarbonic Maceration. Unfiltered.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eLone Madrone is a (nearly) thirty year old family run Paso Robles operation started by an English family of kitchen and restaurant folks. Now into the 2nd generation the wines have branched out from just Paso to all over the California coast searching for new and inspiring sites. Cheers!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eGrapes \u0026amp; Style\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eCinsault\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eCinsault is a Mediterranean red grape with a long history in southern France, North Africa, and parts of the eastern Mediterranean. It’s often used in blends, especially with Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Carignan, but it can also make beautiful varietal wines when treated gently.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, Cinsault is productive, drought-tolerant, and well suited to warm, dry climates. Because it can crop heavily, quality depends on thoughtful farming and restraint. It has also been important historically as a table grape and as a parent of Pinotage, the South African cross with Pinot Noir.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Cinsault tends to be pale, fragrant, and easy on its feet, with red fruit, flowers, spice, and soft tannins. It’s often used to bring perfume and lift to blends, but the best standalone versions are lovely precisely because they don’t try too hard. Light, fresh, and quietly aromatic is usually the sweet spot.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Self","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48855651713275,"sku":"00077272","price":53.1,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/3tu76etJSbmbKFHGSBs0wki5FDe5uCHtKpZ7CVhpXPA.jpg?v=1783048935"},{"product_id":"lone-madrone-christy-wise-vineyard-mourvedre-grenache-syrah-graciano-santa-barbara-ca-2024","title":"Lone Madrone - 'Christy \u0026 Wise Vineyard' - \"Mourvedre, Grenache, Syrah, Graciano\" - Santa Barbara, CA - 2024","description":"\u003ch4\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/lonemadronewines\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e@lonemadronewines\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e50% Whole Cluster All varietals, 6 months neutral wood.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eLone Madrone is a (nearly) thirty year old family run Paso Robles operation started by an English family of kitchen and restaurant folks. Now into the 2nd generation the wines have branched out from just Paso to all over the California coast searching for new and inspiring sites. Cheers!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Self","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48855651975419,"sku":"00077251","price":41.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/cn9ytCSBMrTogrQ5gPae2TqOo7WvWldnjd8YxfNzsug.jpg?v=1783048825"},{"product_id":"nowadays-wines-nault-rieslin-riesling-santa-barbara-county-ca-2024","title":"Nowadays Wines - 'Nault Rieslin' - Riesling - Santa Barbara County, CA - 2024","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere is Nault Rieslin really to ferment Cinsault and Riesling together… except that it’s tasty.  We made this wine by filling a tank with un-destemmed whole clusters of Cinsault and Riesling, and then the foot stomping began.  This super fresh glou glou was on skins for 10 days or so before pressing to old French oak barrels.  No additions of yeast or anything else, save for a minimum amount of SO2 at unfiltered bottling. We taste smokey cranberries, grapefruits, and pomegranates in this wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince 2007, Municipal Winemakers has been crafting distinctive wines that embody the vibrancy of Santa Barbara's wine country. We champion minimal-intervention winemaking while maintaining deep respect for our coastal terroir. Through our diverse labels – Muni Wine, Potek Winery, Nowadays Wine, and January Drinks – Municipal creates wines that honor the natural expression of each vineyard, embracing vintage variation and celebrating the pure character of our carefully sourced fruit. Our commitment to sustainable practices and hands-off approach in the cellar results in wines that are both thoughtfully crafted and authentically alive.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48855687495931,"sku":"00077269","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/283fc6833f29fb4400ea6a43ad3fbd94.jpg?v=1778622221"},{"product_id":"chateauneuf-du-fargosonini-dicks-jardin-fruit-wine-san-benito-county-ca-2025","title":"Chateauneuf-du-Fargosonini - 'Dick's Jardin' - Fruit Wine - San Benito County, CA - 2025","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003epeaches plums 5 kinds of melons hybrid grapes italia apples pears \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eChâteauneuf-du-Fargosonini LLC is a natural winery in Central California focused on creating unique new beverages from fruits that would otherwise be lost in the $218,000,000,000 of estimated food that is wasted in the USA yearly. We leverage ancient and bleeding edge post modern wine technologies to improve the carbon footprint of the farming and beverage sectors, by up-cycling fruit that normally spoils at various positions in the supply chain, particularly at the farm level. \nWe connect with organic whole sale farmers to ferment and distill fruits and sugar sources -that would normally be wasted- into unique, organic natural wines.  \nWe’ve conducted bench trials on wines and ciders we’ve made from over 120 fruits which are grown nearby in California’s Central Valley, the farming capital of the world. \nOur winery project is predicated on a return to the Dionysian. The industrialization of wine has wreaked havoc on our bodies and our palates, predicating wine to a cheap copy of a few European styles. The wild characteristics of fermentation have all been minimized so as to barely exist. Instead of the 50+ wild yeasts we find on our grapes, most wineries jump straight to one, which is usually cultivated on big sheets of plastic in factories. Through filtration, fining, over 96 additives, and a laundry list of other horrors, wine gets rectified to some sort of chemical solution that fits some kind of weird, ghost of a taste profile which probably never really existed, because those profiles are all based on thousands of years of natural, more wild, winemaking. Our wines are alive in the bottle. They change over time. We get bottle bouquet in a way that a sterile filtered wine (or worse, one chemically murdered) never could. Is there more risk? Potentially. But we know wines made properly and naturally can last over 100 years and still be drinkable, magical even. We do not have any sterile filtered or chemically murdered wines that old, because the technology has simply not been around that long. \nWe do brix tests on our wines after crush. That’s it for our chemistry set. Everything else is done by feel, smell, and taste, because that is how the wines will be rated. We are open to mystery in our winemaking. We are open to non-knowledge. We have things we learn, and try to repeat sometimes, but we go with nature’s rhythms. We have wines which are cooked in the sun, wines which are cold stabilized by the gods when winter comes. We pick our vineyard 8-10 times based on feel and taste. \nScience’s greatest triumph is it’s own refutation: observing a system disturbs it and can change the outcome by attempting to look too closely, rate it and quantify whats happening. We are anti-observation in our winemaking. We often leave ferments or aging wines for very long periods of time. This physically reduces the chance of spoiling things by jamming tools into the wines, and also in some moments allows protective gases to build around the wines. But for the mental clarity of the winemaker, it is also a triumph to embrace the unknown and give up on the paranoia of constant testing (we never started). We often bottle our wines slightly sweet to preserve them naturally with carbon dioxide from the final moments of fermentation. When the wine is ready, we will recieve an auspicious signal from Dionysos. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48855690084603,"sku":"00077267","price":10.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/f96889fe4a242d84f1e33936f92de404.jpg?v=1778622391"},{"product_id":"mevive-peripherie-ibarra-young-vineyard-marsanne-syrah-mourv-dre-santa-ynez-valley-ca-2025","title":"Âmevive - 'Peripherie - Ibarra-Young Vineyard' - Marsanne, Syrah, Mourvèdre - Santa Ynez Valley, CA - 2025","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/amevive,%20amevive.wine\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003ch4\u003e@amevive, amevive.wine\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese vines are part of the original planting by Charlotte Young in 1971. The 2025 vintage marked these vine’s 54th year. This wine comes from the far western side of the property - the edge, or the “périphérie”. While the majority of the old vines in the vineyard have typically three foot shoots, and moderately sized clusters, the “périphérie” row can have up to 10 feet long canes sprawling onto the ground, often with football-sized clusters. I felt there could be a more intentional use for this anomalous, higher-vigor section rather than simply blending it into the block-designate wines. So, as an ode to the traditional way of harvesting, and in an effort to make a fresh wine out of a serious vineyard, I made a co-fermented field blend. In some ways, it is the truest representation of the site, as it comprises all three original blocks. It is a special wine, and it holds a special place in our hearts!\nPériphérie was harvested in the early morning of September 18, 2025. The ratio of each of the three varieties was determined by the fruitfulness of vines as we worked up the two “peripherie” designate rows. This year the blend is about 55% Marsanne, 35% Syrah, and 10% Mourvèdre. The Marsanne, Syrah, and Mourvedre were harvested into the same picking bins and brought to the cellar to be destemmed together into a two-ton fermenter. After native fermentation commenced, this wine was made with more “infusion” than extraction. We used minimal pour overs and only the lightest love touches. 2025 Périphérie was sent to press after 11 days on skins. This wine was then aged for 6 months in neutral French oak barrels before being bottled unfined and unfiltered on March 25, 2025.\nPériphérie was harvested in the early morning of September 18, 2025. The ratio of each of the three varieties was determined by the fruitfulness of vines as we worked up the two “peripherie” designate rows. This year the blend is about 55% Marsanne, 35% Syrah, and 10% Mourvèdre. The Marsanne, Syrah, and Mourvedre were harvested into the same picking bins and brought to the cellar to be destemmed together into a two-ton fermenter. After native fermentation commenced, this wine was made with more “infusion” than extraction. We used minimal pour overs and only the lightest love touches. 2025 Périphérie was sent to press after 11 days on skins. This wine was then aged for 6 months in neutral French oak barrels before being bottled unfined and unfiltered on March 25, 2025.\nPériphérie was harvested in the early morning of September 18, 2025. The ratio of each of the three varieties was determined by the fruitfulness of vines as we worked up the two “peripherie” designate rows. This year the blend is about 55% Marsanne, 35% Syrah, and 10% Mourvèdre. The Marsanne, Syrah, and Mourvedre were harvested into the same picking bins and brought to the cellar to be destemmed together into a two-ton fermenter. After native fermentation commenced, this wine was made with more “infusion” than extraction. We used minimal pour overs and only the lightest love touches. 2025 Périphérie was sent to press after 11 days on skins. This wine was then aged for 6 months in neutral French oak barrels before being bottled unfined and unfiltered on March 25, 2025.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003ePronunciation: \"ahm-veev\"\n\nTranslation: soulful, lively soul, living soul\n\nthe emotional part of human nature; the seat of the feelings or sentiments.\nhigh-mindedness; noble warmth of feeling, spirit or courage.\nthe principle of life, feeling, thought, and action in humans, regarded as a distinct entity and separate from the body; the spiritual part of humans as distinct from the physical part.\n\n---\nWe lease and farm the Ibarra-Young Vineyard in Los Olivos District A.V.A.\n\nThis vineyard was planted by Charlotte Young in 1971 and is still owned by her three daughters. Charlotte's right-hand man, Miguel Ibarra, helped her plant the vineyard in 1971 and continued to work on the vineyard for more than 40 years. Today, we celebrate this duo by designating these 10 acres as the Ibarra-Young Vineyard.\n\nIbarra-Young Vineyard was one of the first vineyards planted in the Santa Ynez Valley and has so much soul you can feel it. The first 3 acres were planted in 1971 and 3 more acres were planted in 1973. In the late ’90s and early 2000s Bob Lindquist completed Ibarra-Young's planted acreage with the \"young\" vines in the rockier section of the vineyard.\n\nThe vineyard is planted to Syrah and Mourvèdre planted in 1971, Marsanne planted in 1973, as well as suitcase clone Tempranillo and Graciano planted in the late ’90s. Everything on the property is own-rooted and has been farmed organically since 1993. We began leasing and farming this special place at the beginning of 2020 and employ regenerative organic and biodynamic practices.\n\nOur goal is to rebuild an ecosystem of native species that live alongside our vine rows, regenerate soil health, and grow the highest quality grapes this site can give. We believe the best wine grapes are grown with minimal inputs and conscious vineyard management. We reject a systematic schedule for viticulture and farming in general. We believe that by working in conjunction with nature we can increase biodiversity and soil health, minimize unnecessary sprays, minimize tractor passes and compaction, decrease water use, and reduce our carbon footprint.\n\nWe look forward to taking you along on this journey of unconventional viticulture with us. We hope to convince you that with a lot of passion and hard work, world-class wines are made with minimal intervention in a vineyard that grows alongside a healthy living ecosystem.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eGrapes \u0026amp; Style\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eMarsanne\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMarsanne is a northern Rhône white grape, especially associated with Hermitage, Saint-Joseph, and Crozes-Hermitage, and often blended with Roussanne. It’s also important in parts of southern France and has found a serious home in Australia, particularly Victoria.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, Marsanne is generally productive and can handle warm conditions, but it needs care to avoid making wines that feel too broad or low in acid. It can be fairly neutral when young, but with age it often develops more interesting texture and savory complexity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Marsanne tends to show pear, yellow apple, almond, honey, herbs, and a waxy, rounded feel. It’s less overtly aromatic than Viognier or Roussanne, but it can age beautifully, moving toward nuttier, deeper, more savory tones. We like it for white wines that are textural and quiet rather than flashy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSyrah\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eSyrah is a northern Rhône grape with a serious range, capable of making dark, structured, savory reds without needing the sheer weight of Cabernet. Its home is places like Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, Cornas, and Saint-Joseph, but it has traveled widely, especially to Australia, California, South Africa, and parts of the Mediterranean.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, Syrah tends to like warmth, but not excessive heat. In cooler sites it can be peppery, floral, and lifted; in warmer places it becomes darker, richer, and more generous. It has relatively small berries and can produce wines with deep color, good tannin, and a strong savory profile.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Syrah often shows black fruit, violet, black pepper, olive, smoke, meat, and spice. The best examples have density without feeling clumsy — dark-fruited and structured, but still aromatic and full of detail. We tend to love Syrah when it keeps that savory edge and doesn’t lose its freshness.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eMourvèdre\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMourvèdre is a late-ripening Mediterranean red grape, especially important in Bandol, the southern Rhône, Spain, and warm coastal regions around the world. In Spain it’s usually called Monastrell, and in Australia it has often been known as Mataro. It’s frequently blended with Grenache and Syrah, but in the right places it can stand powerfully on its own.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, Mourvèdre needs heat and a long season to ripen properly. It likes warm, dry conditions, often near the sea, and can struggle in cooler or wetter climates. When it ripens fully, it brings deep color, tannin, and a distinctly savory dimension.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Mourvèdre tends toward dark fruit, black plum, dried herbs, leather, earth, game, and spice. It can be firm and brooding in youth, but the best versions develop real complexity with age. We like it most when the richness is matched by freshness and the wine keeps its wild, savory edge.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Revel","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48855691788539,"sku":"00077262","price":43.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/1e928c7fe12a0a52eb616b65bd211d63.jpg?v=1778622540"},{"product_id":"lone-madrone-adams-ranch-vineyard-cinsault-willow-creek-district-paso-robles-ca-2024","title":"Lone Madrone - 'Adams Ranch Vineyard' - Cinsault - \"Willow Creek District, Paso Robles\", CA - 2024","description":"\u003ch4\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/lonemadronewines\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e@lonemadronewines\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e30% Whole Cluster, Partial Carbonic Maceration. Neutral Puncheons 12months\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eLone Madrone is a (nearly) thirty year old family run Paso Robles operation started by an English family of kitchen and restaurant folks. Now into the 2nd generation the wines have branched out from just Paso to all over the California coast searching for new and inspiring sites. Cheers!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eGrapes \u0026amp; Style\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eCinsault\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eCinsault is a Mediterranean red grape with a long history in southern France, North Africa, and parts of the eastern Mediterranean. It’s often used in blends, especially with Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Carignan, but it can also make beautiful varietal wines when treated gently.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, Cinsault is productive, drought-tolerant, and well suited to warm, dry climates. Because it can crop heavily, quality depends on thoughtful farming and restraint. It has also been important historically as a table grape and as a parent of Pinotage, the South African cross with Pinot Noir.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Cinsault tends to be pale, fragrant, and easy on its feet, with red fruit, flowers, spice, and soft tannins. It’s often used to bring perfume and lift to blends, but the best standalone versions are lovely precisely because they don’t try too hard. Light, fresh, and quietly aromatic is usually the sweet spot.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Self","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48855693066491,"sku":"00077292","price":38.7,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/wH0AHQhr8rnPRdICl1WS4YuFH8xum5cdEjQ53yTWaWo.jpg?v=1783048911"},{"product_id":"edgar-brutler-efu-red-syrah-pinot-noir-cri-ana-transylvania-ro-2023-1000ml","title":"Edgar Brutler - 'Şefu Red' - Syrah, Pinot Noir - Crișana, Transylvania, RO - 2023 - 1000ml","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eComposition: Syrah and Cabernet Franc\nClimate: Continental (hot summers \u0026amp; cold winters)\nSoils: Clay, loam, sand\nMaceration \u0026amp; Aging: Direct pressed Cabernet Franc aged in a 3000L stainless steel tank. Syrah is kept on the skins with stems for 3 days, then matured in 4 x 500L oak barrels.\nAlcohol: 13%\nResidual Sugar: 0.33 g\/l\nAcidity 6.01 g\/l\nNotes \u0026amp; Pairings\nThis Sefu Red is a blend of Syrah and Cabernet Franc. The Cabernet Franc is direct pressed and fermented in one 3000L stainless steel tank and six 500L oak barrels. The Syrah is whole bunch pressed into open vats, macerated for three days, and right as fermentation starts to kick off, it’s pressed and fermented in four 500L oak barrels and three 225L oak barrels. Bottled unfined and unfiltered with the only addition being 15ppm of total SO2.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTransylvania has always been a bit of white whale for us. I don’t think you can get further away from what we think of as Europe while still being in Europe. This is where horse carts often outnumber cars, self sufficient agriculture is the norm, there are more fortified Churches than anywhere else in Europe, and where Vlad the Impaler once vertically impaled nearly 20,000 people on display near the city of Târgoviște to intimidate the Ottomans. Literally translating to \"beyond the forest,\" it also has an unbroken winegrowing tradition going back at least 2000+ years. It’s also believed that Dionysus\/Bacchus was born in Thrace in modern day Romania. It’s a surreal place where the language is Balkan Romance, the food is Hungarian with some key distinctions, and where the imprints of both the Middle Ages and Communism are frozen in time.\nSkipping over vast swaths of history and using gross oversimplification in order to get to the wines at hand, a condensed historical refresher is still helpful. From 1003-1526, the Kingdom of Hungary ruled. Under King Stephen I in the 10th Century, Queen Gisela brought in Germans (Swabians) from her native Bavaria. It’s then a long tug of war between the Ottomans and Hapsburgs starting in the early 1500s until the Hapsburgs finally pushed out the Ottomans in 1691 during the Great Turkish War.\nRomania’s official independence and its constitution didn't arrive until 1881. Through it all, Transylvania always fought to be a separate entity within the Hapsburg and Ottoman periods. WWI causes the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Romania adds Transylvania and a few other regions back inside its borders. Things get messy in between WWI and WWII. Romania starts supplying a lot of oil to Hitler in exchange for being left alone. This doesn’t last long and meanwhile Hungary takes back Transylvania by force. Romania ends up switching sides and fighting with the Red Army to defeat German and Hungarian forces. Romania gets Transylvania back again. This was then followed by Soviet occupation and eventually becoming a Communist state in 1947. Romania does not enter this arrangement quietly and experiences some of the fiercest extrajudicial killings and purges of any Bloc country. And I don’t think this gets the attention it deserves, but Romania’s final autocrat Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena were captured after fleeing by helicopter and then killed by firing squad on Christmas Day 1989 following violent protests. This effectively ended the Communist era.\nDuring all of this, agriculture was at the heart of the Romanian character and economy. After WWI, it’s estimated that 90% of Romania’s agricultural land was owned in parcel’s no larger than 5 hectares – massive fragmentation. This was then collectivized by force during Communism. A lot of hybrids (Labrusca x Vinifera) were planted and the typical story of quantity over quality ensued. There were weird moments like PepsiCo importing Romanian wines in the 1970s under their Monsieur Henri Selection series (the wine was called Premiat) in exchange for cola concentrate. Suffice to say, this was not a good period. When Romania privatized land post Communism, it resulted in decades of legal battles, corruption, and confusion. This also led to little to no investment and for those willing to invest, often hundreds of land contracts were necessary to secure as little as 20 hectares. Today, the country is 5th under vine in Europe, but many estimate that the average vineyard holding is 0.2 hectares, and just over 30% of the country’s vineyards are farmed in 10 hectares or more. Romania is essentially a net importer.\nEdgar’s family was a part of the aforementioned Swabian migration to Transylvania and arrived in the 1850s from Stuttgart. They were not surprisingly farmers and according to Edgar’s grandfather, “a family with two or three kids needs 1000 liters of wine per year.” In the early 1980s the family left Romania because they could easily secure a German passport. Romania was in ruins due to Nicolae Ceaușescu’s austerity measures among other atrocities. In 1997 Edgar’s parents decided to move back after some land was restituted after the 1990 revolution. This was the beginning of a winery project that eventually grew to 25 hectares and the Brutler family was a 50\/50 partner. Finally in 2008 the whole family moved back to Transylvania but decided to leave said project in 2018. There were zero regrets about their time as partners, but according to Edgar, “We were free then. Just a complete new start.” The shares from this sale are what have built the new winery although the vineyard land has always been with the family.\nEdgar originally started down a musical path with violin at 6 followed by guitar at 16. The 6 hours of practicing a day in order to make this career wasn’t in the cards, but music still plays a big part in his life and an image of sound board levels adorn the label of the Grünspitz. He then studied oenology at Geisenheim because of the Romanian family vineyard. As Edgar puts it, “I was born there, my family lived there, my family worked these vineyards and walked this roads and paths.” He founded Weingut Edgar Brutler in 2018 with a focus on organic farming, native grapes, old vine field blends, and making wines based on smelling, tasting, and feeling rather than numbers and analytics.\nThe village of Beltiug is in Satu Mare County in the Crișana region. This northwestern corner of Romania has a temperate continental climate, not as much Adriatic influences as Miniș in the south, but surprisingly warm for what we think of as Northern Romania. The soil is really thick loam (20-30 meters) and plantings date back as far as 1926 and as recent as last year. Edgar’s grandfather planted their original 4 hectares. The traditional grapes of the area are Fetească Regală\/Königliche Mädchentraube, Fetească Albă, Welschriesling, Mustoasa de Măderat, Furmint, Kékfrankos\/Blaufränkisch, and their signature grape of Grünspitz. He has new plantings of Baras and Juhfark in the works. There are a number of unidentifiable grapes in the older field blends as well. Farming is without herbicides, chemical-synthetic sprays and mineral fertilizers. Spacing is 1 meter so everything is labor intensive and must be done by hand.\nGiven his formal education at Geisenheim and working at larger more technical wineries, Edgar has a firm grasp of the science and the predetermined recipes needed for those kinds of wines. It’s also incredibly useful information when stripping everything away and has allowed him to open up his mind, take risks, and activate the same part of his brain that brings him joy from music. Except for his pét-nat where he measures density to ensure bottles aren’t exploding, he’s not picking, pressing or doing anything based on the numbers.\nAll wines are spontaneously fermented in a 200 year old cellar, unfiltered, and the only addition is SO2 (10-20ppm) at bottling and many are without any additions at all. He’s also adamant about the control and feedback from using a basket press. Especially for the Grünspitz where a long and high pressure pressing is essential in managing the tannins and extraction. There’s no cell phone reception or internet in the cellar. Deep and quiet.\n\nFounded: 2018\nWebsite: https:\/\/www.brutler.com\nRegion: Crișana, Transylvania\nClimate: Continental\nSoils: Clay, loam, sand\nAltitude: 125m\nTopography: Low hills\nFruits: Fetească Regală, Fetească Albă, Welschriesling, Mustoasa de Măderat, Furmint, Blaufränkisch, Grünspitz\nVineyard Size: 4 hectares\nViticulture: Organic\nFertilization: Natural\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eGrapes \u0026amp; Style\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSyrah\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eSyrah is a northern Rhône grape with a serious range, capable of making dark, structured, savory reds without needing the sheer weight of Cabernet. Its home is places like Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, Cornas, and Saint-Joseph, but it has traveled widely, especially to Australia, California, South Africa, and parts of the Mediterranean.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, Syrah tends to like warmth, but not excessive heat. In cooler sites it can be peppery, floral, and lifted; in warmer places it becomes darker, richer, and more generous. It has relatively small berries and can produce wines with deep color, good tannin, and a strong savory profile.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Syrah often shows black fruit, violet, black pepper, olive, smoke, meat, and spice. The best examples have density without feeling clumsy — dark-fruited and structured, but still aromatic and full of detail. We tend to love Syrah when it keeps that savory edge and doesn’t lose its freshness.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003ePinot Noir\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePinot Noir is one of the old noble red grapes of Burgundy, and still the variety most associated with the Côte d’Or’s ability to translate small differences in site into meaningfully different wines. It’s been known under older names like Morillon, Noirien, and Auvernat, and its history reaches back to medieval northern France. Over time, the Pinot family produced or revealed a whole set of mutations — Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Teinturier, Pinot Noir Précoce — but Pinot Noir remains the central red expression.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, it’s famously sensitive. It buds early, so spring frost can be a real issue, and it ripens early enough that warm climates can push it too fast, leaving thin-skinned berries prone to shrivel and sunburn. It prefers temperate climates, calcareous-clay soils, and careful yield control. It’s also susceptible to mildew, botrytis, virus pressure, and plenty of other vineyard headaches, which is part of why great Pinot has such a fragile, hard-won quality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Pinot Noir is rarely about sheer power. At its best, it’s relatively pale, aromatic, and finely structured, with red-fruit notes like cherry and raspberry when young, often moving toward more savory, autumnal, earthy, mushroomy, or truffle-like tones with age. The better examples are compelling because they carry delicacy without feeling thin — fruit, perfume, texture, and place all held in a lighter frame.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Danch \u0026 Granger","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48863866650875,"sku":"00077418","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/08797150b17b2699ba28d637ab1b18b6.jpg?v=1778889370"},{"product_id":"railsback-freres-counoise-alisos-canyon-santa-ynez-ca-2022","title":"Railsback Frères - Counoise - Alisos Canyon, Santa Ynez, CA - 2022","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSourced from a steep ridge in the Alisos Canyon of Santa Ynez with an incredibly diverse terroir that's loaded with limestone and fossils. Planted to original budwood from Château de Beaucastel, we got advice from other producer friends of ours in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Bandol who insisted that \"Counoise is the grape of the future\" for their Mediterranean climates. \nWe fermented in whole bunches and were super happy with the results. The floral aromatics of Counoise were a perfect marriage with the mineral-rich terroir of Alisos Canyon. After aging it for ten months in neutral French oak barriques, we bottled it without fining or filtration.\nThis juicy red has the joy and freshness we love in Cru Beaujolais, the structure and chewiness we look for in old-styled producers of the Southern Rhône, and the tightrope elegance that brought us to Santa Ynez.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eRailsback Frères began as a rosé project in 2015 by brothers Lyle and Eric Railsback, who call their rosé “Les Rascasses” (scorpion fish in French) as an homage to Lulu Peyraud. Lulu was the proprietress of Domaine Tempier in Bandol, maker of their favorite rosé in Provence. Lyle did National Sales for French importer Kermit Lynch for twelve years before leaving to focus on this Santa Ynez project. His brother Eric started Lieu Dit wines in Santa Barbara, inspired by wines of the Loire valley, and owns Verve Wine in NYC, Chicago, and San Francisco.\n“Eric approached me when he found access to some Mourvèdre, Carignan and Cinsault in Santa Ynez,” says Lyle Railsback, “and we produced our first rosé with the ‘original recipe’ of Bandol: direct-to-press, vinified and aged in old wood, and with malolactic completed. Two years later we partnered with Presqu’ile Winery in Santa Maria, where we now make the wines using only wild, native yeast fermentation. In addition to our dry rosé, we also now make small-lots of other Southern French grape varieties, including Vermentino, Carbonic Carignan (à la Maxime Magnon in Corbières), an inky red Mourvèdre, and Syrah from Bien Nacido that’s made entirely without the use of SO2.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eGrapes \u0026amp; Style\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eCounoise\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eCounoise is a southern Rhône red grape, best known as one of the permitted varieties in Châteauneuf-du-Pape but increasingly interesting on its own. It tends to bring freshness, spice, and aromatic lift rather than density or sheer power.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, Counoise can be useful in warm regions because it holds acidity and adds a lighter, more fragrant register to blends. As a varietal wine, it often works best when the winemaking preserves its brightness rather than trying to force too much extraction.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Counoise often shows red cherry, raspberry, cranberry, pepper, herbs, and a lightly savory, earthy edge. It’s usually medium-bodied or lighter, with lively acidity and gentle tannin, making it one of the more drinkable and quietly charming Rhône grapes.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49105604247803,"sku":"00077647","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/4c2de602540f8e87e653548cdd036600.jpg?v=1785030892"},{"product_id":"special-projects-sun-stone-pinot-noir-willamette-valley-or-2025","title":"Special Projects - 'Sun \u0026 Stone' - Pinot Noir - Willamette Valley, OR - 2025","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eWINE MAKER: Dan Rinke\nVINTAGE: 2025\nLOCATION: McMinnville, Willamette Valley\nVINEYARD: Morning Mist\nASPECT: Gentle hills\nALTITUDE: 700 feet\nVINE AGE: 2012\nSOIL COMPOSITION: Mixed volcanic\nCLIMATE: Mediterranean, cold winters\nFARMING: Organic \/ biodynamic\nGRAPE COMPOSITION: Pinot Noir\nHARVEST: By hand, 3rd week of September\nMACERATION: 5 days, 10% whole cluster\nFERMENTATION: Fast, hot and in tank\nAGING: Tank\nFINING \u0026amp; FILTRATION: None\nSO2: 15 ppm\nALCOHOL: 13%\nBOTTLED: 2\/24\/2026\nBOTTLES PRODUCED: 1,100\nSun and Stone is a low-extract, barely red Pinot Noir: 80% direct press, 20% whole cluster, fast fermentation, short maceration, pressed, settled and bottled.\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBlack Lamb Imports\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCultural exchange is the essence of Black Lamb, more than alcohol, culture is what we deal in. This makes the ‘laundromat shakedown’ style tariffs an especially hot pile of shit; and then there is how they spend our extorted monies. We can take some small relief in that history is on the side of wine. Nations are young, wine culture is old. Any border where there is viticultural history establishes that the culture of wine came before the border. The adaptive abilities of those who tend the vine are the source of wine’s persistence. So, we too can adapt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn November of 24’, we visited Dan Rinke and his partner Kim Hamblin at Art + Science to drink a little cider, and such, and to see the many foraged fruits collected in their cooler that would soon be crushed. Dan shared some wines that were not part of their production. He explained they were made from unsold fruit destined to be sold to a distillery to recoup some of the vineyard costs. We tasted Pinot Noir, Grüner Veltliner, and Zweigelt. Each wine was a feather, super light and gentle, as light wine is better for distillation. We liked the lot so much that we made plans to bottle a mixed barrel for our own drinking. During a subsequent visit we were playing around with the various components and Ryšák appeared. Combine this with our fear of unpredictable tariff costs and the 1 barrel became 8 barrels.Tomorrow we bottle and quickly it will be available.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBorn of angst, a fledgling love of North West wine, and a compulsion towards cultural play, meet THUNDER EGG! This is the first bottling from SPECIAL PROJECTS; a collaboration between Oregon’s finest fruit, Black Lamb, and Dan Rinke (Art + Science). A thunderegg (or thunder egg) is a nodule-like rock, similar to a filled geode, that is formed within rhyolitic volcanic ash layers. It is the state rock of Oregon, representative of the region’s volcanic geology and now the inaugural SPECIAL PROJECT.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn addition to sourcing grapes from them, A university trained viticulturalist and expert in conscientious farming, Dan works with both vineyards as an organic\/biodynamic viticultural consultant. This puts him in contact with growers who may have fruit for us to utilize for future SPECIAL PROJECTS.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe are grateful to be working with Dan and Kim on this project. We hope to continue as long as we can serve as an outlet to such high quality underutilized fruit. Perhaps in time the circumstances we are collectively suffering under will change and we will be a more diverse enterprise for it. We hope…\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eGrapes \u0026amp; Style\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003ePinot Noir\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePinot Noir is one of the old noble red grapes of Burgundy, and still the variety most associated with the Côte d’Or’s ability to translate small differences in site into meaningfully different wines. It’s been known under older names like Morillon, Noirien, and Auvernat, and its history reaches back to medieval northern France. Over time, the Pinot family produced or revealed a whole set of mutations — Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Teinturier, Pinot Noir Précoce — but Pinot Noir remains the central red expression.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, it’s famously sensitive. It buds early, so spring frost can be a real issue, and it ripens early enough that warm climates can push it too fast, leaving thin-skinned berries prone to shrivel and sunburn. It prefers temperate climates, calcareous-clay soils, and careful yield control. It’s also susceptible to mildew, botrytis, virus pressure, and plenty of other vineyard headaches, which is part of why great Pinot has such a fragile, hard-won quality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Pinot Noir is rarely about sheer power. At its best, it’s relatively pale, aromatic, and finely structured, with red-fruit notes like cherry and raspberry when young, often moving toward more savory, autumnal, earthy, mushroomy, or truffle-like tones with age. The better examples are compelling because they carry delicacy without feeling thin — fruit, perfume, texture, and place all held in a lighter frame.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49120367411451,"sku":"00077870","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/747d4b84328370d724d2845764433c14.jpg?v=1785524981"},{"product_id":"special-projects-thunder-egg-red-white-blend-willamette-valley-eola-amity-hills-willamette-valley-or-2025","title":"Special Projects - 'Thunder Egg' - Red \u0026 White Blend - Willamette Valley - Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, OR - 2025","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eWINE MAKER: Dan Rinke\nVINTAGE: 2025\nLOCATION: Willamette Valley\nVINEYARD: Eola-Amity\nASPECT: Gentle hills\nALTITUDE: 500 feet\nVINE AGE: 2010\nSOIL COMPOSITION: Rocky marine sediment, sandstone and shale interspersed with ancient oyster shells\nCLIMATE: Mediterranean, cold winters\nFARMING: Certified biodynamic\nGRAPE COMPOSITION: Pinot Gris with 5% Pinot Noir from Morning Mist\nHARVEST: By hand, 3rd week of September\nMACERATION: 6 weeks skin contact; combination of press juice, destemmed and whole-cluster fruit\nFERMENTATION: Fast and hot with lots of oxygen; free-run juice after fermentation into used barrique\nAGING: 3 months in used barrique\nFINING \u0026amp; FILTRATION: None\nSO2: 15 ppm\nALCOHOL: 11.8%\nBOTTLED: 2\/24\/2026\nBOTTLES PRODUCED: 700\nAn Oregonian Ryšák: reddish, convivial, temperature-flexible, fruity, savory and modest in alcohol.\n\n- Black Lamb Imports\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eCultural exchange is the essence of Black Lamb, more than alcohol, culture is what we deal in. This makes the ‘laundromat shakedown’ style tariffs an especially hot pile of shit; and then there is how they spend our extorted monies. We can take some small relief in that history is on the side of wine. Nations are young, wine culture is old. Any border where there is viticultural history establishes that the culture of wine came before the border. The adaptive abilities of those who tend the vine are the source of wine’s persistence. So, we too can adapt.\n\nIn November of 24’, we visited Dan Rinke and his partner Kim Hamblin at Art + Science to drink a little cider, and such, and to see the many foraged fruits collected in their cooler that would soon be crushed. Dan shared some wines that were not part of their production. He explained they were made from unsold fruit destined to be sold to a distillery to recoup some of the vineyard costs. We tasted Pinot Noir, Grüner Veltliner, and Zweigelt. Each wine was a feather, super light and gentle, as light wine is better for distillation. We liked the lot so much that we made plans to bottle a mixed barrel for our own drinking. During a subsequent visit we were playing around with the various components and Ryšák appeared. Combine this with our fear of unpredictable tariff costs and the 1 barrel became 8 barrels.Tomorrow we bottle and quickly it will be available.\n\nBorn of angst, a fledgling love of North West wine, and a compulsion towards cultural play, meet THUNDER EGG! This is the first bottling from SPECIAL PROJECTS; a collaboration between Oregon’s finest fruit, Black Lamb, and Dan Rinke (Art + Science). A thunderegg (or thunder egg) is a nodule-like rock, similar to a filled geode, that is formed within rhyolitic volcanic ash layers. It is the state rock of Oregon, representative of the region’s volcanic geology and now the inaugural SPECIAL PROJECT.\n\nIn addition to sourcing grapes from them, A university trained viticulturalist and expert in conscientious farming, Dan works with both vineyards as an organic\/biodynamic viticultural consultant. This puts him in contact with growers who may have fruit for us to utilize for future SPECIAL PROJECTS.\n\nWe are grateful to be working with Dan and Kim on this project. We hope to continue as long as we can serve as an outlet to such high quality underutilized fruit. Perhaps in time the circumstances we are collectively suffering under will change and we will be a more diverse enterprise for it. We hope…\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Black Lamb Wine","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49120367542523,"sku":"00077871","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/c7c9feb5b4360a5d3c829dec4261a8b5.jpg?v=1785524986"},{"product_id":"bobinet-piak-rouge-grolleau-cabernet-franc-loire-valley-fr-2025","title":"Bobinet - 'Piak! Rouge' - Grolleau, Cabernet Franc - Loire Valley, FR - 2025","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNotes from the Winery\/Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eMade from Grolleau with a light touch, Piak! Rouge is all juicy red fruit and lively energy. Its beautiful garnet color leads to a generous, easygoing palate that feels like biting into a basket of freshly picked red berries.\n\nYouthful, comforting, and seriously drinkable—pure pleasure in a glass.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes on the Producer\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe domaine is situated outside Saumur, in the village of Beaulieu. Most of the vines are within walking distance of the cellar, on the slopes of Saumur (in the Hauts de Dampierre), some are a little further, between Dampierre and Souzay.\n\nThe terroir in Saumur is distinguished by the ubiquitous tuffeau, the soft, white limestone rock that was used to build the famous castles of the Loire Valley. The tuffeau’s distinctive characteristic is its ability to restore the water reserves to the vines’ roots, which are able to dig deep down due to the softness of the stone. As limestone has a basic PH, wines from vines anchored in this type of soil are characterised by a wonderful acidity.\n\nBut terroir isn’t only about soil. The topography, the climate and the cultural practices of the winemaker are also factors which form the identity of the terroir.\nThe landscape in Saumur is characterised by the Loire, the great and wild river overlooked by our plots on the slopes. The region is green and lush, many forests and groves having been preserved. Our vineyards aren’t lost in a sea of endless vines. As a result, the ecosystem is abundant and very diversified.\n\nWe have a temperate, mainly oceanic climate, sunny and not too rainy except in exceptional cases (2012 and 2013).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eGrapes \u0026amp; Style\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eGrolleau\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eGrolleau is an old Loire red grape, most closely associated with Anjou and Touraine. For a long time it was treated more as a workhorse for pale, easy rosé than as a grape worth taking seriously, but that reputation has changed as more growers have started farming it carefully and bottling it on its own.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, Grolleau can be productive, so the better wines usually come from restrained yields and thoughtful handling. It tends to make naturally lighter-colored wines with fresh acidity and moderate alcohol, which makes it especially useful for the kind of Loire reds that feel bright, crunchy, and immediate rather than heavy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Grolleau often shows red cherry, raspberry, cranberry, black tea, pepper, and a little earthy or herbal edge. The best examples are light but not simple: juicy, savory, refreshing, and quietly distinctive.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eCabernet Franc\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eCabernet Franc is an old Bordeaux and Loire red grape, and one of the parents of Cabernet Sauvignon. In Bordeaux it’s often part of a blend, bringing lift, perfume, and freshness; in the Loire, especially Chinon, Bourgueil, Saumur-Champigny, and Anjou, it stands on its own as one of the great medium-bodied red wines of France.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, Cabernet Franc ripens earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon, which helps it succeed in cooler regions. It still needs enough warmth to avoid hard green flavors, but when farmed well it can keep freshness while developing real aromatic complexity. It often works beautifully on limestone, gravel, and sandy soils, with style shifting depending on site.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the glass, Cabernet Franc usually sits in a lovely middle zone: red and black fruit, fresh herbs, violet, graphite, pepper, and sometimes a subtle leafy edge. It can be light and crunchy or deeper and more structured, but it rarely needs heaviness to make its point. We like it for the way it combines freshness, savory detail, and quiet confidence.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Percy Selections","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49159692648699,"sku":"00077895","price":31.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/files\/l6mW8feFDU2oHVB3kyqriNcGVihN_vuJM5aASHV8rUI.jpg?v=1786652279"}],"url":"https:\/\/satellitesb.com\/collections\/chilly-reds.oembed?page=2","provider":"Satellite SB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}