{"title":"White","description":"\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\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\" 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 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":"dinamo-nucleo-2-trebbiano-umbria-it-2019-1000ml","title":"Dinamo - 'Nucleo 2' - Trebbiano - Umbria, IT - 2019 - 1000ml","description":"Nucleo 2 Bianco (Liters)\n100% Trebbiano (Toscano) direct press. Spontaneous fermentation, aged in stainless steel. No added sulfur and no filtering or fining.\n\n---\nThe “Dinamo” project is an exciting nod to the historic peasant wines of Umbria, in a collaboration between Danilo Nofrini with his children Rachele and Simone, and Danilo Marcucci. After more than 40 years of making wine, Danilo Marcucci wanted to embrace the kind of wines that he used to make as a child with his grandfather. Together, in the highest vineyards around Lake Trasimeno, the Nofrinis and Marcucci have succeeded in creating an agricultural program that aims at wines that are pure and natural, with high nutritional and energy values that go beyond fashions, trends and judgements. Wines born of the land, and of a simple story from the humble and reserved people of the Umbrian countryside. \n\n“I made the first wine with my grandfather. My snack was homemade bread dipped in wine and a little sugar. It was 1976 and the wine was natural and still had a high daily food value and was an important source of energy for everyone, especially those who had to face the heavy days of farm work .... the body and then the mind. An inspiring idea to jump back to rediscover my origins thanks to the strength of all that I have built up to now in natural wine \"\n\\- D.M\n\nDinamo “energy” wines are inspired by the work of Antonio Pacinotti, an Italian physicist who invented the Dinamo (or “Dynamo”) in 1860, a direct-current generator using a simple mechanism, or as Danilo says - “a living, renewable, pure and clean energy”. These wines transparently express the clay and calcium-rich alluvial soils of Lake Trasimeno, and many of them celebrating the local red grape, Gamay del Trasimeno (a historic mis-named variety of Grenache). \n","brand":"Satellite","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36423067304097,"sku":"00071352","price":33.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/APC_0052.jpg?v=1601096905"},{"product_id":"broc-cellars-love-white-white-blend-love-ranch-madera-county-ca-2020","title":"Broc Cellars - 'Love White' - White Blend - Love Ranch, Madera County, CA - 2019","description":"\u003cp\u003eVARIETIES : **46% Marsanne | 38% Grenache Blanc | 8% Rousanne | 8% Picpoul\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLOCATION : **Madera\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVINEYARD : **Love Ranch\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e**ALCOHOL : **11.5%\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e**TOTAL PRODUCTION : **1121 cases**\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e ** **WINEMAKER’S NOTES : **The grapes were harvested in August to help preserve their natural acidity. All varieties were fermented separately then aged in neutral French oak barrels with no S02.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBottled in January. Malolactic fermentation was allowed to happen naturally. In 2018 we added Picpoul to the Love White blend – adding more brightness. The Picpoul grapes come from vines that we grafted onto Roussanne vines at Love Ranch a few years ago.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe cuttings came from Rorick Vineyard. This wine is unfiltered and will contain some sediment. **VITICULTURAL AREA: **Love Ranch is farmed by our friend Oscar Ramos. The vineyard is located 35 miles south of Yosemite National Park in Madera. At 1300 feet in elevation, it is not your normal Central Valley vineyard. The soils are made up of granitic schist. We keep a large amount of leaves on the vines to protect against the heat. The crop is slightly larger to disperse much of the sun’s energy and prevent the sugars from spiking, helping maintain the alcohol below 13%. Love Ranch is CCOF. _At Broc Cellars, all of our wines are made using spontaneous fermentation, a process that means we only use native yeasts and bacteria that exist on the grapes in order to make wine. We don’t add anything – this includes nutrients, yeast, bacteria, enzymes, tannins or other popular fermentation agents. Sulphur is a naturally occurring element in all wine, the amount found can vary. We add little to no S02, depending on the wine and style._\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":37971179012292,"sku":"00071881","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/APC_0937-hdr_c8402e53-6bee-4fd9-8449-dbf91ba1d640.jpg?v=1611864170"},{"product_id":"j-mourat-ovni-chardonnay-sauvignon-blanc-fief-vendeens-loire-valley-fr-2019","title":"J Mourat - 'OVNI' - Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc - Fief Vendéens, Loire Valley, FR - 2019","description":"A range of wines of extraordinary vintage, which stands out from the typical Fiefs Vendéens wine. Incredibly fruity wines which are easy to drink as an aperitif.\nTerroir\nSchist, rhyolite and clay soil\nGrape varieties\n80% Sauvignon\n20% Chardonnay\nAverage age of vines\n15 years\n","brand":"Satellite","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39337122824388,"sku":"00071983","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/APC_0066.jpg?v=1615332371"},{"product_id":"kox-l-r-riesling-mosel-lu-2018-1000ml","title":"Kox - 'L\u0026R' - Riesling - Mosel, LU - 2018 - 1000ml","description":"This Luxembougoise (is that how you say it?) Riesling is lights out... and big. A killer deal and a killer wine with incredible family history behind it. You may have tried their Elbling with us in the past, it's great too... but you want this Riesling right meow.\n---\n**_The winery was founded in 1977 by Laurent and Rita Kox, when they took over the family’s business in order to transform it from a grape cultivating to a wine making domain. Today, the family has expanded the winery to 10 hectares and produces typical and atypical Mosel wines. Short macerations and low to no added sulphites for light and fresh Mosel wines._**\n\n","brand":"Satellite","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40141668942020,"sku":"00072374","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/APC_2143-hdr.jpg?v=1626310553"},{"product_id":"reale-aliseo-biancolella-biancazita-pepella-tramonti-costa-damalfi-campania-it-2020","title":"Reale - 'Aliseo' - Biancolella, Biancazita, Pepella - Tramonti - Costa d'Amalfi, Campania, IT - 2019","description":"Named after the wind that brings good weather, the ‘Aliseo’ is made of 50% Biancolella, 40% Biancazita (said to be a type of Falanghina), and 10% Pepella. The grapes come from very old vines, planted on their own roots\\* between 70 and 120 years ago; yields are very low. The wine is fermented and aged in stainless steel to allow the best expression of the fruit, with no malolactic fermentation. Aromas and flavors include flowers, lemon-peel, herbs (including tarragon), and wet stones; the mouthwatering fresh acidity gives a very long finish. This is one of the best southern Italian white wines I have drunk, and there is stiff competition these days. 200 cases produced.\n---\nMany of the most interesting wines grown in Italy come from regions that were unknown (or very underestimated) just a few years ago. Campania is now established as an excellent source of distinctive, forceful red and white wines from native grape varieties, but even in Campania there are growing areas that seem to come out of nowhere; one such surprise is the Amalfi Coast. I had associated the area mainly with Limoncello and honeymooners, but after tasting with some small producers from the region it became clear to me how interesting these wines can be. \nLuigi Reale runs his family's inn and restaurant in the village of Tramonti, on the hills above the Amalfi Coast. Almost as a hobby he also makes about 1,000 cases of wine each year, all from varieties indigenous to Campania and indeed to this area specifically. We import two of these wines, the ‘Aliseo’ white and the ‘Cardomone’ red. Both are cleanly made, individual and delicious. Luigi's vines are between 70 and 120 years old, which is to say pre-Phylloxera; they are ungrafted\\*.\n\\* Most grapevines anywhere in the world have to be grafted onto the roots of American rootstocks, because of the spread of an American root-louse with the imposing name of Phylloxera Vastatrix (the American vine-roots are not affected by the insect). 'Own-rooted' or ungrafted vines are those which have been planted on their own roots because the soil does not support the Phylloxera insect. These soils, mostly consisting of sand or slate, are rare, and whole vineyards of ungrafted vines are extremely rare.  The volcanic soils of southern Italy and Sicily support more ungrafted vines than any other wine-growing area I have visited, but it's still very unusual. Most of these vines at Reale pre-date the arrival of phylloxera in this area. \n","brand":"Satellite","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40148821868740,"sku":"00072387","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/APC_2089-hdr_66ee5737-eb8e-4565-a66d-0c29292320ef.jpg?v=1626392394"},{"product_id":"carter-paul-hamish-marshall-vineyard-albarino-edna-valley-ca-2019","title":"Carter Paul - 'Hamish Marshall Vineyard' - Albariño - Edna Valley, CA - 2019","description":"2019 Albariño \n -Hamish Marshall Vineyard, Edna Valley\n-Native ferment \n-Neutral barrel ferment and aged for 10 months \n-10ppm free SO2 at bottling \n\n“Five miles from the Pacific Ocean, Hamish Marshall Vineyard is located in the center of Edna Valley's rolling hills and surrounded by ancient volcanic peaks known as morros.\nOur Albariño is grown in a sheltered spot on the ranch where cool air pools, resulting in day time highs approximately 5-10F cooler than other areas in the Edna Valley.”\n---\nShoutout to Carter and Sami! “WE LOVE YOU”! 100% Handmade and designed in Super small batches with more Love per bottle, giving each bottle it's own Special personality and Experience to Share with the Fun Loving people of this Universe. You will get hooked on this wine as it will Inspire a deep Connection between one another and the earth's Bliss. A Harmonious Balance of all the Goodness to Celebrate in life. Produced and bottled in the Funk Zone of Santa Barbara, California.\n","brand":"Satellite","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40574113677508,"sku":"00072501","price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/2021-09-0809.30.45.jpg?v=1631119610"},{"product_id":"leo-steen-peaberry-chenin-blanc-mendocino-ca-2020","title":"Leo Steen - 'Peaberry' - Chenin Blanc - Mendocino, CA - 2019","description":"\u003cp\u003eNotes from Leo:\u003cbr\u003eTasting Notes: This wine displays lovely aromas of dried quince, apricot with subtle notes of mint and lemon peel. The aromas are echoed on the palate, where they mingle with savory elements of almond skin and fleur de sel. While a hint of creaminess on the palate helps to balance the acidity, this is a wine that is defined by its acidity, nerve and phenolic structure. Due to this natural style of winemaking this wine will have a slightly hazy appearance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVineyard: This wine comes from a vineyard located in the Southern-eastern hills of Ukiah. Planted in the mid-1970s on a gentle slope in Pinole gravelly loam soils, the sites old Chenin Blanc vines yield tiny, beautifully concentrated berries - thus the name Peaberry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTechnical Notes:\u003cbr\u003eAlcohol: 12.0%\u003cbr\u003epH: 3.26\u003cbr\u003eTotal acid: 6.1 g\/l\u003cbr\u003eMalolactic Fermentation: 100%\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"production-300-cases\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProduction: 300 cases\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll winemakers are shaped by their experiences, and the paths that have led them to their love of the grape. My personal journey has certainly shaped my sommelier’s palate, my gentle approach to winemaking, and the restrained, food-friendly style of my wines. I was born and raised in Denmark, and as the son of a chef and hotelier, food and wine have always been a passionate part of my life. I grew up in the service industry, and started working in my father’s kitchen at the age of 12. When I was older, I earned a degree in business sales and marketing, but food and wine were in my blood, and I soon began studying at the Kolding Hotel and Restaurant School. During my four-year apprenticeship there, I was very fortunate to work alongside Orla Farmann, the national champion for the Danish Sommelier World Cup Team. Orla helped me develop my palate, and further deepened my love of wine.\u003cbr\u003eOver the next several years, my love of wine took me many places, from Alsace, Loire, Champagne and Burgundy to Spain and Italy. Those travels culminated in my certification as a European sommelier, and in 1997, I became the wine director at Kong Hans, Copenhagen’s first one-star Michelin guide restaurant. In time, my work at Kong Hans took me to California to scout out new wines for our list. I felt an immediate connection with California’s vibrant winemaking scene—both the quality of its wines and the freedom given to its winemakers.\u003cbr\u003eIn 1999, I moved to California to immerse myself in winemaking firsthand, and spent the next several years working days in wineries and nights as a sommelier. (My grape-stained fingers were part of the inspiration for the sommelier’s print.) At the same time, I complemented my practical experience by studying chemistry, viticulture and winemaking. My journey led me to Stuhlmuller Vineyards an acclaimed, family-run winery in the Alexander Valley, where I ultimately became winemaker in 2004—the same year I founded Leo Steen Wines.\u003cbr\u003eSince then, I have worked to hone my craft, always with an eye towards that place where style and vineyard authenticity naturally meet. My classically trained European palate is a part of that equation. So is my appreciation for the charm and character of great California winemaking. As a result, I have developed a gentle approach that focuses more on natural yeasts, lower alcohols and less new oak. The winemaker in me thinks about the vineyards I am privileged to work with, and what I love about them. While my sommelier side reminds me that great wine finds is most elegant expression served alongside good food in the company of family and friends. I hope you find both sides of this philosophy realized in my wines.\u003cbr\u003eLeo Hansen\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40683315855556,"sku":"00072579","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/d0576923a7aba4136a7cba444ca51666.jpg?v=1632516440"},{"product_id":"las-jaras-waves-white-wine-mendocino-ca-2020-375ml-2","title":"Las Jaras - 'Waves' White Wine - Mendocino, CA - 2020 - 375ml","description":"\u003cp\u003e2020 marks our second vintage of the Waves white wine. Our goal is to make a canned wine that is bursting with personality and deliciousness. This is a lightly sparkling white wine that is incredibly classy — we are so happy with it. Old vine French colombard, with its light fruitiness, takes us to our happy place. The flavors of this variety on its own are round, with melon and marshmallow notes, but by adding barbera and a touch of chenin blanc, we were able to give the wine more definition and minerality on the palate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-2020-waves-white-has-aromas-of-white-peach-honeydew-melon-and-grapefruit-along-with-hints-of-wet-stone-the-palate-shows-melon-grapefruit-and-a-gentle-sparkle-and-racy-acidity-this-is-the-grown-up-version-of-squirt-the-iconic-soft-drink-we-enjoyed-on-hot-summer-days-as-kids-\"\u003eThe 2020 Waves White has aromas of white peach, honeydew melon, and grapefruit along with hints of wet stone. The palate shows melon, grapefruit, and a gentle sparkle and racy acidity. This is the grown-up version of Squirt, the iconic soft drink we enjoyed on hot summer days as kids.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRicetti Vineyard French Colombard: 94% dry farmed, certified organic\u003cbr\u003eTesta Vineyard Barbera: 25% certified organic\u003cbr\u003eNorgard Vineyard Chenin Blanc: 15% conventional certified sustainable (soon organic)\u003cbr\u003eThe Ricetti vineyard is in Redwood Valley, just north of Ukiah, with vines planted in the 1950s. The barbera comes from Testa’s vineyard in Redwood Valley. Norgard Vineyard is in Talmage, just east of the town of Ukiah, and the chenin blanc vines were planted in 1980.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"french-colombard-and-barbera-are-both-late-ripening-varieties-but-we-picked-them-pretty-early-the-barbera-a-red-grape-variety-was-quite-heavily-cropped-so-it-had-this-screaming-high-acidity-and-very-little-color-although-we-originally-selected-the-variety-for-our-rosato-we-also-thought-it-would-be-perfect-for-the-waves-white-because-it-was-so-linear-and-cut-like-a-laser-we-separated-the-juice-into-light-and-hard-press-fractions-which-each-saw-a-10ppm-sulfur-addition-after-settling-for-a-day-we-racked-each-fraction-to-a-new-tank-for-fermentation-the-wines-started-fermenting-naturally-after-about-five-days-and-we-transferred-to-a-number-of-non-stainless-steel-vessels-large-format-oak-concrete-eggs-and-sandstone-amphora-we-aged-the-individual-wines-on-their-lees-for-five-months-at-which-point-we-racked-and-blended-the-wines-and-added-some-chenin-blanc-to-bring-up-the-minerality-the-wine-was-not-fined-but-we-decided-to-filter-it-because-when-you-are-drinking-wine-out-of-a-can-you-want-that-last-sip-to-be-as-good-as-the-first-\"\u003eFrench colombard and barbera are both late-ripening varieties, but we picked them pretty early. The barbera (a red grape variety) was quite heavily cropped, so it had this screaming high acidity and very little color. Although we originally selected the variety for our Rosato, we also thought it would be perfect for the Waves white because it was so linear and cut like a laser. We separated the juice into light and hard press fractions which each saw a 10ppm sulfur addition. After settling for a day, we racked each fraction to a new tank for fermentation. The wines started fermenting naturally after about five days and we transferred to a number of non-stainless steel vessels: large- format oak, concrete eggs and sandstone amphora. We aged the individual wines on their lees for five months, at which point we racked and blended the wines and added some chenin blanc to bring up the minerality. The wine was not fined, but we decided to filter it because when you are drinking wine out of a can, you want that last sip to be as good as the first.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt Las Jaras, our goal is to make delicious wine that has tons of energy and balance. We want them to be vibrant, delicate, and supple all at the same time while also being food friendly and easy for anyone to enjoy. Our wines are intended to reflect the unique terroir of the vineyards using minimal intervention so you can taste their natural, rhythmic expression. If you are not used to drinking wines made this way, the experience can be a revelation.\u003cbr\u003eOur lighter wines can elevate your daily experiences. Bring the elegant bubbles of our Sparkling Wine to your best friends engagement party. Nestle the Rosé into your backpack for a trip to the park to watch an epic sunset. Pair the chilled Glou Glou with a margherita pizza to make takeout tastier.\u003cbr\u003eOur medium bodied reds pair with deep savory meals and create thought provoking moments. A holiday dinner includes a conversation about Carignan. The Cabernet Sauvignon is brought to your favorite restaurant to share a taste with your server. “Does this remind you of 70’s Napa?” And our Sweet Berry Wine demands explanation, inspires stories, and creates joy. For your Wine!\u003cbr\u003eWe are very excited to share our wines with you—there are more to come!\u003cbr\u003eCheers, Joel \u0026amp; Eric\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40776538259652,"sku":"00072849","price":13.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/8b02831ca0fa0250f9398847194fc580.jpg?v=1634154362"},{"product_id":"bengoetxe-hondarribi-zuri-getariako-txakolina-basque-country-es-2020","title":"Bengoetxe - Hondarribi Zuri - Getariako Txakolina, Basque Country, ES - 2019","description":"\u003cp\u003e95% Hondarribi Zuri and 5% Gros Manseng,** **from a single certified organic 3.5 ha vineyard planted on a moderately steep slope of mostly clay, located in the highlands of the province of Gipuzkoa, this is fermented with wild yeasts in small 3,000 liter steel vats, and raised on the lees for up to one year. It is bottled unfiltered and unfined. All CO2 is natural. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"it-shows-lush-lemony-fruit-notes-of-grains-smoke-petrol-and-chamomile-bengoetxe-is-the-rare-txakoli-that-only-gets-better-with-age-but-why-wait-\"\u003eIt shows lush lemony fruit, notes of grains, smoke, petrol, and chamomile. Bengoetxe is the rare Txakoli that only gets better with age...but why wait!\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDistinctive wines, wines that speak of their \u003cem\u003eterruño\u003c\/em\u003e, come from lovingly tended and organically farmed grapes. It is this nurturing philosophy, rare in the Basque Country, a region dominated by industrial farming and winemaking, which drives Iñaki and Rosa Maria Etxeberria to produce Bengoetxe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe first met Iñaki and Rosa Maria after they released the 2009 vintage, a wine that floored us for its stone fruit, beeswax, and mineral depth. Was this Riesling? Chenin? Basque wine?  How did this wine have such lovely intensity without oak or obvious tricks? From Getaria, really?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt turns out that the Etxeberria’s \u003cem\u003ebaserria\u003c\/em\u003e has a long history and unique \u003cem\u003eterruño\u003c\/em\u003e to go along with the single wine they produce. Perched high up on a clay slope, their ancient farmhouse has been_ \u003cem\u003ehanded down to the family for generations. The locals have long affectionately nicknamed it, _Bengoetxe\u003c\/em\u003e, which means ‘come home’ in Basque. After both phylloxera and civil war hit their area, the vineyards were ripped out. It was only in 2001 when the Etxeberria’s replanted their land with the native Hondarribi Zuri and Gros Manseng, called _Iskirita Zuri Handia _(say that 5 times!) in Basque. Organic from the beginning, certification came in 2007, the first producer in the Basque Country to do so.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the few producers in the D.O. that's not located right next to the coast, and in or directly near the town of Getaria. Using historic evidence of pre-phylloxera plantings that vineyards were inland, Olaberria, Iñaki fought for years to be included in the D.O. Finally he persuaded the Consejo Regulador- the governing body that controls membership, winegrowing, and winemaking rules for Getariako Txakolina- to grant them D.O status in 2008.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBengoetxe's terruño gives a different face to Txakoli. Their village Olaberria is a little warmer, especially in the summer, and the soils more clay dominated than their coastal neighbor's. Their grapes are riper, sturdier grapes. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThankfully, the Etxeberria's do not intend to make a copy-cat Txakolina. Classic and slow wild yeast fermentation takes place in small 3.000 \u003cem\u003elitros\u003c\/em\u003e vats, located in their home garage, then the wine is raised on the lees up to a year with no \u003cem\u003ebatonnage\u003c\/em\u003e. SO2 levels are kept to a minimum and because all CO2 “is natural” (not injected) the wine does not often show the spritzy character of other Txakolis from Getaria.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a \"Real\" Basque Country wine to pair with Serrano ham, sheep’s cheeses, poultry as well as fresh seafood. We can’t help but feel like this was how the Txakolis of the past tasted before comercial yeast, chemicals and heavy filtration took hold of the region. With Bengoetxe, we feel we have unearthed an authenthic and treasured puzzle piece of Basque winegrowing history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42252228755707,"sku":"00072997","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/c0ffd01c62edb683cc88a16ec0354b5d.jpg?v=1638406457"},{"product_id":"denizot-sauvignon-blanc-sancerre-loire-valley-fr-2020","title":"Denizot - Sauvignon Blanc - Sancerre, Loire Valley, FR - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe entry to the Denizot range is collected from organically farmed vineyards in the villages of Amigny, Chavignol, Sancerre and Verdigny. All grown on limestone soils (caillotes), vines are planted fairly dense at 7,500 vines per hecatare, providing significant nutrients for each vines’ health. Even as a cuvée of terroirs the character of this Sancerre is marked significantly by its limestone soil supported by elegant white fruit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVariety: Sauvignon Blanc\u003cbr\u003eCountry: France\u003cbr\u003eRegion: Loire\u003cbr\u003eAppellation: Sancerre\u003cbr\u003eSoil: Limestone\u003cbr\u003eFarming Practice: Practicing Organic\u003cbr\u003eVinification: 70% stainless steel, 30% concrete\u003cbr\u003eElevage: 10 months stainless \u0026amp; concrete\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere is not only one Sancerre, but thousands.” — Thibauld Denizot\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf your frame of reference for Sancerre is shrill simplicity, the wines of Thibauld and Jennifer Denizot will add measurable depth and dimension to your perspective. These young \u003cem\u003evignerons\u003c\/em\u003e are the 8th generation of their family to work a mosaic of exceptional terroirs. They are intent on showcasing their mythical \u003cem\u003elieux-dits _through attentive farming and deliberate cellar work —especially through intricately composed cuvees. Blending is the hidden art of Sancerre, one at which Thibauld excels. The taut, energetic profile of the Denizot wines reaches its apogee in the Côte de l’épée, a precipitous limestone slope that yields sauvignon blanc at its most chiseled and crystalline, and Les Bouffants, a sun-drenched site on\u003cbr\u003egr\u003c\/em\u003eiottes_\u003cbr\u003e and limestone that gives wines of pronounced structure and depth. The Denizots also make an elegant Sancerre Rouge that pays tribute to a less-known aspect of the region’s past. “There is not only one Sancerre, but thousands,” says Thibauld, inviting us to follow a natural curiosity to better understand the region’s surprising facets.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eD\u003cstrong\u003eomaine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe oldest notarial writings and deeds found in the domaine’s archives date to the 18th century, passed down from generation to generation, always kept within the family. “Our ancestors knew Sancerre planted mainly to pinot noir,” explains Thibauld. “But then came phylloxera and they participated in the revival of the vineyards by planting mainly sauvignon blanc, keeping a few plots of pinot noir. It is this story we inherited, on magnificent terroirs.” The estate started quite small. Successively, Victor, Joseph, Jean, then Christian and Chantal Denizot acquired and exchanged plots that today total 18.5 hectares. Thibauld joined his parents at the domaine in 2005, after completing his studies. His first challenge was to work in the vineyards themselves, carrying out what he refers to as “precise gestures.” He then began to assist his father, Christian, in the cellar, gradually acquiring a feel for achieving complexity and finesse, particularly through blending. In 2014, he took over from Christian completely. Since that time, Thibauld and Jennifer have continually refined their understanding of terroir and expression, making them standouts of their generation in the region.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSancerre\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSancerre is nestled in the hilly Upper Loire, covering 14 municipalities, and locals know the wines by the character of their individual communes. The Denizots have holdings in the village of Sancerre itself as well as neighboring Amigny, where the family has its roots, Chavignol, and Verdigny. Writings attest to wine cultivation here dating to 582. Thibauld asserts that the notion of \u003cem\u003eclimat\u003c\/em\u003e, so famously applied in Burgundy, was already in use in Sancerre in 1482. Father Poupart, in his history of the region, wrote in 1777: “There is perhaps no more cut and differentiated terroir than that of the Sancerrois mountains. The ravines, which are multiplied there, offer different veins of earth everywhere.” Phylloxera compelled growers to leave behind mixed varieties, especially pinot noir, and shift to sauvignon blanc. This was in recognition of its perfect suitability for the myriad configurations of well-drained, limestone-based soils on variously exposed and elevated slopes (some 200 to 400 meters, or 650 to 1300 feet above sea level). Sancerre whites were granted one of the earliest AOCs, in 1936.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThibauld describes the geology of Sancerre “as an island of tormented relief, bordered by the Loire to the east and dominated by the Piton de Sancerre. Hard to imagine that the sea once covered all of it, leaving behind many invertebrates, especially ammonites. Layers of very distant times overlap, or even rub shoulders at the same level. In places, entire geological stages disappear. Other layers overlap, causing new heights to emerge, forming the many hills of Sancerrois.” Herein lies what he regards as “the secret of this land”: depending on where you set foot, sometimes just a few meters apart, soil and bedrock are neither the same age nor the same nature. Thus, vine roots cross layers of rock with very different characteristics, the oldest of which would have been inaccessible without what Thibauld calls “the original geological accident” of the Sancere fault.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom west to east, soils are generally \u003cem\u003eTerres Blanches\u003c\/em\u003e, (“white earth,” or Kimmeridgian marls), \u003cem\u003ecaillottes\u003c\/em\u003e (pebbly Portlandian limestone), and clay-siliceous soils. \u003cem\u003eTerre Blanches\u003c\/em\u003e covers 40% of Sancerre’s vineyard area, mainly on the steepest slopes. Thibauld explains that “the most clayey white earths produce a complex, full-bodied, and round white Sancerre, which will open as it ages.” \u003cem\u003eCaillottes\u003c\/em\u003e account for another 40% of vineyard soils, especially in Chavignol and Verdigny. The clay-siliceous soils are the thinnest and youngest layers. They contain flint, which has the benefit of continuously heating the vines. This terroir is found at the top and on the slopes of the large hills of eastern Sancerrois.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinemaker\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor Thibauld, the desire to be a winemaker came very early. But it was only when he started his studies in Beaune that he fully understood this profession would be his great passion. At school he was fortunate to have many close friends who shared this desire and to rub shoulders with families who were already internationally known as \u003cem\u003egrand vigneron\u003c\/em\u003e. All of this inspired and pushed him not to be satisfied with the courses he was given but also to pursue what he calls his own “personal vitivinicultural studies.” Jennifer studied law in Paris and Orléans and during this time, she took a wine course in Bordeaux “out of passion for the world of wine and thinking that it could one day be useful to me,” she says. Jennifer and Thibauld have been together for 17 years now, pursuing their shared dream shaping the domaine. Thibauld says, “The winegrower’s job is one of passion, sharing, meeting, and pleasure. It is also a profession where every effort is daily and we are fortunate to be surrounded by a united and hard-working team that allows us to carry out our projects. Wine itself is a multitude of details that add up in succession. We strive to be as precise and attentive as possible, while letting nature express itself, and that each of its details allow us to make a wine in our image.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVineyards and farming\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Denizot holdings are planted 75% to sauvignon blanc and 25% to pinot noir. The vast majority of their soils are \u003cem\u003ecaillotes\u003c\/em\u003e, including their mythic single sites Bouffants and Côte de l’épée. A small percentage is \u003cem\u003eTerre Blanche\u003c\/em\u003e. Since taking over, Thibauld and Jennifer have reimagined the domaine’s approach to farming, currently converting to organics, expanding their crew to ensure even more precise, thoughtful work in the vines, and increasing the proportion of hand-harvested plots. “My philosophy,” says Thibauld, “is distinguished by respecting the plant and the soil that supports it. My team and I work every day to support the evolution of our plants in a healthy and controlled environment.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn the cellar\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThibauld maintains a respectful, judicious hand in the cellar, “in order to let the natural flavors of our grapes express themselves and thus obtain wines with a fresh, crunchy, crystalline profile and beautiful mineral tension for the whites and rosés, and fleshy elegance for our reds.” He and Jennifer have recently renovated their old concrete vat room and constructed another to house their demi-muid, cigar, and others barrel for the various cuvées. They now favor native yeast fermentation and reduced the levels of added SO2 through gentle, reductive measures and long lees aging without racking. The taut, energetic profile that results is a compelling restatement of Sancerre.\u003cbr\u003e- Schatzi Wines\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42605420970235,"sku":"00073078","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/28a98decdc8ec82c1738265dcbd09163.jpg?v=1643216989"},{"product_id":"piazza-mount-carmel-chardonnay-santa-rita-hills-ca-2020","title":"Piazza - 'Mount Carmel' - Chardonnay - Santa Rita Hills, CA - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eFirst ever release of Chardonnay for Piazza Family Wines. Bright and elegant this wine is full of lemon curd, gardenia, beeswax with a palate of fresh yellow apples, racy acid that highlights the minerality and long lingering finish.\u003cbr\u003eThe beautiful texture and slight oak influence make this wine a perfect match for rich seafoods, roasted chicken or even asian dishes with coconut milk. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChablis from California!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFoot crushed and left on skins for 24 hours prior to pressing. Native fermentation\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e11 months in 50% stainless steel, 50% neutral French oak\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"just-31-cases-produced\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eJust 31 cases produced\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFounded by Gretchen Voelcker, Luna Hart Wines is a boutique wine company specializing in small batch, handcrafted wines in the Santa Ynez Valley. Gretchen makes wines in which she explores the techniques and nuances that continue to stoke her passion for wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGretchen's passion for wine began while living in Europe with her family and during summers spent wine tasting throughout France. During those experiences she began to see the beauty in the balance of science and art that makes up winemaking. It was not until years later that the initial spark would turn into the flame that is now Luna Hart Wines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLuna Hart started with a work trade with one of Gretchen's mentors, Ryan Roark, making Sauvignon Blanc under the label of Moon Unit Wines. Those initial wines have become the foundation for Luna Hart Wines and the inspiration for all future vintages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLuna Hart wines are a representation of the grapes’ origin, vintage and variety.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the beginning Luna Hart has focused on vineyards practicing sustainable, organic or biodynamic farming throughout Santa Barbara County. Luna Hart wines are a representation of the grapes origin, vintage and variety. Gretchen believes that her wines should be a reflection of the terroir and aims to highlight the qualities and beauty in each unique vintage and site she works with.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith careful attention to the fruit in the vineyard and tasting daily throughout fermentation, Gretchen produces high quality, fruit forward wines with bright acidity and balanced by incredible structure. She focuses on producing varietal wines from her favorite grapes that spur her to learn more about winemaking and to showcase them more purely and more precisely. Gretchen never turns down the opportunity to experiment and welcomes interesting projects. \u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42614635495675,"sku":"00073091","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/ade4e10d14bae97cc00271fb48991d78.jpg?v=1643407985"},{"product_id":"luna-hart-fiddlestix-vineyard-gruner-veltliner-santa-barbara-county-ca-2020","title":"Luna Hart - 'Fiddlestix Vineyard' - Grüner Veltliner - Santa Barbara County, CA - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom Fiddlestix Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills. This wine was aged half in stainless steel and half in neutral French oak for 6 months, giving it a golden color and beautiful structure. As unfiltered and unfined, some sediment is normal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis crisp, dry wine is driven with aromatics of pink grapefruit, lemon balm and lime zest with hints of fresh ginger and beeswax.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"33-cases-produced\"\u003e33 cases produced\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFounded by Gretchen Voelcker, Luna Hart Wines is a boutique wine company specializing in small batch, handcrafted wines in the Santa Ynez Valley. Gretchen makes wines in which she explores the techniques and nuances that continue to stoke her passion for wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGretchen's passion for wine began while living in Europe with her family and during summers spent wine tasting throughout France. During those experiences she began to see the beauty in the balance of science and art that makes up winemaking. It was not until years later that the initial spark would turn into the flame that is now Luna Hart Wines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLuna Hart started with a work trade with one of Gretchen's mentors, Ryan Roark, making Sauvignon Blanc under the label of Moon Unit Wines. Those initial wines have become the foundation for Luna Hart Wines and the inspiration for all future vintages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLuna Hart wines are a representation of the grapes’ origin, vintage and variety.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the beginning Luna Hart has focused on vineyards practicing sustainable, organic or biodynamic farming throughout Santa Barbara County. Luna Hart wines are a representation of the grapes origin, vintage and variety. Gretchen believes that her wines should be a reflection of the terroir and aims to highlight the qualities and beauty in each unique vintage and site she works with.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith careful attention to the fruit in the vineyard and tasting daily throughout fermentation, Gretchen produces high quality, fruit forward wines with bright acidity and balanced by incredible structure. She focuses on producing varietal wines from her favorite grapes that spur her to learn more about winemaking and to showcase them more purely and more precisely. Gretchen never turns down the opportunity to experiment and welcomes interesting projects. \u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42614635954427,"sku":"00073090","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/d23e8a9022d30b15a01057ff1e7d40ad.jpg?v=1643408014"},{"product_id":"arribas-saroto-branco-portuguese-white-blend-tras-o-montes-pt-2020","title":"Arribas - 'Saroto Branco' - Portuguese White Blend - Tras o Montes, PT - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe 2020 growing season experienced a more rigorous and long winter and a mild summer with the exception of a few very hot days. The grapes used to make Saroto White 2020 were hand harvested into 20 Kg cases on September 8th and were foot trodden in a traditional lagar totaling three days of skin maceration. After this period, the grapes were pressed and the juice was racked into used french oak barrels. Kept in barrel for over lees for 7 months, the juice fermented naturally with indigenous yeast and without temperature control (wild fermentation) finishing both alcoholic and malolactic fermentations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"this-wine-is-unfined-and-unfiltered-and-may-present-deposit-over-time-\"\u003eThis wine is unfined and unfiltered and may present deposit over time.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the early summer of 2017, after harvests in the southern hemisphere, Ricardo Alves and Frederico Machado visited Bemposta for the first time together. They were on the Portuguese back roads in the Parque Natural das Arribas do Douro, with its wealth of ancient, indigenous and largely forgotten grapevines chaotically perched on the extreme slopes on the Douro river gorge, when they came upon the perfect location for their life project, the place to which they would commit their youth. They set out to rediscover and revitalize an ancient wine culture whose local home winegrowers have just barely kept the faint bloodline of their vinous history from extinction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMeeting of Might and Mind\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrederico Machado (pictured above on the right), a native of Braga, one of Portugal’s larger northern cities, was born in 1986. He began his university studies at the Universidade do Minho where he studied Applied Biology from 2004 to 2006. Sidetracked by an interest in Medicine, he spent some years at the Czech Republic’s Charles University, in Plzen (or Pilsen; yes, the birthplace of the pilsner-style beer). In 2010, he was drawn back to finish his Applied Biology degree, which preceded a yearlong stint in Athens, Greece, researching protein models. But the call of the wild and his curiosity in wine began to consume his interests and he returned to Portugal to finish a Master of Enology degree by 2013 at the Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), in Vila Real.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFred did his first harvest in the Douro with Dirk Niepoort in 2014; 2015\/2016 with Susana Esteban, in Alentejo; Wine by Joe, in Oregon, 2016; Mitchelton (2017) and Tahbilk (2019), both in Victoria, Australia. He worked the 2019 harvest with Tahbilk to earn more money to support Arribas Wine Company, while Ricardo maintained the spring work back in Portugal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBorn in 1992 and raised in Bragança, a small city in northern Portugal, Ricardo Alves (pictured above on the left) attended UTAD from 2010 to 2013 where he earned a degree in Agronomy with a focus on viticulture and winemaking. He continued his pursuit of a Master’s Degree in Enology to further his understanding on the technical sides of winemaking. Through the years of study, he worked harvests at different wineries in Portugal’s Douro wine region (Quinta do Couquinho, Ramos Pinto, Quinta do Crasto, and the internationally famous Niepoort winery) and in the south in the Península de Setúbal at Pegos Claros. In 2016, he worked a triple harvest between Weingut Lothar Kettern and FIO Wines, in Piesport, Germany, and prior to that in the same year, he worked a harvest with the well-known “natural wine” Burgundian domaine of Philippe Pacalet, in Beaune. Ricardo explained that his work with Pacalet had the deepest influence on his perspectives and helped to set the course for his interests in wine philosophy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Birth of Arribas Wine Company\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoth men made harvest in the southern hemisphere in 2017, with Frederic in Victoria, Australia, at Mitchelton Winery, and Ricardo in South Africa, at Saronsberg Cellar, in Tulbagh. Upon returning, they continued the discussion they started in 2016, a plan to embark on a project together that would reflect their ideas on wine. Fred explained, “My grandparents were born in Bemposta and Ricardo is from the Trás-os-Montes. After my father showed us some pictures of the old vineyards of Bemposta, with many of them abandoned, we made a visit. It was the first time I’d been back since I was a kid. We were amazed by the amount of old vineyards and the magnificent landscape. Even though it was June and the days were very hot, the nights were also surprisingly cold. This was how our quest for a spot with unique characteristics and diversity began. I’d been to Bemposta many times as a child, but the idea of returning never crossed my mind until that moment.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStarting from Scratch\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArribas Wine Company’s main winery (as of 2021) is a rustic, low-ceilinged rock and concrete building partially underground, completely jam-packed with barrels, bottles and fermentation vessels, like a can of sardines—a fitting analogy within Portugal, a country famous for conservas. Bemposta is in the middle of nowhere and feels almost post-apocalyptic. Outside of town the houses look like quickly erected structures for a nuclear test site, and many buildings in the historic village center seem to have been abandoned for many decades, possibly even since the end of the last World War. Upon arrival, if it weren’t for the large black and white sign displaying the name on their garage-sized cellar in the center of town, one might think their GPS has led them astray. In 2020 they found a new storage space to expand production, in part because of domestic demand along with their surprisingly successful export business to Japan, Scandinavia and now with us in the US.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrederico and Ricardo are at the beginning of their lifelong path to rediscover and play their part in the redefinition of this unique area of the Trás-os-Montes. When tasting unfinished wines with the duo they are able to explain what they’ve done with each of them, but are frank about how early in the process they are in understanding the vineyard material. They are starting almost completely from scratch, and there are few locals, if any, who have much to contribute regarding quality winemaking also with a broad palate and experience with international wines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe reality is that the vinous history and wisdom in this corner of Portugal is buried in local cemeteries with remnants of it preserved within the DNA of the few remaining ancient vineyards. What shreds of useful historical viticultural information that may remain was passed down from one generation of home winemakers to the next, not through commercial wineries.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMissed Opportunities\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Trás-os-Montes has extraordinary potential. Wine professionals with even a basic sense of viticultural knowledge would quickly recognize how ideal it is for certain types of high quality continental climate grape growing. From a landscape perspective, it’s perfect for high quality grape growing: rolling hills, steep hills, infertile soils, interesting geological formations, warm to hot summer days with frigid nights, and precipitation at the right times. However, progress here moves at a glacial pace.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe stifling of the region can be attributed to many factors, but perhaps the greatest of them is, and always has been, its difficult location. If there were ever a classification of off-the-grid Portuguese wine regions within the country’s continental boundaries (it has many islands, like Madeira and the Azores), Trás-os-Montes would be in the running for the number one position. It’s located in the far northeastern corner of the country and is landlocked by mountains in the north, west and south, and high plains\/desert to the east. When looking at a map, it looks like it’s not so far out there but it seems to take forever to get anywhere because of the windy country roads. It’s true that at least this arid and colorful countryside is one of the most beautiful in the Portugal, but the curves are many, so getting too caught up in the beauty around every corner while behind the wheel is not advisable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRicardo explained that records from the 1880s show just how extraordinarily expensive it was to transport wine and wine spirit for Port wine production in the Douro from Arribas (the far eastern end of the appellation) to other regions. In fact, most of the wine had to be hauled to the nearest railway station before being transported on to its final destination. Just from where they are today, in Bemposta, it was a thirty-six kilometers (around twenty-two miles) wagon haul without proper roads. Big barrels and containers of wine are burdensome and difficult to transport, and it was paramount to choose the right kind of weather to transport such things. The region produced high-volume wine for early consumption, likely fuel for the drudgery of agricultural work and a nightly escape from hard country living. It was cheap, and once that reputation is established, it’s hard to shake it—an all too familiar storyline in many great wine regions, most notably (at least in my mind) Chianti Classico, one of the world’s most undervalued wines with entry-level wines selling in stores for around $25 (as of 2021) even from the top producers in the region.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTalking Trás\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAside from the location, there are other elements that have played supporting roles in the suppression of this region’s high quality viticultural potential. Leading the way is the temptation to follow in the footsteps of the Douro’s success. This prompted many grape growers to replace local grape varieties with those that have been successful in the Douro, just to the south and southwest: grapes like Tinta Cão, Tinta Francesa, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Touriga Franca, and Touriga Nacional. There are also French varieties that have found their way here, most famously, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. This focus on what works (but from elsewhere) has not been helpful with regard to Trás-os-Montes’ identity crisis. The truth is that there is no greater time in the last half century to produce and globally market indigenous grape varieties or field blends no matter how quirky or off the rails they may seem to stalwart local (modern) traditionalists. If the Trás-os-Montes doesn’t regroup and focus on its local, historical grapes, they could again miss the boat. And with the comparisons to the Douro and wines in that style, the Trás-os-Montes will always be the bridesmaid and never the bride.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEveryone even slightly familiar with Portuguese wines probably knows Port, Vinho Verde, and a single rosé wine marketed in a sort of cognac or spirit bottle shape; I don’t want to name names, so let’s just call it M. M is produced by a big company we’ll call S. S started in the mid-1900s and at the time supplied a much-needed vision to bring Portuguese wines to the global market, which they achieved with smashing success. S was the answer in tough times, but today its thumb still presses hard on some wine regions, like the Trás-os-Montes. The contention of Arribas Wine Company is not only that S has monopolistic tendencies (and tactics), but the success of the business they created on the backs of the small grape growers in rural areas like the Trás-os-Montes has not been reinvested in the region. And they believe that it’s their business model that is largely responsible for creating a grape market in the Trás-os-Montes that excluded local grape varieties in favor of those from the Douro. Bulk wine companies like S economically incentivize growers to abandon their local vinous history and perpetuate the cycle of selling off their heritage just to get their ends met. And who can blame them? The Trás-os-Montes is not at all a wealthy area, and there is no savior on a horse to incentivize them to do otherwise. Or is there?…\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe story of the Comissão Vitivinícola Regional De Trás-os-Monte (CVRTM), the governing body for the Trás-os-Montes appellation, is not an unfamiliar one in this part of the wine world—particularly of note, Spain’s Ribeira Sacra, where most of the great producers have abandoned the use of the D.O. regulations in favor of flexibility and a return to historical grape varieties over Mencía, a grape historically originating from further west in Bierzo and beyond. Northwest Iberian wine commissions (and many other wine regions) are hesitant to embrace wines made outside of the style in which they expect wines from their region should taste like—not a good idea for a sheltered and globally inexperienced region. The reality is that it is in more recent times that the laws of production were written. History is often overlooked, consciously or unconsciously, in favor of whatever seems to drive economics. The problem today is that this mentality limits the discovery and rediscovery of different wine styles. And in today’s global wine climate, the appellations are better advised to completely open up the discussion to allow these freedoms of stylistic choice. People (wine consumers) are no longer interested in being told by historic wine establishments what they should like, and neither are winegrowers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt first, the idea of having a wine commission seems like a good one, but they are now largely a detriment to positive progress in areas with a big cultural wine gap through time. Often overly conservative, their perspectives (much influenced by their most established and successful winegrowers) may restrict not only the forward movement into the modern wine market, but also the reintroduction of the way wines were made in the past, long before the onset of regulation. Commission tasting panel judges who decide whether or not a wine is representative of a region may think that they are protecting it, but in some cases, they are likely holding it back.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe list of beefs Arribas Wine Company has with CVRTM is understandable: 1) they don’t allow the co-fermentation of different colored grape varieties (something both Arribas Wine Company and another winegrower we work with, Menina d’uva, do in most of their wines); 2) wines must be a minimum of 11.5% alcohol, which automatically excludes most of the wines produced by Arribas; 3) certain levels of clarity (turbidity) and reduction (or lack thereof) must be maintained with the wines—more strikes against Arribas Wine Company; 4) As of January 2021, the CVRTM doesn’t have its own wine testing lab, or tasting panel from the Trás-os-Montes, but rather they rely on the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto (IVDP) as their tasting panel. Would growers in Italy’s Alto Piemonte let a commission from the Langhe decide the passable parameters for each appellation’s status? Then there is the complaint about the appellation’s subzones division and how Arribas is completely different from the other three. This will be outlined further along in the Lay of the Land section.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArribas Wine Company Filosofia: Minimalismo\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot only do Frederico and Ricardo claim minimalism in the outline of their philosophical ideals, but in the early stages of their development and adaptation to their terroirs, they find it is essential to limit control of variables and “helicopter winemaking” to see with greater clarity what each vineyard renders in its most naked and unimpeded way. They want the wines to do their thing and discover a way to work with them to extract the best of what they have to offer, rather than conforming to the status quo, to what the market expects them to be. This can make tasting unfinished wines in their cellar—in order to get a sense of their progress—difficult to process. (And I can only imagine the thoughts of panelists from the commission of CVRTM or IVDP when they do the same…) Their unconventional approach therefore renders the incredibly good results of their finished wines a downright mystery or magic trick. It’s interesting—and very unusual as winegrowers—that Fred and Ricardo are not afraid to show visitors the full monty to simply demonstrate how trippy the wines can be at certain points in their evolution in the cellar. And if one feels befuddled by what one tastes (as I have on numerous occasions in their cellar), Fred and Ricardo are right there with you. The difference is that they’ve known these wines from the bud break up; they know the quality of their work and have full faith in it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe combination of their gifted terroirs, technical education, practical experience, acquired skills and deep convictions reveal a glimpse of what can be possible. These two inspired, and inspiring, idealists are bound by nothing. They are free to meander, explore, test, think, fail. And triumph! Somehow they manage to bend and reshape their high-toned and vibrantly fresh wines from a state of raw distortion and abstraction in the cellar, to tensile equilibrium and beguiling beauty in the bottle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou already have an idea about Arribas Wine Company philosophy: low alcohol (10.5%-12.5%), unfined and unfiltered (which influences turbidity), reductive with higher CO2 content during cellar aging with some CO2 left for bottling to keep the need for SO2 at a minimum. But there’s a lot more than these catch-all concepts that land Arribas Wine Company squarely in the natural wine movement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo achieve their ideals they follow in the footsteps of tradition with simple and straightforward vineyard and cellar techniques, while using their scientific knowhow and a multitude of different experiences to bring the wines to form after the wild adventures just prior to bottling. Their traditional methods—similar to those employed centuries ago—include all work done by hand with no chemical or mechanized farming; no synthetic treatments except the use of sulfur and copper, obligatory vineyard treatments in all of Europe to combat powdery and downey mildew—if growing vines to produce grapes is the intent, whether under even organic, biodynamic and “natural” winegrowing culture; whole-bunch fermentations trodden by foot and punched down by hand to achieve gentle extractions; no pre-élevage filtration or extensive settling before putting the wines in barrels; gross lees contact throughout cellar aging to encourage stability and less dependence on sulfur additions (but, of course, at the risk of increased unwanted hydrogen sulfide\/reduction issues); and no finings or filtrations before bottling by hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrederico and Ricardo do as little forced manipulation to achieve the maximum natural expression of each terroir within the calibration of their palate preferences: high amplitude, fresh acidity, low alcohol, and adventurous but hygienic. Their goals for the future are to work with their own organic composts, seed-cover crops, and to reintroduce and encourage the recovery of indigenous micro and macro flora and fauna. Sadly, they did not walk into completely respectfully farmed environments when they first started to lease and work these old vineyards. Many were chemically farmed and cropped to sell to bulk wine manufacturers. There was and still remains a lot of work to be done just to get their vineyards up to their expectations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe common table wines of the Trás-os-Montes are well known for tasting more like a fuel-based commodity made for the purpose of keeping the field workers going rather than to be shipped off to international wine markets. But before you click away based on this description, there’s hope! Hope in the form of wines from our rebels with a cause, Frederico Machado and Ricardo Alves (along with a heroine of the same movement in the Trás-os-Montes, Aline Domingues, with her winery, Menina d’uva), who manage to craft wickedly smart and progressive wines from ancient local grape vines in this nature-rich landscape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLost in Portugal? You are not alone…\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf the Trás-os-Montes or, for that matter, any Portuguese wines are new to you, you are in the same boat as most wine professionals and consumers. Frankly, I consider myself ignorant on the subject given that the vast majority of my wine life has been focused on the wines of France, Italy, Germany, Austria, and just prior to Portugal, on Northwestern Spain. But what keeps it interesting to most of us is that there’s always something new around the subject of wine; it’s a choose-your-own-adventure that regularly reminds us of how little we know about the subject no matter how long we study it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTrás-os-Montes is the obscure within the already globally obscure world of Portuguese wines. There’s even a wine from here aptly named, The Lost Corner. This is a consequence of many historical factors, including vine diseases, phylloxera, alien mildews from the new world, wars, poverty, and a dictatorship; you know, the typical European wine region challenges. Also, the commercial wines in Trás-os-Montes perhaps are, and may have always been, too rustic for the American wine consumer weaned on fruit-forward domestic wines and other more enologically polished wines from famous European regions, as well as various new world wines with more common grape names and familiar euro-phonetics found inside American culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter moving to Portugal in 2019 I quickly came to realize that American’s nearly non-existent references to Portuguese and Brazilian culture and language is perhaps the greatest culprit for the relative lack of presence of Portuguese wine in the United States. While every other major wine-producing country in Western Europe contributed a lot of immigrants to North America that brought their cultures along with them—particularly France, Italy and Spain—whose Romance languages and cultures are ubiquitous throughout the county, Portuguese wine fame is mostly limited to Port wine and to a lesser degree, innocuous bargain white, rosé and red still wines. High quality Portuguese wine has an uphill battle, whereas more value-driven wines are already on the rise in the US.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTrás-os-Montes Climate\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTrás-os-Montes is a perfect agricultural stronghold for Portugal. Its grassy, shrubby moorland landscape quickly changes from spring green to early summer gold, and the landscape is littered with pine, oak, chestnut, citrus, and olive trees, animals, arable land crops, and, of course, a lot of vineyards.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIts arid climate is dramatically affected by the topography of the neighboring Portuguese appellation, Vinho Verde. Between the Atlantic and the Trás-os-Montes (which literally translates to “behind the mountains”), and throughout the Vinho Verde wine region, is a series of low-lying mountains that act as a rain shadow that gently squeezes Atlantic clouds before they pass through. These mountains, with the tallest at around one thousand five hundred meters (just short of five thousand feet) while most others sit much lower, cut the precipitation to around two-thirds or less of the average of the Vinho Verde.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile it rains a lot, with an average of more than seven hundred millimeters annually in the Trás-os-Montes as a whole, most of it happens during around nine days per month between October and May. However, it rains on average less than six hundred millimeters around Bemposta, the location of Arribas Wine Company’s vineyards. Yet the area manages to be quite arid in the late spring and summer when there’s an average of only two to four days of rain per month.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere’s also a large topographical variation between more mountainous zones, riverbanks and the plateau. In this region they are mostly quite exposed to the elements, especially on the plateau, and in the warmer months there is little, if any, influence from the Atlantic. This allows for fewer vineyard treatments than in other wine regions with summer rains that result in higher humidity and therefore more mildew pressure. The long, warm and arid summer days are the reason why the wines in the area are notoriously weighty and higher in alcohol compared to those from neighboring Vinho Verde, and are more closely calibrated to Spain’s Duero wine regions toward the east. However, the cool nights that sometimes drop more than twenty degrees bring the possibility of freshness to the wines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrancisco Ataíde Pavão, the president of the Trás-os-Montes wine board, and a grower of olive oil, explained that there is a large separation of harvest times between the three subzones. Valpaços, which he described as having two seasons, “nine months of winter and three months of hell,” is the first to be picked. More or less two weeks later, Chaves is ready and after another two weeks, Planalto Mirandês.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTrás-os-Montes Subzones\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Trás-os-Montes is located in the far northeastern area of Portugal and is bordered by Spain to the east and north, to the south by Portugal’s Douro Valley and its tributary valleys, and to the south and west by the Vinho Verde. Aside from the overarching classification of the wines as the Vinho Regional, Transmontano, it’s subdivided into three main DOC subzones, and spans from the center of Portugal’s northern border to the easternmost area of the country.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChaves is the smallest of the three DOCs and is located in the most northwesternmost section of Trás-os-Montes, just across the border from Galicia’s Monterrei wine region, home to the famous and talented Galician revisionist, Jose Luis Matteo, who makes extraordinary wines bottled under his Quinta da Muradella label. In the middle is Valpaços, with a lot of soft hills and waterways, and the DOC subzone furthest to the east and on the border of Spain, is Planalto Mirandês, which sits on a plateau known as Serra do Mogadouro.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArribas Wine Company’s vineyards are located in the easternmost subzone, Planalto Mirandês. This area borders the famous Douro River (known in Spain as the Duero) on the east\/southeast side, just across from the new (since 2007) Spanish wine region, Arribes, named after the national park, Arribes del Duero, or Arribas do Douro, in Portuguese. The general landscape of their territory is mostly rolling hills and small valleys created by waterways, until you arrive at the Douro River. Here, the vineyards above the river gorge are on flatter areas, and others inside the gorge on extremely steep hillsides. A more extensive overview of Arribas is further below in the section, Arribas, Arribas, Andale!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTrás-os-Montes Geology\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGeologically, the Trás-os-Montes is part of the Iberian Massif, a remnant of Pangaea, Earth’s last supercontinent that was comprised of all the current continents, a few hundred million years ago. It’s geologically similar to France’s Massif Central (Northern Rhône, Beaujolais and many more) and Massif Armoricain (western Loire Valley), and many other European wine regions. Like those areas, it is largely composed of igneous and metamorphic bedrock. There are also a lot sedimentary alluvial depositions, especially in Chaves, which are most often found in and around the small tributaries and the main river, Tâmega, known for its hot springs (so naturally the Romans left traces in the area), which starts in Galicia and travels south, eventually spilling into the Douro.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWithin the Chaves subzone, vineyards up and outside of the river’s influence are mostly composed of intrusive igneous granites or granodiorites (a rock that looks like what we commonly call granite, but differs slightly in its mineral makeup), and a smaller proportion of metamorphic rocks, perhaps predominantly graphite schist. Because the Chaves DOC ends at the northern border where Spain’s Monterrei DO begins, the bedrock can be similar in Monterrei from an overall geological perspective, but there is an increase of metamorphic rocks found here in addition to the intrusive igneous rocks. Chaves is at a lower altitude on average and is warmer compared to Monterrei. The lowest altitude vineyards sit at around two hundred and fifty meters and extend up to about four hundred. Monterrei’s vineyards can rise to hundreds of meters beyond that.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe neighboring subzone to the west, Valpaços (a compound spelling of Vale de Paços), has a large variation of vineyard settings with a mixture of some on very flat areas and others on softer sloping hillsides with a high desert-like landscape. The range of vineyard altitude is between two hundred and five hundred and fifty meters. The area as a whole has a broad geological diversity typical of the area with most of the bedrock either igneous or metamorphic, the latter predominately quartzite and graphite schist. Like the majority of Trás-os-Montes, Valpaços most commonly produces sturdy, rustic wines, while a few others take a stab at international varieties with a more polished finish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlanalto Mirandês is where the geological fun ratchets up a few notches for us, not only because we represent two neighboring winegrowing teams there (Arribas Wine Company and Menina d’uva), but also it seems to have a different energy and quite a different setting than the other two subzones. The vineyard altitude here ranges between four hundred and seven hundred meters, making it the highest in the region.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce one sets foot in the Planalto Mirandês it becomes easier to understand why three young, globally-minded wine fanatics and naturalists in search of a place to set up shop might choose to go there. Nature abounds. It’s serene. It has a beautiful countryside with a big sky. There also seems to be endless possibilities with such fabulous dirt and weather for grapes, and a multitude of grapes to choose from. These ancient grape varieties have quietly survived through the years while different crops and more productive and\/or international grape varieties replaced others.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom a geological perspective, depending on location, most vineyard bedrock and soil is igneous granite or granodiorite, and\/or the all-star cast of metamorphic rocks: mostly schist, but also a lot of slate and gneiss. The real difference here is the location and the steep, southerly-exposed barren granite hillsides where Arribas Wine Company’s vines overlook the Douro. They are quite the opposite of Menina d’uva’s that sit on rolling hills and altogether different bedrock, topsoil and exposure. (For more geology talk and Trás-os-Montes in general, go here.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArribas, Arribas, Andale!!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter passing westward through Castilla y León’s expansive sedimentary basin (filled with calcareous depositions that impart magic to many of its historic wine regions) in northern Spain below the Cantabrian Mountains and above the System Central (which includes the Sierra de Gredos and Sierra de Guadarrama mountain ranges, just west and north of Madrid, respectively), the Duero River transitions into the ancient Pangaean remnant, the Iberian Massif. Here, it takes a hard left turn toward the south at the Portuguese border and assumes its Portuguese name, Douro, at least on the Portuguese side. It continues its run as a natural border between countries for a stretch of a hundred and twelve kilometers (seventy miles) and through the Spanish and Portuguese national parks, Arribes del Duero, in Spain, and Arribas do Douro, in Portugal. The cliffs that overlook the river here are known as arribas, or arribes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMassive and extremely hard granite and gneiss outcrops with some rocks as old as six hundred million years caused the quick southward turn of the Douro. Carved out by the river in former times, it left a massive, irregular gash in the landscape with many expositions that made it ideal for viticulture. Much of the bedrock in the vineyard area of Arribas Wine Company is granitic and on steep vineyards facing the river gorge. The topsoil is largely derived from the bedrock, especially further uphill away from the river.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArribas is quite different from the rest of Trás-os-Montes. It’s on steep hillsides and is subjected to many variables that make for very different wines from the rest of the appellation, and even quite different from the rest of the Planalto Mirandês. Not surprisingly, it has a much greater relation to the Spanish D.O. across from where the river is aptly named Arribes. With the majority of Planalto Mirandês on rolling hills with a varying degree of igneous rocks but also a lot of low-to-high-grade metamorphic rock formations, the combination of these geological and topographical elements is enough to reshape the mouthfeel of the wines, and influence the degree of ripeness and taste profile of the fruit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen there’s the soil grain, which in the flatter areas of the Planalto Mirandês range from clay, silt, sand, gravel, and cobbles, with much of it derived from somewhere other than the underlying bedrock. By contrast, Arribas Wine Company’s vineyards are extremely steep, but not quite as steep as Mosel Valley, or Ribeira Sacra subzone of Amandi. After thousands and thousands of years, anything but more recent erosion (and I use this term from a geological time-frame, so quite a long time depending on each site, decades or centuries) from the bedrock itself would’ve found its way down the hill and into the river, or close to it. Most of their numerous vineyard plots (15 plots, as of 2020) are on granitic bedrock and topsoil with clayey, loamy and\/or sandy soils, with most, if not all, derived from the bedrock.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe altitudes range from five hundred to seven hundred meters (sixteen hundred to twenty-three hundred feet), quite a bit higher on average than most other winegrowing areas of Trás-os-Montes. These high altitudes naturally bring a much-needed strong diurnal shift for this arid and exposed landscape. The rainfall averages just short of six hundred millimeters each year (which is half of what falls in Portugal’s Vinho Verde, just over the mountains toward the west) and most of it comes in the winter and spring—optimal for mildew management.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTrás-os-Montes Grapes\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the 1980s when the cooperativas (co-ops) started their collapse (read more about that here), many grape growers replaced their vines with mostly olive trees, the primary agricultural output of this area. Others replanted vineyard land from the historically local grape varieties to those from further south in the Douro, as well as other international grapes. The move is an understandable one, especially given the highly adaptable blank canvas the Trás-os-Montes offers to the commercially dominant grape varieties, particularly for reds. With a global market dominated by the now ubiquitous French single varietal wines, any sensible businessperson in search of solutions for a market outside of the country’s impoverished domestic market would consider these international grapes as an option, especially after generations of rigid dictatorship that finally ended in 1974.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInterestingly, the climate and landscape of Trás-os-Montes is quite similar to much of California’s wine country, so it would make perfect sense to dream bigger and follow the footsteps of even that state’s very successful modern wine industry. But one major difference is that early on, California’s consumer populations could almost single-handedly support most of its wine production and all of the extraordinarily high costs that come with it. The people of Portugal have never been able to follow suit, nor has the country really been able to compete on the world stage to support such a progression even within its most promising wine regions. And so the move toward international varieties was short-lived and in recent decades most new vine plantings have been made with indigenous Portuguese grapes historically from outside Trás-os-Montes, with many destined for the bulk wine market. Interestingly, white wine production has been on the increase and has steadily grown from 10% of the region’s output some decades ago to now close to 30%. A lot of these new white grape plantations are at a higher altitude and on hillsides rather than flatter areas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo what about the local Portuguese grapes with the greatest marketing potential? Well, their first hurdle is that they’re a mouthful to simply pronounce correctly. Add to that the fact that most of them are a mystery to even Portuguese wine specialists and winemakers. Indeed, those within specific regions know their own grapes, but because there is so much blending in all the regions, it’s difficult to know the specific nature of even a specific grape grown in one region compared to the same grape from another. There are literally hundreds of these indigenous grapes that are unknown to all but a few people outside of Portugal, and many of them have more than a dozen different names.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCommon Trás-os-Montes Grapes\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e(you’re on your own with the pronunciation)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhites (Branco): Viosinho, Arinto, Rabo de Ovelha, Donzelinho Branco, Gouveio (Verdelho), Códega do Larinho, Malvasia Fina, Fernão Pires, Malvasia Fina, Rabigato, and Síria. Reds (Tintos): Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Francesa, Tinta Cão, Bastardo (Merenzao in Spain; Trousseau in France), Tinta Amarela (Trincadeira), Tinta Barroca, Marufo, and Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArribas Wine Company Grapes\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe following grape list and notes come directly from Frederico and Ricardo. Incredibly, they work with each one of the listed grapes and there isn’t a predominant grape variety in their cellar.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhite Grapes: Malvasia; Verdelho Branco; Bastardo Branco; Posto Branco; Donzelinho Branco; Códega, a different grape from the Douro variety called Códega do Larinho; Rabigato, also commonly known as Puesta en Cruz in Spain’s Arribes; Palomino, also present in Spain’s Arribes and can be identified by the red leaf stalks; Formosa, a table grape that produces big bunches with big grapes and is sweet and juicy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRed and Pink Grapes: Tinta Gorda, also known as Gorda in Portugal and Juan García in Spain; Bastardo, also known as Bastardillo Chico in Spain’s Arribes, and Trousseau in France; Rufete; Tinta Amarela, also known as Negreda and one of the varieties that has originated in Trás-os-Montes; Alfrocheiro, also known as Bruñal in Spain’s Arribes; Alvarelhão Brancelho, also known as Albarello or Brancellao in Spain; Mourisco, also known as Marufo; Bastardinho and\/or Bastardinha; Tinta Serrana, a variety that crops very close to the trunk, often with small berries and somewhat long bunches that are difficult to harvest due to all the leaves; Alicante Bouschet, or another related variety with red-colored flesh, that we have found in some vineyards; Verdelho\/Vermelho, also know as Verdejo Colorado in Spain’s Arribes—a  fascinating pinkish, light-purple-skinned variety called Verdelho or Vermelhoa, which is a clone of the white grape, Verdelho, and identical in terms of behavior and cropping\/foliage\/growth; Uva-de-Rei, a table grape, used for drying and raisins for Christmas, produces long, airy bunches with big pink grapes that are very acidic and fleshy; Dedos de Ama; Moscatel, of which Arribas Wine Company has at least a few plants in each vineyard parcel and is described by them as a “fantastic copper\/bronze\/light purple-colored grape.”  -TV\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42661479874811,"sku":"00073106","price":33.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/640fd58ea7be26d7faf77989803c8893.jpg?v=1644541816"},{"product_id":"geschickt-edelzwicker-blend-alsace-fr-2020-1000ml","title":"Geschickt - Edelzwicker Blend - Alsace, FR - 2020 - 1000ml","description":"\u003ch2 id=\"the-classic-mom-wine-from-alsace-hold-on-to-your-mom-\"\u003eThe classic mom-wine from Alsace. Hold on to your mom! \u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrédéric and Arnaud Geschickt\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe are a multi-generational wine family located in the heart of Alsace. Since 1998, we’ve converted our production to biodynamic wine making in response to the realization that our land and our vineyard’s longevity depend on their sustainability. We have worked hard to become both Demeter and EcoCert certified and are committed to offering the best of Alsatian terroir, rich in both history and savoir-faire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42665340764411,"sku":"00073110","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/e01edbe78460ea616da7857d07827574.jpg?v=1644608152"},{"product_id":"la-onda-blanco-de-tinto-cabernet-sauvignon-north-yuba-ca-2018","title":"la Onda - 'Blanco de Tinto' - Cabernet Sauvignon - North Yuba, CA - 2018","description":"\u003cp\u003e2018 Blanco de Tinto\u003cbr\u003eCabernet Sauvignon, North Yuba\u003cbr\u003eOrganic farming, 40+ year old own-rooted vines, no till, dry-farmed - Very badass. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"experience-cabernet-in-a-whole-new-way-\"\u003eExperience Cabernet in a whole new way!\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLa Onda is a small project dedicated to making living wines of distinctive character. Wines taste alive when they come from vines surrounded by life, terroir that speaks loudly and winemaking that doesn’t get in the way. La Onda embraces the beautiful and painstaking nature of patiently growing wine from start to finish.I currently farm four acres of own-rooted vines in the Sierra Foothills, split between two slopes at 1,900 and 2,500 ft elevation. The vineyards are wild, a true collection of vines, granite, red clay, insects, bees, herbs, flowers, berries, thistles and hungry animals. The farming is chemical free, without irrigation, without tillage and demands tons of work by hand and hand tools.  We harvest the grapes by making several passes through the same vineyard sections over the course of weeks, slowly building fermentations with ripe grapes.A few wines are produced from these vineyards and an additional four from other organic and\/or biodynamic vineyards farmed by friends. The winemaking is very simple: all the wines are either foot-stomped and left to ferment, foot-stomped then pressed or immediately pressed whole-cluster. There is no de-stemming, no additives and juice\/wine is almost always moved by gravity flow rather than by pump. Wines are left to age in barrel for as long as they need and then bottled unfined\/unfiltered before further bottle aging.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42666103472379,"sku":"00073114","price":59.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/bb73c255280cd1b492225943a51e15ac.jpg?v=1644624772"},{"product_id":"menina-duva-liquen-malvasia-field-blend-tras-o-montes-pt-2020","title":"Menina d'Uva - 'Liquen' - Malvasia Field Blend - Tras o Montes, PT - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor a wine led by Malvasia, Aline’s white wine, Líquen, is aromatically contained and subtler than one would expect from a wine based principally on this grape. Malvasia always brings a plentiful supply of charm, but this one is in no way excessive in its expression, like many tend to be. Aside from the Malvasia, there is a mix of 30% indigenous grapes with varying percentages between Bastardo Branco, Formosa and Poilta.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLíquen’s characteristic aromas evoke the sense of highland grasslands with dried flora, rock outcrops and open blue skies. It’s overtly savory, which makes it ideal for food. In fact, it’s kinda like food with its attractive aromas of dried pasta, bread dough, and dried herbs and grasses. The fruit is in the white flesh spectrum, with pear, apple and cherimoya.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"texturally-l-quen-is-a-mouthful-despite-no-intentional-skin-contact-outside-of-the-gentle-crush-by-foot-before-pressing-the-high-amplitude-metal-and-mineral-sensations-in-its-youth-are-palate-staining-and-resonate-with-a-streak-of-fresh-acidity-down-the-center-and-back-into-the-throat-the-finish-is-lengthy-and-activates-all-points-on-the-palate-from-the-front-sides-middle-and-back-overall-it-s-an-extremely-pleasant-wine-and-its-freshness-a-welcome-surprise-for-a-white-from-this-region-known-for-its-weighty-less-interesting-white-wines-\"\u003eTexturally, Líquen is a mouthful despite no intentional skin contact outside of the gentle crush by foot before pressing. The high amplitude metal and mineral sensations in its youth are palate staining and resonate with a streak of fresh acidity down the center and back into the throat. The finish is lengthy and activates all points on the palate, from the front, sides, middle and back. Overall it’s an extremely pleasant wine and its freshness a welcome surprise for a white from this region known for its weighty, less interesting, white wines.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Story\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2017, Aline Domingues left Paris for Uva, a remote village on the Planalto Mirandês, a quiet and mostly desolate countryside in northeast Portugal. Born in 1989, in Cergy, a small suburb about twenty-five kilometers northwest of the center of Paris, she was the youngest of four children born to Portuguese parents. Immigrants from Uva, a minuscule and impoverished ancient village only thirty kilometer from the border of Spain, they came to France in search of better economic prosperity and to escape the dictatorship, like so many Portuguese in the 1960s and ‘70s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScientist First, Vigneron Second\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBefore Aline cut her own first vine and crafted her wine, she became a scientist. She spent seven years between the Universities of Paris Diderot, Dijon, Cergy, and Orléans. During that time, she earned an impressive haul of three Masters degrees in Molecular Biology, Fermentation Science, and QHSE (Quality Health Safety Environment)—the latter of which was more focused on workplace management. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLay of the Land\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLost in Portugal? You are not alone…\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf the Trás-os-Montes or, for that matter, any Portuguese wines are new to you, you are in the same boat as a lot of wine professionals and consumers. Frankly, I consider myself ignorant on the subject given that the vast majority of my wine life has been focused on the wines of France, Italy, Germany, Austria, and more recently Northwestern Spain. But what keeps wine interesting to most of us is that there’s always something new around this subject; it’s a choose-your-own-adventure that always reminds us how little we know about the subject no matter how long we study it. Trás-os-Montes is the obscure within the already globally obscure world of Portuguese wines. (There’s even a wine from the Trás-os-Montes aptly named, The Lost Corner.) This is a consequence of many historical factors, including vine diseases, phylloxera, alien mildews from the new world, wars, poverty, and a dictatorship; you know, the typical European wine region challenges. Also, the commercial wines in Trás-os-Montes perhaps are and may have always been too rustic for the American wine consumer weaned on fruit-forward domestic wines, other more enologically polished wines from famous European regions, as well as various new world wines with more common grape names and familiar euro-phonetics found inside American culture. \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/thesourceimports.com\/producers\/menina-duva\/#\"\u003eRead more\u003c\/a\u003e...\u003cbr\u003e-The Source Imports\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42686346428667,"sku":"00073119","price":41.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/1e99e53d4d8f38c38b2d6f93b6f147b1.jpg?v=1645152618"},{"product_id":"dominique-gruhier-petit-chablis-sur-le-clos-chardonnay-burgundy-fr-2019","title":"Dominique Gruhier - 'Petit Chablis - Sur le Clos' - Chardonnay - Burgundy, FR - 2019","description":"\u003cp\u003eSize: 0.52 ha (1.28 ac)\u003cbr\u003eVariety: Chardonnay\u003cbr\u003eTerroir: South-facing, minimal slope, Kimmeridgian soil\u003cbr\u003eViticulture: Organic (certified as of 2014)\u003cbr\u003eVinification: Grapes pneumatically pressed, indigenous yeast, 25 days fermentation. Aged for 11 in stainless steel tank.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"average-yield-is-55-hl-ha-with-annual-production-about-315-cases-\"\u003eAverage yield is 55 hL\/ha with annual production about 315 cases.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Dominique Gruhier has had a rough ride. Yet he is one of the warmest, most charming, welcoming, well-mannered, and smiling men we know. As his domaine and his (currently) obscure appellation attract customers, he has been able to make the investments and changes that were necessary to let his talent shine. What beautiful wines have emerged! Fine, sexy, juicy, vivacious, saline and chalky. They are some of the greatest values in our entire portfolio for Pinot Noir, but not just any Pinot Noir: Chablisien Pinot Noir.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBackstory\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDominique grew up in Tonnerre, only a mile away from the winery he now owns in Epineuil. Though his maternal grandfather was a négociant in the Côte d’Or, his parents didn’t have vineyards and weren’t in the wine trade. After high school, Dominique went to Dijon to study mechanical engineering, but soon discovered that engineering was not what he wanted to do.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the same time he was in Dijon, Laurent Delaunay, a cousin of Dominique’s who would go on to create Les Jamelles, was studying at the lycée viticole in Beaune. Laurent would frequently invite Dominique to wine tastings. Dominique caught the wine bug, quit his engineering studies and enrolled at the Lycée Viticole; he planned to find a position in the wine trade. His studies completed, he enlisted in the army for his then-compulsory one-year military service. There he met a winemaker from Orange, in the southern Rhône, but whose father had planted for him 4.5 hectares of vines in Epineuil. “The son lived in Orange but would come up when there was work in the vineyards. In Epineuil he lived in a trailer above the vineyards,” says Dominique. “He had a girlfriend who would work in the vineyards without a bra. She was the village’s main attraction.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was much colder in Epineuil than in Orange, too cold for the son. He stopped making the trek, neglected the vineyards, and eventually put them up for sale. Dominique bought them in 1990. Six months later, a winemaker from Champagne put his vineyards in Epineuil on the market. Dominique’s father decided to buy those, as well as an old monastic grange, and to hire his son to take care of them and make the wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was a great set-up and it should have been the start of a successful domaine. Unfortunately, what followed was a stroke of Chaplinesque poor luck that would set the domaine back for a decade.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA Series of Unfortunate Events\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1990, the grapes from Dominique’s vineyards were contractually pledged to the local cooperative for three years. But when Dominique went to fill out paperwork, the co-op put in front of him a twenty-five year contract: if he didn’t sign, they wouldn’t purchase the upcoming vintage. Harvest was around the corner and Dominique had no winery and no equipment, but he refused to sign. Thankfully—he thought—he was loaned an old winery in Molosmes, a village ten minutes away. As it turned out, the winery’s old cement tanks were full of brettanomyces. Dominique’s first vintage, all of it, was undrinkable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen, in 1991, the vineyards froze, producing no crop to speak of, and Dominique’s father’s newly purchased winery was burned down by an arsonist. In 1992, his father rebuilt the winery, but a backhoe driver’s mistake made the cellar collapse. The same year, Dominique took on a series of clients who sent him grapes to vinify. He rehabilitated the Molosmes winery, paying for the old tanks to be treated with a special coating. It was never applied. All the wines he made in 1992 smelled like plastic trashcans. Eight years of lawsuits followed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith all these setbacks, his father put the domaine on the market, where it remained for seven long years. Finally, reluctant to pour more money into the domaine, he decided to dump it at a loss. Dominique sold some of his vineyards to come up with a down payment and became the proprietor of the business, with a long-term lease from his father on the vineyards and the winery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“It had been like the snake biting its own tail,” says Dominique. “Without money, you couldn’t make the necessary investments to produce better wine. And so you never made money.” But, as his own boss, Dominique made the necessary changes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eViticulture\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStarting in 2003, Dominique began to organically farm all of his Côte de Grisey. The rest of the domaine was farmed with only minor synthetic treatments around flowering time. In 2010, he began the organic certification process for the entire domaine. In 2012, overrun by the appalling vintage conditions, Dominique made one synthetic treatment, and even that not on all of his vines. “It was useless anyway because I sprayed too late,” he says. He had expected Ecocert, the certifying agency, to dock him for a single year, but it ordered him to start the three-year process over from square one. Organic certification for the entire domaine is expected in 2016.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2011, Dominique planted a conservatory to preserve the genetic diversity of his vineyards through massales selections. For example, there is a particularly good selection of Pinot in the Dannots, originally from the Aube, only a half-hour drive from Epineuil. It produces very long bunches that are loose and aerated, with a morphological resistance to rot.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVinification\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the winemaking front, it has taken Dominique practice to learn how to best work with the assertiveness of his terroir.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“When I began [pre-global warming] there were years when the wines only reached 10 or 10.5 degrees alcohol. They were undrinkable,” he says. “It took time to comprehend the terroirs, time to get over the desire to produce monster wines. There is already an intense fresh minerality, but stone is not butter. If you add unripe tannins to the minerality, you get wines that taste triangular. It’s not Chambolle here. I’m getting better. But when I was young, I made conneries de jeunesse, stupid youthful mistakes.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1999, encouraged by Francois Ecot from Jenny and Francois, and with help from Philippe Pacalet, Dominique began making natural wine. He did so until 2006, when his cuvée Juliette was so full of brettanomyces that he couldn’t drink it, and he was forced to sell it all to négociants. Since then he has pulled back: there are moderate amounts of sulfur on most of his wines; Juliette and Dannots are vinified and aged without sulfur until bottling. These two cuvées are also made primarily with whole clusters, up to 100% when the vintage allows.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut What the Hell is Epineuil, Anyway?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe village of Epineuil is located just 10 minutes northeast of Chablis. As in neighboring Chablis, the geology is Kimmeridgian.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBourgogne Epineuil is the regional AOC for the reds and rosés produced in the village of Epineuil. The AOC was created in 1993. The reds are produced from Pinot Noir, whereas the rosés can be produced from Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. There are 65 hectares under plantation (source: Inside Burgundy, Jasper Morris.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBourgogne Tonnerre is the regional AOC for whites, for an area that includes six villages: Epineuil, Dannemoine, Junay, Molosmes, Tonnerre and Vézinnes. The AOC was created in 2006, prior to that the whites were also part of the Bourgogne Epineuil AOC. Whites are produced from Chardonnay. There are only 38 hectares under plantation (source: Inside Burgundy, Jasper Morris.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCrémants produced in Epineuil fall under the Crémant de Bourgogne appellation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“I stood behind my Epineuil sign at trade shows and wine fairs” says Dominique, “and no one wanted to taste. I’ve done three-day trade shows where only one person tasted.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut even though it is little known, what we have in Epineuil—particularly on the Côte de Grisey, with its near non-existent topsoil and up to a 45% grade—is Pinot planted on one of the great historical terroirs for Kimmeridgian whites. Planted to Pinot Noir like it is today, it produces reds that are stunningly distinct and assertive. Their mid-palate is intensely mineral, and their finishes long and chalky. The fruit is so vibrant and acidulated in red fruit vintages that it feels bioluminescent, and even black fruit vintages in Epineuil have the energy of red fruit. Dominique’s whole-cluster, light extraction, low sulfur winemaking is fruit-driven and transparent. Rare are the pinots in Burgundy that combine such vivacity, chalkiness and sexiness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSmart people will get past the regional classification and think of these not as Bourgogne but as Epineuil, which nineteenth century authors thought was superior to Irancy. Not only are Dominique’s wines some of the greatest values for Pinot Noir in our portfolio, they have a magnificent identity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOf the Rise and Fall of the Wines of the Tonnerrois\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShortly after its foundation in 1098, the Abbaye de Citeaux founded a number of “daughter” abbeys. The second of these daughters is the Abbaye de Pontigny, founded in 1114, 20 kilometers north of Chablis. It is credited with having developed several vineyards in the area, including those of Chablis and the Tonnerrois.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn turn, Pontigny founded its own daughters, including the Abbaye de Quincy, established in 1133 ten kilometers east of Epineuil. In 1212, Quincy built a monastic grange in Epineuil, which the monks used for the production of wine and as a summer residence. It would later be known as Le Petit Quincy, and is now Domaine Dominique Gruhier. It is a sizeable grange, and attests to the importance of wine production in Epineuil.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring the High Middle Ages (12th and 13th centuries) it was not the wines of the Côte d’Or but those of the Auxerrois and the Tonnerrois that made the reputation of Burgundy in Paris and beyond. They were easier to transport to Paris because the Yonne river was navigable from Auxerre, whereas the wines of the Côte d’Or first had to be carted to the Yonne, at Cravant. In fact, it wasn’t until a royal ordinance of 1416 that the wines produced in the pais de Beaunois (the region of Beaune) were included in the Burgundy appellation. Prior to that, only the wines produced in the pais de l’Auccerois (the region of Auxerre) could legally be sold as Burgundy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn his masterful review of the history of French wines, Roger Dion writes: Few viticultural reputations in France are as ancient as that of Auxerre. From the XIIth century, at a time when texts on the exports of wine remain silent about Beaune and Bordeaux, writers use emphatic adjectives—superlativum, pretiosissimum—to qualify the wine of Auxerre…. Around 1245, Brother Salimbene, a Franciscan monk from Ferrare who was then travelling in France, says in the precious Latin recounting of his trip approximately this: “When Brother Gabriel, from Cremona, assured me one day that Auxerre on its own possessed more vineyard than Cremona, Parma, Reggio and Modena together, I did not want to believe it. But when I stayed in Auxerre myself, I was forced to recognize that he had spoken the truth, and that in the vast space occupied by the diocese of this city, hills, mountains, plains and fields, are covered with vineyards. The people there indeed do not sow, do not harvest [grains and cereals], do not amass in their barns. It is enough for them to send their wine by the nearby river that precisely flows to Paris. The sale of wine in [Auxerre] produces ample profits that pay entirely for living and clothing.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e… Outside the Yonne valley, but close to it, the vineyards that were born around the Church of Tonnerre are placed at the same rank as those of Auxerre…. Tonnerre contributed with Auxerre, to make up those shipments of “vins de l’Auxerrois” that transited in great numbers through Paris towards the middle of XVth century in the hands of merchants from Arras, Lille, or Rouen. … “All the commerce of [Tonnerre] is from the vines that grow there.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOver the centuries, the wines of the Tonnerois have had several famous advocates, including Boileau and Henri IV. But the region’s most famous champion was Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d'Éon de Beaumont (1728-1810), known as the Chevalier d’Éon, a name known to every French person. Because it is three letters long—and because Éon was a spy and a crossdresser who successfully blackmailed the King of France—it is one of the most ubiquitous words in French crossword puzzles, for which the clues are often hilarious (“Mata ‘Harry’”).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is said that “never was more Tonnerre wine drunk in Russia and in England than during the stay of the Chevalier D’Éon in those two countries; there he represented the interests of the French court, in general, and those of the vineyards of the Tonnerrois, in particular.” Éon’s letters are full of mentions of the wines of Tonnerre, and the Chevalier claimed that the Count of Guerchy, his successor as the Ambassador of France to London, attempted to murder him … with a bottle of Tonnerre wine laced with opium. The English courts believed (or sided with) Éon, and found Guerchy guilty of attempted homicide, although Guerchy, because of his diplomatic status, had immunity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs to Éon’s crossdressing, it appears to have begun when he was sent on a secret mission to Russia, where he had to cross the border disguised as a woman. Twenty years later, after blackmailing Louis XV to allow him to return from exile in London, Éon asked that the French government recognize him as a woman, claiming to have been anatomically born as a female. The French government complied on the condition that he dress appropriately as a woman. Éon agreed, especially when the King granted him funds for a new wardrobe. In 1777, after 14 months of negotiations, Éon returned to France, where as punishment, he was banished to Tonnerre. He returned to London in 1785 where he died in poverty in 1810. Doctors who examined the body after death discovered that the Chevalier was anatomically male.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the 19th century the wines of the Tonnerrois were documented in some detail. In 1827, according to Cavoleau, there were 5,317 hectares of vines in the arrondissement of Tonnerre. Andre Jullien, in 1816, wrote “the Tonnerrois produces wines that have all the qualities that one admires in the wines of Lower Burgundy [Côte d’Or].” Singling out the lieu-dit Côte de Grisey (les Grisees), he placed Epineuil among the first-class whites in the Yonne department, along with the Chablis vineyards of Les Clos, Valmur, Grenouille, Blanchots, Vaudesir, Bouguereau and Mont-de-Milieu. The British writers of 19th century echoed Jullien.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter phylloxera, 3,000 hectares were replanted in the Tonnerrois. But between 1900 and 1915, just as the vines had been replanted, catastrophic weather caused terrible vintages, aggravated by new diseases: oidium and mildew. The combination led to an economic nightmare. With the advent of WWI, the male population of the region was devastated, and the acreage of vines dropped to 1,000 hectares. It remained at that level until the great frost of 1956, which decimated the vines. After that, the region gave up. In 1970 there were only 5 hectares of vines left in Epineuil.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1977 the mayor of Epineuil campaigned for the plantation of vineyards. Unfortunately, this coincided with the development of Chablis, a more popular destination for vintners. Still, he managed to convince a few to replant in Epineuil, either because they didn’t have the means to plant in Chablis, or because they had a pioneering spirit. Today there are just over 100 hectares of vineyards planted in the Bourgogne-Epineuil and Bourgogne-Tonnerre appellations.'\u003cbr\u003e-Becky Wasserman, Legend\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42705752326395,"sku":"00073124","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/793f8210f0c34cc46ff64e46189369f8.jpg?v=1645582243"},{"product_id":"chateau-de-rougeon-ostrea-chardonnay-burgundy-fr-2018","title":"Chateau de Rougeon - 'Ostrea' - Chardonnay - Burgundy, FR - 2018","description":"\u003ch2 id=\"named-for-the-oysters-that-it-pairs-so-well-with-and-the-long-dead-compacted-oyster-shells-it-grows-in-this-wine-is-insane-it-is-so-intensely-mineral-drive-such-a-tremendous-value-and-such-a-kickass-wine-completely-the-right-wine-for-a-seafood-platter-a-day-at-the-beach-a-sexy-ap-ritif-or-just-on-the-couch-in-your-jammies-it-s-simply-great-\"\u003eNamed for the oysters that it pairs so well with... and the long-dead compacted oyster shells it grows in, this wine is insane. It is so intensely mineral drive, such a tremendous value, and such a kickass wine. Completely the right wine for a seafood platter, a day at the beach, a sexy apéritif, or just on the couch in your jammies. It's simply great. \u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChâteau de Rougeon is a member of Les Aligoteurs, and Mi-Filles Mi-Raisins, a group of female growers in Burgundy that includes Amélie Berthaut (Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet) and Tomoko Kuriyama (Chanterêves).\u003cbr\u003eLocated next to Buxy, in the Côte Chalonnaise, Château de Rougeon belongs to the Ozanon-Bouchard family since 1839. Charles Ozanon, the son of the domaine’s founder, was a renowned botanist. When phylloxera hit, he was one of the principal botanists to study and promote grafting on American rootstock. The nursery he founded became one of the major sources for grafts for the replanting of the vineyards in the Côte de Beaune. His son, Dr Henri Ozanon, was one of two Burgundian delegates in the commission that established the original guidelines for the Appellations d’Origine Controlée. (The second Burgundian delegate was the Marquis d’Angerville.)\u003cbr\u003eIn 1921, Henri’s daughter Charlotte Gabrielle, married Antonin Victor Bouchard, from the famed wine merchant family in Beaune. Rougeon was managed by a succession of régisseurs until 1981, when Dominique Bouchard and his wife Isabelle made it their full-time calling.\u003cbr\u003eRougeon is special for several reasons. For starters, the vineyards are all contiguous and they are situated at a high altitude (400 m) on both granite and limestone. Granite is unusual in Burgundy, until you reach the Beaujolais. Rougeon has Aligoté planted on it, which, combined with great farming, has made it a source of Aligoté grapes for some pretty incredible winemakers in the Côte d’Or. (The dots shouldn’t be too hard to connect.)\u003cbr\u003eDominique was a passionate farmer. He replanted all clones to massales. Many years before his fellow growers, he had already begun careful, gentle, superficial plowing, only under the rows. Sheep were tasked to mow the rows. The vines had been farmed organically for a while and they are now in conversion to certification. Furthermore, the domaine is surrounded by pastures and forests. There are cows and a future dairy farm in the works. The location, isolation, altitude, geology, and biodiversity are absolutely unique in Burgundy.\u003cbr\u003eUnfortunately, Dominique passed away unexpectedly in 2017. This left his wife Isabelle, and two of their children, Joseph and Florence, scrambling to continue.\u003cbr\u003e-Becky Wasserman\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42705752719611,"sku":"00073123","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/23df99479f855e27a4093b4ad5305ee9.jpg?v=1645582257"},{"product_id":"chateau-plaisance-penavayre-bouysselet-fronton-fr-2020","title":"Chateau Plaisance Penavayre - Bouysselet - Fronton, FR - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eA forgotten indigenous grape variety, Bouysselet gives wines with personality as close as possible to the terroirs of the Frontonnais.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"tastes-so-fresh-and-so-clean-clean-\"\u003eTastes so fresh and so clean... clean!\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChateau Plaisance is located in Vacquiers, in the AOP of Fronton, in southwestern France.  Mark Penavayre took over the enterprise from Louis, his father, in 1991. The domaine consists of 26 hectares with varieties including Négrette, Negret Pounjut, Jurançon Noir, Abouriou, Alicante, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Gamay Freaux, Gamay, Semillon, Bouysselet, Chenin Blanc, Muscat, and Sauvignon Blanc. Mark’s vineyards were certified organic in 2011, but he has been practicing organic and biodynamic farming since 2005. He uses indigenous yeast fermentations, in cement or stainless steel tanks, as well as used barrels and wooden \u003cem\u003efoudres\u003c\/em\u003e. Limited use of sulfur; generally no fining or filtration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42705753637115,"sku":"00073121","price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/e40418abd182b84242e3ff6aca9e1845.jpg?v=1645582285"},{"product_id":"broc-cellars-love-white-southern-rhone-blend-california-usa-2021","title":"Broc Cellars - 'Love White' - Southern Rhône Blend - California, USA - 2021","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTasting notes: Golden fruit, white flower, pleasant salinity\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVARIETIES : *\u003cem\u003e31% Marsanne | 24% Albariño | 18% Grenache Blanc | 15% Rousanne | 12% Picpoul\u003cbr\u003e*\u003c\/em\u003eLOCATION : *\u003cem\u003eMadera, Santa Maria Valley + Yolo County\u003cbr\u003e*\u003c\/em\u003eVINEYARD : *\u003cem\u003eLove Ranch, North Canyon Vineyard + Windmill Vineyard\u003cbr\u003e*\u003c\/em\u003eALCOHOL : *\u003cem\u003e11%\u003cbr\u003e*\u003c\/em\u003eTOTAL PRODUCTION : **1800 cases\u003c\/strong\u003e **\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWINEMAKER’S NOTES : *\u003cem\u003eThe grapes were harvested in August and early September to help preserve their natural acidity. All varieties were fermented separately, then aged in neutral French oak barrels with no S02. Malolactic fermentation was allowed to happen naturally. All varieties in this blend play a key role to delivering its unique balance. Picpoul grapes are from cuttings from Rorick Vineyard vines that we grafted onto Marsanne vines at Love Ranch a few years ago. The Picpoul adds brightness to the wine, while Albariño (new for us this release) comes from North Canyon Vineyard and adds beautiful aromatics. Marsanne and Roussanne add lovely texture, while Grenache Blanc provides the balance. Love White is meant to be a fresher style of a Rhône-inspired white that is structured, delicious and infinitely drinkable.\u003cbr\u003e*\u003c\/em\u003eVITICULTURAL AREA:\u003c\/strong\u003e Love Ranch grows Marsanne, Roussanne, Grenache Blanc and Picpoul for the Love White and is farmed by our friend Oscar Ramos. The vineyard is located 35 miles south of Yosemite National Park in Madera, at 1300 feet in elevation. The soils are made up of granitic schist. We keep a large amount of leaves on the vines to protect against the heat. North Canyon Vineyard is located in Santa Maria Valley and Windmill Vineyard is in Yolo County. All three vineyards are CCOF.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eAt Broc Cellars, all of our wines are made using spontaneous fermentation, a process that means we only use native yeasts and bacteria that exist on the grapes in order to make wine. We don’t add anything – this includes nutrients, yeast, bacteria, enzymes, tannins or other popular fermentation agents. Sulphur is a naturally occurring element in all wine, the amount found can vary. We add little to no S02, depending on the wine and style.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e---\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Broc Cellars story begins with a move from Nebraska to California. Chris Brockway grew up in Omaha and felt drawn to wine. Specifically spicy, brambly Zinfandels from California, and took a leap to move out West. He received an oenology degree from Fresno State and began making his first wine in 2002 – it was just one barrel. The following year he made three barrels, and by 2004 had 14 barrels of wine to call his own. Broc Cellars was born and had its first official release in 2006. At the time, the mentality surrounding California wines was “bigger is better”. Chris personally felt the wines to be too big, too much alcohol, too much everything. He set out to do something else. In 2008 he moved to his first winery space in Berkeley, which was originally known as Grape Leaf Cellars, located only one block away from where we are now. This is where Broc found its way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow we make wine:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur goal in making wine is to bring out the natural expression of the grape. We start by using only native fermentations, a process that means we only use native yeasts and bacteria that exist on the grapes in order to make wine. We pick grapes early while they are still healthy and less desiccated. This allows for an easier fermentation without the need to add yeast because you don’t have copious amounts of sugar. We also pick the grapes early for good acidity. We don’t add anything – this includes nutrients, yeast, bacteria, enzymes, tannins or other popular fermentation agents. Sulphur is a naturally occurring element in all wine and the amount found can vary. We add little to no sulphur, depending on the wine and style.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere we source grapes:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe source an eclectic mix of grapes from all over California, working with vineyards as far south as Paso Robles and as far north as Mendocino. All of the vineyards are smaller and farmed organically.\u003cbr\u003e-Broc Cellars\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42747337703675,"sku":"00073148","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/cdbb0cc70ccc33f5d696c06016c34aae.jpg?v=1646439178"},{"product_id":"sepp-moser-von-den-terrassen-riesling-kremstal-at-2019","title":"Sepp Moser - 'Von Den Terrassen' - Riesling - Kremstal, AT - 2019","description":"\u003ch2 id=\"a-lovely-dry-riesling-in-the-austrian-style-greenish-yellow-hue-with-fine-stone-fruit-aromas-on-the-palate-precise-persistent-and-mineral-vivid-and-fresh-\"\u003eA lovely dry Riesling in the Austrian style. Greenish, yellow hue with fine stone fruit aromas. On the palate precise, persistent and mineral, vivid and fresh.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis estate was founded in 1986 by Sepp Moser, a 15th generation winemaker from the venerated Moser clan.  The focus of his then new estate was on the production of small-lot, high-quality wines. Success followed and in 2000 Sepp ceded day-to-day control of the winery to his son Nikolaus who began the vineyard conversion first to organic and then to biodynamic, achieving Demeter certification in 2009.\u003cbr\u003eToday the Sepp Moser estate is comprised of 51 ha of vineyards in two prominent wine regions: Kremstal (24 ha) and Neusiedlersee (27 ha). In the Kremstal town of Rohrendorf Nikolaus and his family focus on their terraced Grüner Veltliner and Riesling vineyards.  Red wines, Zweigelt most importantly, are produced on Burgenland’s  gravelly soils around the warmer southern Neusiedlersee village of Apetlon.\u003cbr\u003e-Barrel Down Selections\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42747338293499,"sku":"00073145","price":31.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/e317489c8db1abdc2201c8155287fa20.jpg?v=1646439217"},{"product_id":"martha-stoumen-honeymoon-french-colombard-chenin-blanc-chardonnay-california-usa-2020","title":"Martha Stoumen - 'Honeymoon' - French Colombard, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay - California, USA - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eMARTHA'S NOTES\u003cbr\u003eThe star of our Honeymoon is the 70 year-old Colombard from dry farmed, head trained vines. When young, Colombard can throw a large crop and has largely been written off as a blending\/filler grape, or has been used traditionally for distillation into cognac. However, with old vine age, dry farming, and by allowing a long hang time, Colombard can be as complex as its parent, Chenin blanc. Supported partners Chardonnay and Chenin blanc add extra texture and layers to the 2020 Honeymoon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVinification Notes:\u003cbr\u003eThe three varietals in Honeymoon 2020 were fermented separately, each in neutral French oak barrels. At crush, both the Chenin blanc and Colombard grapes were pressed immediately, settled and then racked off heavy less, and barrel fermented. Prior to pressing the Chardonnay we first food-tread the grapes, a gentle technique to slightly increase the tannin extraction of the juice (and textural expression of the wine). The wine spent 11 months on fine lees, developing a rounded richness to balance the bright acidity, before final blending and bottling. Fun fact: we reserved a small portion of the just-fermenting Chardonnay to naturally inoculate our sparkling Solera Chardonnay base wine.\u003cbr\u003eVineyard: Colombard from Ricetti Vineyard in Redwood Valley; planted in 1948; dry farmed (no irrigation); certified organic. Chenin blanc is from King Vineyard grown with compost teas and without pesticides and herbicides, clay soils. Chardonnay is from Hawkeye Vineyard in Redwood Valley; organic.\u003cbr\u003eTasting Notes: Aromas of candied melon and alpine herbs embrace a taste of almond skin. Bright acidity and a rounded texture offer a balanced, easy-going finish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTABLESIDE TALK\u003cbr\u003eWe typically let Colombard hang on the vine through the harvest season to develop the Chenin-like qualities that make the grape so compelling. Due to the threat of wildfires in 2020, we chose to pick early (early September rather than late October) and add Chenin to express the textural signature of the wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-2019-growing-season-was-marked-with-abundant-sunshine-but-no-rain-as-the-2020-vintage-developed-within-the-buds-on-the-vine-as-the-2020-harvest-came-so-did-drought-and-the-worst-fires-and-smoke-we-ve-ever-seen-the-vines-felt-this-stress-and-it-marked-the-fruit-with-soaring-acidity-and-very-concentrated-flavors-the-honeymoon-2020-is-a-wine-of-beautiful-extremes-born-out-of-this-stress-i-picture-the-spirit-of-this-wine-as-a-female-warrior-leaping-down-from-the-sky-with-lightning-streaking-from-her-hair-i-know-wild-right-the-2020-is-dramatic-and-gorgeous-\"\u003eThe 2019 growing season was marked with abundant sunshine—but no rain—as the 2020 vintage developed within the buds on the vine. As the 2020 harvest came, so did drought (and the worst fires and smoke we’ve ever seen). The vines felt this stress, and it marked the fruit with soaring acidity and very concentrated flavors.  The Honeymoon 2020 is a wine of beautiful extremes, born out of this stress. I picture the spirit of this wine as a female warrior leaping down from the sky with lightning streaking from her hair (I know, wild right?). The 2020 is dramatic and gorgeous. \u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMartha Stoumen Wines was founded upon the desire to recapture a farming and winemaking culture that has all but faded away: a winemaking culture of patience.\u003cbr\u003eWe grow grapes and craft natural wine in Northern California. After 8 years apprenticing around the world, Martha set out as a self-funded, first generation winemaker to answer the question, “What does California taste like?” In our hot little corner of Northern California, Mediterranean grapes thrive and healthy vineyards allow us to create joyful balanced wines. Our wines are made from unexpected varietals and offer new takes on California classics. We do things the right way even if it's not the easy or cool way. Of the dozen or so wines we make every year, blends and flavors change but our desire to share the simple pleasures of natural wine remains the same.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42759213285627,"sku":"00073162","price":58.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/13ae5256083736202fad01a0d7dca0d4.jpg?v=1646786005"},{"product_id":"irene-chardonnay-sonoma-coast-ca-2020","title":"Irene - Chardonnay - Sonoma Coast, CA - 2019","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Peters Vineyard sits at the southern end of Sebastopol butting up to Rohnert Park, one of the coolest areas in Sonoma County. The vines are 40 year old clone 4 on St. George rootstock. When the fruit arrives at the winery it is crushed and immediately pressed whole cluster. The juice is barrel fermented with native yeast in neutral French oak. Then aged on lees for 11 months before being racked to stainless steel for another 6 months of aging. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered. This wine is all texture and acid that shows Chablis like focus with a touch of California richness\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe are a husband and wife team making expressive wines of style, and focus.  The wines are intentionally crafted to show the terroir of the various vineyards we work with throughout the state of California.  After careful monitoring, the grapes are picked so that the wine can be made simply rather than scientifically.  The wines are made in an old world style fermented with native yeast and whole cluster.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e   Katelynn has had a knack for art from an early age; watching her father sculpt metal in his gallery in the Monterey Bay. As a result, she watercolors all the labels for Irene wine.  The winery name is a tribute to my mother whom passed away when I was younger.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42763561402619,"sku":"00073166","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/4d79dd53a159bc077731568ee1464fe5.jpg?v=1646884838"},{"product_id":"goisot-exogyra-virgula-sauvignon-blanc-saint-bris-fr-2020","title":"Goisot - 'Exogyra Virgula' - Sauvignon Blanc - Saint Bris, FR - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom 4.38 hectares of vineyard land from the lieux-dits of Cornevin, Cote de la Canne and La Roncie. 50% of the vines are 10-15 years old and 50% are 15-40 years in age.\u003cbr\u003eThis Sauvignon de Saint Bris shares many attributes with top bottlings of Sancerre from terres blanches soils, and it is generally cropped at lower yields than all but the very best estates in Sancerre.\u003cbr\u003eSOIL: Jurassic soil of kimmeridgien clay with fosilized oyster shell \"Exogyra Virgula\"\u003cbr\u003eVITICULTURE: The vines are farmed biodynamically and the grapes are harvested by hand.\u003cbr\u003eVINIFICATION: The wine is vinified at cold temperatures in stainless steel vats using native yeasts. The wine is aged on its fine lees.\u003cbr\u003eAGING: Aged in stainless steel.\u003cbr\u003ePRODUCTION: 30,000 bottles annually\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"AT A GLANCE\u003cbr\u003eIn truth, Domaine Goisot should be known as a fine Chablis estate, but history has not been particularly kind to the region since Saint Bris was exiled from the Chablis appellation after phylloxera paralyzed the area in the late nineteenth century.\u003cbr\u003eJean-Hugues Goisot was among Burgundy’s earliest practitioners of biodynamic viticulture, and today his son Guillaume maintains this arduous commitment. The family farms Sauvignon Blanc, Aligoté and Chardonnay in deep, chalky soils just a few kilometers east of Chablis.\u003cbr\u003eValue is is an understatement at this world-class domaine. The Sauvignon de Saint Bris bottlings share many attributes with top Sancerre from terres blanches soils, and are generally cropped at lower yields than all but the very best estates in Sancerre. Additionally, the Cotes d’Auxerre Chardonnays are rich and racy with a real WOW-factor for their ability to be at once concentrated and lythe.\u003cbr\u003eDomaine Goisot's place in the wine world is beatifully summed up by Burghound's Allen Meadows: \"No one but no one delivers more quality for the price than Goisot. The quality is flat out amazing, particulalry given the modest appellations with which he works\". In truth, Domaine Goisot should be kwown as a fine Chablis estate, but history has not been particularly kind to the region, as Saint Bris was removed from the Chablis appellation after phylloxera paralyzed the area in the late nineteenth century. Prior to this, Saint Bris was part of Chablis, which seems quite logical, given that it shares the same base of profound Kimmeridgian limestone and the same northerly climate as its neighbor a few kilometers to the east. But now Saint Bris is officially a sub-region of the Côte d’Auxerre, which is only officially entitled to Bourgogne status. However, one of the delightful side effects of the switch is that the Goisots, unlike their Chablisien brthren, are allowed to grow Sauvignon Blanc and Aligoté in additiob to Chardonnay. In this way, Saint Bris is like a tiny combination of Chavignol and Chablis in one sleepy village.\u003cbr\u003eGuilhem and and father Jean-Hugues Goisot, like all top vignerons in France, recognize that great wine comes from great viticulture, and they work tirelessly in the vines to ensure that their parcels are as well care for as possible. Their viticulture is certified biodynamic, with great pains taken to produce as natural an environment for the vines, and a particular goal of stimulating the natural defenses of the vines against disease and depredation. Yields are also kept very low by Saint Bris standards, in an effort to produce world class wines that defy the dictates of the late nineteenth century officials who downgraded Saint Bris and cast it from the Chablisienne constellation. The results are a bevy of beautifully made wines that have a very strong following in France and offer an absolutely brilliant price-quality ratio. The wines across the board are deep, racy and soil-driven, with as transparent an expression of underlying chalky terroir as any in Chablis proper.\u003cbr\u003eThe Goisots make a lineup of lovely bottlings of Bourgogne Aligoté and Bourgogne Côtes d'Auxerre Chardonnay. The wines are fermented and raised in stainless steel tanks, and bottled carefully to retain as much of their purity and precision as possible. The Chardonnay is one of the best values to be found in the world for soil-driven, complex and full-bodied chardonnay. Further up the Chardonnay lineup are the rich and racy single vineyard wines of Biaumont, Gondonne and Gueules de Loup -- wines that we refer to as WOW wines for their ability to be at once concentrated and lythe. The Sauvignon Blanc bottlings that are labeled as Sauvignon de Saint Bris share many attributes with top bottlings of Sancerre from terres blanches soils, and are generally cropped at lower yields than all but the very best estates in Sancerre. In top vintages the domaine makes a reserve bottling of their wines, which they call “Corps de Garde”, which are made from the family’s’ finest parcels of old vines in their top vineyards. They are meant to age for a few years and are exemplary expressions of their underlying terroirs and varietal composition.\u003cbr\u003eThe Goisots are extremely gifted and dedicated vignerons who turn out superb expressions of their respective terroirs from one of the greatest value-producing appellations in all of France. If you have not yet dipped a toe in the water of Sauvignon de Saint Bris or the lovely Bourgogne Côtes d'Auxerre Blancs, don't waste another second! You could do no better than starting at the top with the wines of Domaine Goisot.\"\u003cbr\u003e-Polaner Selections\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42783645237499,"sku":"00073177","price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/adebf81c9304a6713d25a6bb8d511e5c.jpg?v=1647390297"},{"product_id":"von-winning-ii-sauvignon-blanc-pfalz-de-2021","title":"Von Winning - 'II' - Sauvignon Blanc - Pfalz, DE - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eCrisp and incredibly clear-fruited as well as MINERAL AS F! So great, you'd think they'd grow more Sauvy B in the Pfalz!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Pfalz\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinery Village:\u003c\/strong\u003e Deidesheim\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrape Variety:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sauvignon Blanc\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAppellation:\u003c\/strong\u003e Pfalz\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVineyard:\u003c\/strong\u003e Multiple vineyards in Deidesheim, mostly Paradiesgarten, but there is also fruit from Deidesheimer Herrgottsacker and Kallstadter Steinacker\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSoil:\u003c\/strong\u003e sandy loam, red sandstone, basalt, \u0026amp; löss\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"fermentation-elevage-fermented-entirely-in-stainless-steel\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFermentation \u0026amp; Elevage:\u003c\/strong\u003e Fermented entirely in stainless steel\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe fact that this estate is crafting some of the very best dry wines in Germany is no fluke, rather a result of nearly obsessive winemaker Stephan Attman’s commitment to both dedicated cultivation of Deidesheim and Forst’s best sites and meticulous work in the cellar. Von Winning maintains some of the oldest parcels in Grosses Gewächs vineyards smattered across Forst, Deidesheim, and Ruppertsberg. Attman’s every decision is informed by great enthusiasm and experiences at estates in the Cote d’Or and abroad. For example, Attman’s newer vines are planted at a very high vine density- 9500 vines per hectare, as opposed to the typically under 5000. This creates competition amongst the vines, forcing the roots to grow deep, naturally reducing yields. Attman has adopted the single cane trellising system, prevalent in Burgundy, and Grosses Gewächs wines ferment in 500mL French barrels. Von Winning practices organic and sustainable viticulture.\u003cbr\u003eAttman describes his winemaking as “not doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.” The estate’s premium wines are treated with a minimalist approach and with the highest respect in the cellar. Gentle clarification, natural and spontaneous fermentation and the abandonment of fining agents create wines with a distinctive indigenous and very elegant style. Pumping the juice or wine is never necessary in the gravity flow winery, allowing for minimal, and gentle vinification.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42814257561851,"sku":"00073199","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/97ecd63a501182cbb71cc17c641fb89b.jpg?v=1648085989"},{"product_id":"glassmaker-marsanne-california-usa-2016","title":"Glassmaker - Marsanne - California, USA - 2016","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis here Marsanne is special to me for a few reasons! I like the way it tastes. The grapes are farmed organically on the edge of the delta in the shadow of Mt. Diablo. So I made it, there’s less than 200 acres of this grape in California so it's a bit of a rare bird. I’m one of 2 people that make it from this vineyard (and Martha Stouman blends it with a few other things so this is really all there is!). The special thing about this vineyard is a sand to deep loam transition. It's a goldilocks zone of just enough dirt to thrive but sandy too, driving the roots deep, soil nutrition and a possibility that the grapes will struggle just enough.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI made the wine in as simple a way as I know how. Grapes picked just under 20 brix, at a nice low acid level (dig it). About 20% Rousanne. All yeasts used are native to the air and grapes. All oak barrels were a decade old and gave no flavor to the wines. Malo-Lactic was native and finished real nice. The juice was left to oxidize then racked off the fruit lees. The fine lees were never stirred. The wine was topped sometimes, but not others (always with intention). And was sulfured after malo at 20ppm and before bottling at 10 ppm. Giving you a live stable table wine made in a simple way to get a complex result. No fining, no filtering at all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"other-than-site-and-grape-the-main-difference-between-the-marsanne-and-the-picpoul-is-that-that-marsanne-likes-an-extra-year-in-bottle-before-release-to-flesh-out-its-unctuous-structure-notes-of-honeysuckle-peach-pith-wet-granite-and-lemon-leaf-pairs-best-with-brick-chicken-or-uni-y-bucatini-sardines-or-raclette-and-potatoes-\"\u003eOther than site and grape the main difference between the Marsanne and the Picpoul is that that Marsanne likes an extra year in bottle before release to flesh out its unctuous structure. Notes of honeysuckle, peach pith, wet granite and lemon leaf. Pairs best with brick chicken, or uni y bucatini, sardines, or raclette and potatoes!\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Howdy, I’m Jonathan Walton and I made these wines! Why? Its something about loving hard work and getting dirty, then cleaning up and pretending at being fancy. Its something about participating in a community of food and wine and friends and strangers that I love and admire. Its something about afternoons every fall when I smell the air, see the darker sky and crave from the deepest levels of my being northern rhone Syrah. And its something about gratefully, critically contributing to the discursive of wine.\u003cbr\u003eGlassmaker is a family name.  It is a project that I’ve made my life and yes it does tend to get intertwined quite quickly with all my passions. Intertwined like good friends and good drinks around sturdy old tables. Intertwined like the random beautiful histories of this California.   Histories that involve wild lands and ignoble grapes. Histories that were bent by tenacious farmers and immigrants;  driven, morphing communities.  So please enjoy, keep learning and pretend with me at being here and there!\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42814259560699,"sku":"00073194","price":33.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/7b4597d20e7e99f7e68b9f168777f327.jpg?v=1648086113"},{"product_id":"i-clivi-san-pietro-friulano-friuli-colli-orientali-it-2019","title":"I Clivi - 'San Pietro' - Friulano - Friuli Colli Orientali, IT - 2019","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlthough it is now known that Friulano, formerly called Tocai Friulano, is not related to Sauvignon Blanc (it is in fact the same as the minor Bordelais variety Sauvignonasse, according to Jancis Robinson), it does show clear herbal notes. I love Sauvignon Blanc, but this wine shows a more broadly useful balance between herbal flavors and nutty or citrus notes. Bright, fresh, complex, delicious. This was the wine that alerted me to the quality of the estate when it was suggested to me by Taylor Parsons at Osteria Mozza.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"-oliver-mccrum-importer\"\u003e-Oliver McCrum, Importer\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen I started looking for a producer in Friuli, I was after indigenous varieties, great work in the vineyard and not too much intervention in the cellar, and vineyards in either Collio or Colli Orientali del Fruili, the two best areas of Friuli. I Clivi meets all of those requirements. The wines are the best kind of terroir expression, as Ferdinando Zanusso, who founded I Clivi, says:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'My idea was to let history speak through the wine, by making as “transparent” a wine as possible, in which soil, climate and tradition may come fully through and be perceived without interferences. A wine truly grown, whose character is shaped entirely in the vineyard by soil, climate and vines and is in no way altered in the cellar, a wine that stands solely on itself, on its own intrinsic qualities, and is not made to suffer any intervention or “improvement”. In short, purest terroir expression, “without addition or diminishing”. The recipe is organic cultivation in the vineyard, with naturally low yields which seldom reach 20 hectolitres per hectare, and spontaneous, non-interventionist winemaking to ensure absolute integrity.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis paragraph defines great wine of any kind, I think, and the Zanusso family live up to their philosophy. Their varieties include the native varieties Ribolla Gialla, Friulano (formerly known as Tocai Friulano), Malvasia Istriana, Verduzzo (in dry form, which is unusual), and a little Merlot, which has so acclimatized to this corner of Italy that it's practically native. All of the wines are grown organically, and are cleanly but very naturally made, expressive, distinctive and mouthwatering. The winemaking is essentially the same with all of the whites, except the lees-aged wines and the sparkler. The whites are not macerated with the skins, they are fermented using indigenous yeasts, and they age on the fine lees until bottling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHighlights:\u003cbr\u003e• Outstanding small estate with vineyards in the two best zones of Friuli, Colli Orientali del Fruili and Collio, both very close to the border with Slovenia in far NE Italy\u003cbr\u003e• Natural but clean winemaking; indigenous varieties only\u003cbr\u003e• Minerally, varietally distinct white wines\u003cbr\u003e-Oliver McCrum - Importer\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42814261494011,"sku":"00073189","price":42.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/204115272cddd89743c75c41aa8c0700.jpg?v=1648086181"},{"product_id":"muchada-leclapart-univers-palomino-sanlucar-de-barrameda-jerez-es-2018","title":"Muchada-Leclapart - 'Univers+' - Palomino - Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Jerez, ES - 2018","description":"\u003cp\u003eUnivers is the entrance to our “Universe”, fresh, saline and elegant; pure “palomino” grape. Its grapes come from the lower area of our best vineyard, “La Platera”, with clay-limestone soils of “albariza” and “lustrillos”. Its salinity and purity stand out, due to the fermentation in the old champenoise tanks made of solid steel. The young vineyard highlights the salinity and the plot shows subtle hydrocarbons and powder, aromas associated with large “albariza pago”.\u003cbr\u003eVariety:\u003cbr\u003e100% old palomino and California. Vineyards of 20 years.\u003cbr\u003ePlot:\u003cbr\u003e“Viña La Platera Joven del Pago Miraflores”. 0.5 hectares. Clayey-limestone Soils of “albariza” de “lustrillos”.\u003cbr\u003eViticulture:\u003cbr\u003eBiodynamic and ecological. Superficial work of green floors and covers.\u003cbr\u003eAverage yield:\u003cbr\u003e5000-8000 kg\/hectare\u003cbr\u003eWinemaking:\u003cbr\u003eFermented and vinified in a steel tank with interior ceramic paint for 9-10 months. Spontaneous fermentation; without rectification of any kind. Initial sulphite minimum. Work on lees. Without filtering or cold stabilizing. Rinse with bentonite at low intensity from 2018.\u003cbr\u003eBottle production:\u003cbr\u003e2016: 400 bottles\u003cbr\u003e2017: 5,150 bottles\u003cbr\u003e2018: 4,100 bottles\u003cbr\u003eAnalysis:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"8mg-litre-of-sulphites-\"\u003e\u0026lt;8mg\/litre of sulphites.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA joint venture between Alejandro Muchada and extreme biodynamic enthusiast David Léclapart, in whose cellars in Trépail, Champagne, Muchada did an internship while backpacking through France in 2011. Five years later, presumably enthused by the many similarities there are between sherry and champagne, they decided to embark together on a ground-breaking project in the far south of Spain.\u003cbr\u003e‍They have a grand total of 3 ha (7.5 acres) of some of the finer vineyards of mainly old Palomino Fino vines on the famous chalk of sherry town Sanlucar de Barrameda, farmed biodynamically.\u003cbr\u003e‍These are special, ground-breaking wines that are changing the game. Luis Gutiérrez compared them to the topped up whites of Jean-François Ganevat in the Jura. We'll take that.\u003cbr\u003e‍\u003cstrong\u003eFarming\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDavid and Alejandro practice biodynamic farming and don't use any pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. They use minimal compost in an effort to promote soil microbiome health and stimulate healthy root structures. They employ minimal tilling and only do so with a shallow plow using a horse.\u003cbr\u003e‍\u003cstrong\u003eCellar\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe overall philosophy for the wines is retain the most pure essence of the grapes. The grapes are gently crushed using a Champagne press and the juice is allowed to ferment naturally and remain on the lees without disturbance for nine months. The final bottling takes place without any cold stabilization.\u003cbr\u003e-Drink Well Wines\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42841950093563,"sku":"00073223","price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/277554d636cbb7fba5e926d84c111cfc.jpg?v=1648696516"},{"product_id":"monastero-suore-cistercensi-coenobium-trebbiano-blend-lazio-it-2020","title":"Monastero Suore Cistercensi - 'Coenobium' - Trebbiano Blend - Lazio, IT - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe wine's co-harvested and co-fermented Trebbiano, Verdichio, and Malvasia translate the power of Vitorchiano's volcanic soils with a sombre interplay of smoke and iron with green apple, fennel frond, and honey. Coenobium displays notable breadth— yet it is muscular and chiseled rather than corpulent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e• Appellation: IGP Lazio\u003cbr\u003e• Uvaggio: Trebbiano (45%), Malvasia (35%), Verdicchio (20%) • Average Annual Production: 14,000\u003cbr\u003e• Average Alcohol by Volume: 12%\u003cbr\u003e• Average Residual Sugar: \u0026lt; 5 g\/l\u003cbr\u003e• Average Total Acidity:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn The Vineyard:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• Parcel Names, Slopes, and Locations: From 5 ha of gently sloping parcels surrounding the commune of Vitorchiano\u003cbr\u003e• Soil Types and Compositions: Volcanic\u003cbr\u003e• Vine Age, Training, and Density: Trained in Cordon, oldest\u003cbr\u003evines date to 1963.\u003cbr\u003e• Average Yields: Controlled through severe winter pruning, debudding, and green harvesting, yields average 45 hl\/ha\u003cbr\u003e• Average Harvest Date and Type: Manual, usually in late September-early October\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn The Cellar:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• Fermentation: Following total destemming, wine ferments spontaneously in stainless-steel and fiberglass tanks\u003cbr\u003e• Pressing: Hyrdaulic press\u003cbr\u003e• Time on Lees: Wine remains on lees until assemblage prior to\u003cbr\u003ebottling\u003cbr\u003e• Malolactic Fermentation: Spontaneous, in tank following alcoholic fermentation\u003cbr\u003e• Élevage: 12 months in stainless-steel and fiberglass tanks\u003cbr\u003e• Press Wine: Blended after malolactic\u003cbr\u003e• Fining and Filtration: Unfined, plate filtered if necessary\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"-sulfur-applied-at-harvest-and-at-bottling-with-80-90-mg-l-total-sulfur\"\u003e• Sulfur: Applied at harvest and at bottling, with 80-90 mg\/l total sulfur\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s hard to believe that we are about to receive our twelfth vintage from the sisters of \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/madrose.com\/producers\/italy\/umbria-lazio\/monastero-suore-cistercensi\/\"\u003eMonastero Suore Cistercensi\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e. Led by Adriana and Fabiola (pictured left), these nuns have been organically farming their five hectares of vines in Vitorchiano (an hour or so north of Rome) in the region of Lazio, for decades, but it wasn’t until our friend, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/madrose.com\/producers\/italy\/umbria-lazio\/paolo-bea\/\"\u003eGiampiero Bea\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, began advising them in the early 2000s that their wines gained a larger audience. Today, the wines sell like hotcakes, and a ravenous fan base waits with bated breath each time new releases from the sisters are on the horizon… and justifiably so. Even before he began helping them gently refine their approach and commercialize their wines—only to the US and Japan it should be noted—Giampiero was struck by the raw frankness of a white wine produced with almost no technology. In a region rife with soulless, highly controlled, highly sulfured beverages posing as white wines, here was a wine of real character, an unadorned expression of healthy grapes grown in fascinating volcanic soil. Moreover, since we began with the 2005 vintage, the wines have only improved.\u003cbr\u003eEach time we visit with the sisters, we are amazed by their warmth of spirit, their serene energy, and the shockingly spartan nature of their operation. The “winery” is a toolshed packed to the gills with old steel tanks, fiberglass containers of various sizes, and jugs of this and that—proving yet again that it takes the barest minimum to produce a wine of character and truth.\u003cbr\u003e-Neal Rosenthal Wine Merchant\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42841950814459,"sku":"00073216","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/507eef875ab6d09ee71e5686cfd53392.jpg?v=1648696599"},{"product_id":"subject-to-change-chill-pill-chenin-blanc-redwood-valley-mendocino-ca-2020","title":"Subject to Change - 'Chill Pill' - Chenin Blanc - Redwood Valley, Mendocino, CA - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003e*\u003cem\u003eVineyard: *\u003c\/em\u003e60-year-old, dry-farmed, head-trained Deanda Vineyard is organically farmed by Sarah Deanda in the Redwood Valley. Her Chenin Blanc, which dates back to the 1960s, was grafted onto Carignan rootstock, and the seven acres under vine take character from the sandy clay loam soils. The climate of the upland Redwood Valley AVA experiences more of a diurnal temperature shift than surrounding appellations due to a gap in the coastal ridge which funnels cool Pacific air currents through to the Valley. This leads to a more gradual ripening of refined and complex fruit.\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cem\u003eAVA: *\u003c\/em\u003eRedwood Valley\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cem\u003eMethod: *\u003c\/em\u003eAfter an initial foot crush, we macerated this Chenin Blanc for one night, then pressed the juice off the skins into neutral oak barrels where it fermented on lees for 12 months. We then racked the wine into a bottling tank where it spent another 3 months prior to bottling. The wine stabilized at 5 g\/L of residual sugar. As always, no fining, filtration, or addition of SO2 in the making.\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cem\u003eTastes and Smells: *\u003c\/em\u003e Unctuous, this wine is that. This vintage of Chill Pill is a little different than our last release, it shows alot more texture, ripe fruit and a silky soft mouthfeel. We get wax, lanolin, lemon curd, whetstone and wool. Add some white and yellow flowers some wild grasses and you get this, a Sassy Grassy tasty white wine.\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cem\u003eABV: *\u003c\/em\u003e13.9%\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cem\u003eCases: *\u003c\/em\u003e330\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"-bottling-date-november-2021\"\u003e*\u003cem\u003eBottling Date: *\u003c\/em\u003eNovember 2021\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur philosophy is simple. Nothing added, nothing subtracted. Organic grapes and a lot of love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlex Pomerantz\u003cbr\u003eFounder and Winemaker\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStarting from a very young age, I’ve always been a lover of food, wine, and hospitality. After dipping my toes in the corporate world, I packed up my car in 2011 and drove cross country for a harvest internship in pursuit of starting a wine career in Northern California. Since that first internship, I worked for six years heading up the winemaking, management and sales at a winery in Sonoma before starting Subject to Change in 2017. The idea stemmed from my love of natural wine, the community that surrounds it and the infinite opportunity and canvas that the California landscape provides. Layering my passion for European natural wine and my knowledge of California viticulture and wine production, Subject to Change Wine Co was born as a way to connect my love of natural wine to my love of California, the land and the culture of growing and consuming locally.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42841951928571,"sku":"00073211","price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/92a9e1851584e18943c7f9b6ddee9f2b.jpg?v=1648696657"},{"product_id":"subject-to-change-bang-bang-coastview-vineyard-chardonnay-gabilan-mountains-monterey-county-ca-2019","title":"Subject to Change - 'Bang Bang - Coastview Vineyard' - Chardonnay - Gabilan Mountains, Monterey County, CA - 2019","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVineyard: *\u003cem\u003eStraddling an exposed ridge of limestone, granite and chalk soils, the Coastview Vineyard sits at 2400 feet elevation with sweeping views of the Salinas Valley, the surrounding Gabilan Mountains, and Monterey Bay in the distance.\u003cbr\u003eCoastview was planted in the 90s by John Allen, who continues to organically farm the vineyard alongside his son, Parker. Their holistic approach with focus on sustainability can be seen in everything, from the large flock of sheep that they use in lieu of herbicides and fertilizer, to the artesian spring wells that they use for irrigation in times of severe drought.\u003cbr\u003e*\u003c\/em\u003eAVA\u003c\/strong\u003e: Monterey\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cem\u003eMethod: *\u003c\/em\u003eBang Bang Chardonnay was foot-crushed whole-cluster in picking bins and allowed to macerate for a day in order to gain some texture and natural protection from the compounds in the skins. The next day the juice was pressed off to a stainless-steel tank, settled for a day and barreled down to neutral oak barrels, fermenting and aging for 8 months on the lees. Racking was done two months before bottling to allow the wine to come together in the tank. As always, the wine is bottled unfined, unfiltered and with no SO2.\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cem\u003eABV: *\u003c\/em\u003e12.3%\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"-case-production-219-cases-bottling-date-august-2020\"\u003e*\u003cem\u003eCase Production: *\u003c\/em\u003e219 cases *\u003cem\u003eBottling Date: *\u003c\/em\u003eAugust 2020\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur philosophy is simple. Nothing added, nothing subtracted. Organic grapes and a lot of love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlex Pomerantz\u003cbr\u003eFounder and Winemaker\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStarting from a very young age, I’ve always been a lover of food, wine, and hospitality. After dipping my toes in the corporate world, I packed up my car in 2011 and drove cross country for a harvest internship in pursuit of starting a wine career in Northern California. Since that first internship, I worked for six years heading up the winemaking, management and sales at a winery in Sonoma before starting Subject to Change in 2017. The idea stemmed from my love of natural wine, the community that surrounds it and the infinite opportunity and canvas that the California landscape provides. Layering my passion for European natural wine and my knowledge of California viticulture and wine production, Subject to Change Wine Co was born as a way to connect my love of natural wine to my love of California, the land and the culture of growing and consuming locally.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42841952190715,"sku":"00073210","price":59.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/1eee690db15f0dde6147623f400c1276.jpg?v=1648696669"},{"product_id":"en-cavale-sauvignon-blanc-contra-costa-county-ca-2021","title":"En Cavale - Sauvignon Blanc - Contra Costa County, CA - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eOur original wine, all sourced from a vineyard in the deep east bay delta land, out past Antioch and a recent BART extension, and planted in the wind-blown sand of Oakley and Knightsen. Warm, often hot days, and evenings cooled by regular winds from Suisun Bay and the delta confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, make for an early sauvignon blanc harvest in northern California. In 2019 we picked once on August 6th, and again on August 14th. The vines were planted in the early 1990s, and our block is farmed without synthetic chemicals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the winery, the grapes were tread under foot and left to soak shortly before going in the press. After about a week the wine was racked to neutral French oak, and a single used acacia barrel. A small portion of the wine was also fermented and raised in a plastic flex tank. No inoculations, nor blocking of malolactic fermentation. We added a small amount of sulfur (25ppm) when the different lots were combined, roughly six weeks before bottling in February, 2020.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis lot saw extended lees aging for a more... Jura-esque vibe\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEn Cavale is a collaboration between our good friends and colleagues (and also both at one point our entire Bay Area sales operation), Wolfgang Weber and Chad Hinds (Methode Sauvage). Their idea was to team up and make soulful, yet accessible expressions of old-school Californian wine with a hat tip to many of their favorite wines from France and Italy. All of the fruit is sourced from organically-farmed vineyards and extreme care is practiced in the cellar with native yeasts carrying out fermentations, sulfur additions kept to a minimum (if any are made at all), and no filtration.\u003cbr\u003e-Selection Massale\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42841952616699,"sku":"00073206","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/10d9e5309ebea8e2645048629da78118.jpg?v=1648696714"},{"product_id":"emme-wines-amando-el-sol-chardonnay-colombard-redwood-valley-mendocino-ca-2021","title":"Emme Wines - 'amando el sol' - Chardonnay, Colombard - Redwood Valley, Mendocino, CA - 2021","description":"\u003cp\u003eRicetti vineyard experienced a devastating frost in early November 2020 which killed many the vines’ fruiting buds. A 40 acre ranch that normally produces close to 200 tons, Ricetti vineyard yielded only 32.5 tons in total in 2021. With such a low yield, I was unable to pull the tonnages I had hoped for from Ricetti vineyard. So, to make up the difference in Colombard tonnage, I turned to their neighbors. The Mason family lives across the street from the Ricettis, and they farm a ranch devoted to Chardonnay.\u003cbr\u003eThe Chardonnay portion of this blend was pressed directly, and the juice was settled overnight in tank before being racked off heavy solids and transferred to concrete eggs. The Chardonnay fermented in eggs until dry, then was racked to neutral oak barriques to rest for the winter.\u003cbr\u003eThe Colombard portion of the blend was also pressed directly and racked off its heavy solids after settling overnight. It was then transferred directly to neutral barriques, where it underwent both fermentation as well as élevage over the winter.\u003cbr\u003eIn late February, the Chardonnay and Colombard components were racked out of their barriques and blended just before bottling.\u003cbr\u003e‘amando el sol’ means ‘loving the sun’, an ode to bright golden Colombard fruit that ripens happily in the California heat.\u003cbr\u003eIndigenous yeast fermentation. SO2: 10ppm added in January 2022, 10 ppm at bottling. No other additions, no fining\/filtration.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTasting Notes: *\u003cem\u003ecreamy lemon meringue, briny, clean. A wine to drink by the river in July.\u003cbr\u003e*\u003c\/em\u003eVarieties\u003c\/strong\u003e: 66% Chardonnay\/34% Colombard\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cem\u003eVineyard: *\u003c\/em\u003eRicetti (Colombard) and Mason Family (Chardonnay)\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cem\u003eAVA: *\u003c\/em\u003eRedwood Valley, Mendocino, CA\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cem\u003eFarming: *\u003c\/em\u003eOrganic, Dry Farmed\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cem\u003eHarvest Date: *\u003c\/em\u003e20 August 2021 (Chardonnay) and 10 September 2021 (Colombard)\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cem\u003eBottling Date: *\u003c\/em\u003e22 February 2022\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cem\u003eAlc: *\u003c\/em\u003e11%\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"cases-70\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCases:\u003c\/strong\u003e 70\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy name is Rosalind, and I farm grapes organically and make wine without additives. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI work within a likeminded community of grape-growers and winemakers in Northern California.  2018 marked the first year I set out to create something of my own, albeit with the welcome support of the talented people who surround me.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWine, at its core, is about community.  Countless hands are involved in every glass you drink – the growers who planted cuttings three generations ago; the field workers who prune the vines in winter, tend them throughout the year and pick the grapes come autumn; the winemakers and interns who footstomp those grapes, forklift bins of fermenting fruit from tank to press, and fill barrels with wine to rest before bottling; and the distributors, restaurateurs, and sommeliers who help bring that bottle to you.  An incredible amount of labor and love goes into filling a glass with wine, and I am constantly reminded of and grateful for the community who makes all of it possible.  I could not do this alone, nor would I want to.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSimilarly, at the end of the day, wine should be enjoyed with your own community of friends and family.  I aim to make fresh, bright wines that taste good, encourage thoughtful discussion, and ultimately bring people together. \u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42866411274491,"sku":"00073226","price":42.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/709e1a439c833b28c2a3f1dfca160513.jpg?v=1649208937"},{"product_id":"domaine-du-cellier-des-cray-pepie-jacquere-savoie-fr-2020","title":"Domaine du Cellier des Cray - 'Pépie' - Jacquère - Savoie, FR - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn essential wine for understanding Jacquère, hyper mineral and sooooo green appley - A vibrant dip into savoie by one of our favorite producers PERIODT!\u003cbr\u003eVinification\u003cbr\u003eHand-harvested organically farmed Jacquère. Densely planted on silty limestone soils worked with horse-plough. Carefully sorted whole clusters, delicately pressed and fermented in the tank without additions. Natural malolactic fermentation, four months ageing in the tank.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42866507546875,"sku":"00073230","price":38.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/584f0ad21fb2f351a4af3d7810f8f2d3.jpg?v=1649211039"},{"product_id":"olivier-pithon-mon-ptit-pithon-blanc-catalan-white-blend-cotes-catalanes-fr-2020","title":"Olivier Pithon - 'Mon P'tit Pithon Blanc' - Catalan White Blend - Côtes Catalanes, FR - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eMon P’tit PITHON\u003cbr\u003eThis cuvée is the result of a partnership with half a dozen winemakers from neighbouring villages who also practice organic agriculture or who are converting to organic. It is a wine to drink with friends, in the sun, while eating a pleasant meal. Fruit, roundness and pleasure. The simple pleasures of life like eating, drinking, and laughing best describe this P’tit Pithon.\u003cbr\u003eThs is a Vin de Pays de Côtes Catalanes Blanc Wine from Pays de Côtes Catalanes. Blend of white grape varieties from Roussillon.\u003cbr\u003eThink Mineral, intense fruit, a little floral, a lot of pleasure. ZINGER\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"I was introduced into the world of wine during my earliest years by my maternal grand-father in Anjou. I fell into it, as they say, when I was little. My older brother who is a wine-grower, settled into the Coteaux du Layon region (Jo Pithon) when I was only 4 years old. I have dozens of memories in his wine cellar… and only good ones!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is therefore only natural that I chose to work with wine or perhaps rather that it chose me. From as young as 14 years old, I worked in vineyards as an apprentice in my home town, Anjou. Aware very early on about the importance of quality, I left my motherland at 18 years of age, to continue my training in the Bordeaux region.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA series of internships allowed me to discover other regions in France like the Jurançon and the Beaujolais. Once my studies finally came to an end, I was able to focus entirely on my passion for the land and for wine…\"\u003cbr\u003eCalce is a unique place located between the Mediterranean Sea, the Pyrenees mountain range and the Corbieres mountain range. Situated at about 300 metres altitude, the vines are positioned on extremely an rich terroir.\u003cbr\u003eSoils: Marls, Schists and Limestone.\u003cbr\u003eWhite grape varieties: Macabeu, Grenache Gris and Blanc.\u003cbr\u003eRed grape varieties: Carignan, Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre.\u003cbr\u003eNever have I ever second guessed myself, it is without a doubt and unthinkable for me to work the soil and vines other than with the upmost love and respect. We cannot say we respect the land while using products which have skulls marked on their bottles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter several unsuccessful attempts, we are currently working with a biodynamic approach. Under the guidance of Jacques Mell (a biodynamics advisor) since 2010, we carefully apply biodynamic practices. He allowed us to understand and practice, as thoroughly as possible, this type of agriculture which is full of common sense and sensitivity. Today, I can better understand my vines, my soil and my terroirs. Working as closely as possible to the ground and the vine stocks allows me to make even more delicate and accurate wines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"biodynamics\"\u003eBiodynamics\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e– The plant :\u003cbr\u003eWe use horn silica (501) in autumn and spring. In autumn, we use it to stimulate the return of sap in the roots and therefore preservation. Then it is used in springtime to reinforce the photosynthesis and to bring a luminous quality to the plants.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e– The soil :\u003cbr\u003eIn autumn, we use a tiny dose of cowpat compost called Maria Thun to stimulate soil life. In springtime, we use a booster with a cow-horn manure (500) to stimulate the awakening of the soils.\u003cbr\u003eI chose biodynamics with the palate in mind. When the point of commonality in your wine preferences is that they are all biodynamic, it is worth asking yourself why that is.\u003cbr\u003eAfter many discussions and tastings, I made the leap to this agricultural practice which is an extension of organic agriculture, also being dynamic. Some of its basic principles are similar to homeopathy with regards to the dilution process and in its dynamisation. For me, it is a better way to showcase my terroirs and the qualitative potential of my vineyard.\u003cbr\u003eI put ten years into bringing life back to the soils which the previous generation had killed. Today the soils are alive and expressive and biodynamics is there to enhance it. However, just like organic agriculture, biodynamics is simply a method, it is by no means a marker of quality. There are also biodynamic wines which I don’t enjoy.\u003cbr\u003eLife and biodiversity\u003cbr\u003eFrom the age of 25, I have shared my life with Lais. 25 years of communal life is beautiful. I have always loved cows, that is to say, the animal as a whole (especially those which are eaten). When I arrived in Calce with my cow and a mare, everyone asked me what on earth I was doing with all these animals. Today I have sheep grazing in the vineyard and the surrounding areas from October to April. We also have some beehives. For me agriculture is to be appreciated in all its glory, in its entirety.\u003cbr\u003eWe have planted a lot of trees and plan to redo the hedges around the plantations.\u003cbr\u003ePlanting\u003cbr\u003eWe have started to sow seeds in certain vineyards to reintroduce a permanent plant covering. A mix of grains and legumes is sown early in autumn so that there is plant cover all winter, which we will bury in the spring. We also add other organic matter to allow for continuous growth and life in the soil.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42908013461755,"sku":"00073237","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/f4dd49cf9f995bdaa75d4cb0ff89ca60.jpg?v=1649968762"},{"product_id":"domaine-de-lecu-classic-melon-de-bourgogne-muscadet-sevre-et-maine-loire-valley-fr-2020","title":"Domaine de l'Ecu - 'Classic' - Melon de Bourgogne - Muscadet Sevre et Maine, Loire Valley, FR - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003e*\u003cem\u003eSite \u0026amp; Vines: *\u003c\/em\u003e30-45 year old vines from the domaines various parcels.\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cem\u003eVinification \u0026amp; Elevage: *\u003c\/em\u003e hand harvested, pressed pneumatically and aged for 12 months on the lees in underground concrete tanks.\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cem\u003eProduction: *\u003c\/em\u003e40hl\/ha; 20,000 btls\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cem\u003eSuggested Pairings: *\u003c\/em\u003eSeafood platter, a fatty fish (mackerel \/ sardine \/ salmon type), herbed rabbit terrine, caramelized onion tart, and of course...Oysters!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"-notes-smoky-notes-on-a-background-of-citrus-and-white-flowers-the-domaine-s-entry-level-muscadet-offers-more-mineral-expression-definition-and-texture-than-most-entry-level-muscadet-sur-lies-\"\u003e*\u003cem\u003eNotes: *\u003c\/em\u003eSmoky notes on a background of citrus and white flowers. The domaine's entry level Muscadet offers more mineral expression, definition and texture than most entry level Muscadet sur lies. \u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDomaine de l’Ecu was founded by pioneering Guy Bossard in 1972, certified organic in 1975 and certified biodynamic by Demeter in 1998. The domaine has been producing unique, single terroir Muscadet for almost 40 years running and makes a stunning array of Vin De France bottlings as well. Fred Niger, who trained extensively with Guy before taking over the estate in 2012, is an equally hands on owner and fanatic in the vineyards. He crops extremely low, and produces Muscadets that have remarkable depth, precision, as well as ageability. Like Guy, Fred is deeply committed to biodynamic and organic practices but he takes these commitments even further by incorporating various types of energy work, working in terracotta amphora, and using minimal to no sulfur. Fred continues to make the domaine's stunning single parcel Muscadets maintaining their benchmark quality, while expanding the domaine's offerings with myriad single variety bottlings beyond the appellation's Melon de Bourgogne and fermenting and ageing in amphora.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the vineyard, soils are worked and green harvesting is essential in order to keep the high yielding, workhorse Melon de Bourgogne in check. This helps aerate the vines protecting them from mildew and also encourages greater expression of site in the fruit as the vine spends less energy on non fruit-bearing growth. Everything is harvested by hand. There is no modern technology in the the cellar, not even pumps. All cuvées are fermented with native yeast and gravity is used throughout the cellar, from receipt of the harvest and pressing into the fermentation and ageing vessels, whether it be an underground cement tank for the Muscadets or neutral barrel or terra cotta amphora.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhy amphora? Amphora are made of the earth, and therefore the perfect medium for working as close to the earth and naturally as possible. Fred believes amphora are the natural extension for the domaine and allows for a more pure expression of the terroir without any outside interference. In addition, ageing in amphora harmonizes the texture, softening tannins and giving a wine, even when young, structured and age-worthy, a rounded, velvety mouthfeel. These wines are as delicious as they are beautiful to look at!  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDepending on the cuvée, sulfur is either used minimally or not at all. Total sulfur levels at a max are 30\/40mg\/l, which is less than half of the max allowed by Demeter (their limit is 90mg\/l), which itself is already far more restrictive than the max levels allowed with  \"Agriculture Bio\" certification ( French organic certification), which is 150ml\/l. As Fred likes to say, he makes wines \"without fuss, farce, or make-up\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost notably, Fred continues to go beyond the limits of standard Muscadet and the Melon de Bourgogne grape with his stunning VDF wines, impressive not in the least because they have no added sulfur and yet ring with a purity, vibrancy and clarity that defies what one thinks is possible with natural wines. The Estate VDF bottlings use mature vines originally planted by Guy Bossard. Fred has also recently spearheaded two new projects, Les Temps de Copains and Love \u0026amp; Grapes.\u003cbr\u003e- Floraison Selections\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42908014018811,"sku":"00073236","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/df69c6ca7976bbf24b11514dff81ae0a.jpg?v=1649968776"},{"product_id":"domaines-des-ardoisieres-argile-blanc-jacquere-chardonnay-mondeuse-blanche-savoie-fr-2020","title":"Domaines des Ardoisières - 'Argile Blanc' - Jacquère, Chardonnay, Mondeuse Blanche - Savoie, FR - 2020","description":"\u003ch2 id=\"40yo-jacqu-re-chardonnay-and-mondeuse-blanche-planted-at-high-altitude-450m-on-schist-based-hillsides-in-st-pierre-de-soucy-vinified-with-15-80yo-jacqu-re-from-apremont-on-limestone-scree-ageing-in-fibreglass-for-nine-months-a-perfectly-balanced-weight-and-tension-with-smoky-notes-on-the-nose-very-frank-pure-and-at-ease-on-the-palate-with-ripe-lemon-fruit-and-intense-mineral-character-hot-stone-and-saline-that-really-tugs-on-the-salivary-glands-\"\u003e40yo jacquère, chardonnay and mondeuse blanche planted at high altitude (450m) on schist-based hillsides in St-Pierre-de-Soucy, vinified with 15% 80yo jacquère from Apremont on limestone scree. Ageing in fibreglass for nine months. A perfectly balanced weight and tension, with smoky notes on the nose, very frank, pure and at ease on the palate, with ripe lemon fruit, and intense mineral character (hot stone and saline) that really tugs on the salivary glands.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Domaine des Ardoisieres, it seems Mont Blanc is everywhere. The towering mountain watches over this small estate near the Swiss border from every angle, shaping the wines so expertly grown and made here.The domaine was planted during Roman times, then became overgrown with forest. A passionate group of supporters cleared the vineyard in 1998 and began piecing the steep terraces back together to create Domaine des Ardoisieres. Since 2005, Champagne native Brice Omont has taken over the winemaking and is now considered one of the most exciting producers in France. For the very first time, Brice’s wines are being imported to the United States.The domaine’s 17 acres of vineyards are planted on steep, rocky slopes high above the town of Freterive. The entire production is sourced from two single vineyard sites: Cevins and St. Pierre de Soucy. The domaine produces five different cuvées (three white, two red) using the area’s unique varietals, including Altesse, Jacquère, Mondeuse, Gamay and Persan. The domaine has employed biodynamic principles in the vineyard since the vines were planted. The reds are produced without any de-stemming, and all the wines are fermented with native yeasts.Brice’s wines are brilliantly unique, capturing the stony and mineral character of the vineyard terraces, and possessing an amazing crystalline purity. Drinking these wines from the side of Mont Blanc is like tasting freshly squeezed juice running off a glacier.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42944093061371,"sku":"00073260","price":60.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/7899082bf36c552be9e94ad893dd3e41.jpg?v=1650660269"},{"product_id":"le-briseau-patapon-blanc-chenin-blanc-loire-valley-fr","title":"Le Briseau - 'Patapon Blanc' - Chenin Blanc - Loire Valley, FR -","description":"\u003cp\u003eBuckle in for the perfect soif! Ripe yet refreshingly crisp and with the most engaging bitter-apple-skin note and texture that leaves you wanting, no, needing more!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"super-soif-from-the-best-of-the-soifeurs-\"\u003eSuper soif from the best of the soifeurs!\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart 1: The Christan Chaussard Chronicles:\u003cbr\u003eThe late Christian Chaussard, like the proverbial cat, was a man who lived several lives. As a youth, he was stung by a venomous fish while performing his military service in Tahiti. Christian was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down; doctors told him he'd never walk again. Through sheer willpower and years of rehabilitation, he managed to baffle medical experts and regain mobility, albeit with a limp that would follow him for the rest of his life.\u003cbr\u003eHis dream had always to be a doctor, but by the time he was back on his feet, the rehabilitation had consumed too much time and energy. After years spent in the public works sector, he focused on learning viticulture and oenology, which he eventually started teaching himself in Amboise while running his estate in Vouvray.\u003cbr\u003e Along with fellow professor Thierry Puzelat, Christian would teach the regularly assigned curriculum to students, then tell them to do the exact opposite: work organically, use native yeasts, add as little sulfur as possible and avoid filtration\u003cbr\u003eThierry,eventually got fired. While in Vouvray, a fateful accident led to the discovery and re-branding of the most ancient technique for sparkling wine. Christian had bottled one of his Vouvrays with residual sugar—it was probably a demi-sec—and it accidentally started\u003cbr\u003erefermenting.\u003cbr\u003e At first he thought it was ruined, but after tasting it he decided he liked it. Doing some insightful research, Christian realized that this was actually a technique from the past and started doing it intentionally. He dubbed the style \"pétillant naturel\" and later \"pét-nat\" for short. Friends like Thierry Puzelat, René Mosse, Hervé Villemade and Pascal Potaire began making their own pét-nats and using the term. The style and name progressively spread, eventually becoming a ubiquitous category in the natural wine world; examples of pétillant naturel can now be found around the globe.\u003cbr\u003eUnfortunately, a series of climactic hardships forced him to abandon his Vouvray estate, so he also quit teaching and decided to be a winemaker in the “new world”.\u003cbr\u003ePart 2: Nathalie Gaubicher and Le Briseau:\u003cbr\u003eBefore accomplishing that goal, Christian met Nathalie Gaubicher, a Swiss actress with an oenologistand sommelier diploma. They fell in love and set out to find vines somewhere in France. Their search took them all around the country and to all wine regions. In 2002, they settled in the Jasnières\/Coteaux-du-Loir area in northern Touraine.\u003cbr\u003e The area is 155 miles southwest of Paris between the cities of Le Mans and Tours,  28 miles north of Vouvray.\u003cbr\u003e The entirety of Jasnières covers 80 hectaresof vines, and Coteaux-du-Loir about 200 hectares. The soils are largely all clay and silica over a subsoil of limestone.\u003cbr\u003e Domaine le Briseau was started with four hectares of vines planted mainly with Chenin Blanc and Pineau d’Aunis.\u003cbr\u003e The name \"Briseau\" comes from a where the soils get so hard that they shatter (\"brise\") any tools used to work them.\u003cbr\u003eIn 2005, Christian and Natalie started a small négoce called Nana, Vins \u0026amp; Cie, for which they bought grapes on the vines to harvest with their team. These grapes are vinified the same way as the estate's in order to produce totally natural wines, and over the years have focused more and more on grapes from the Ardèche and now exclusively from Languedoc sourced from Emile Hérédia.\u003cbr\u003eBy 2007, the estate had grown to 11 hectares.\u003cbr\u003e All vineyard work is done according to the principles of organic viticulture: no pesticides, insecticides or chemical fertilizers are used; nettle and horsetail decoctions are sprayed on the foliage; copper is used in modest quantity (less than 5kg\/HA); the vines are plowed and grass allowed to grow in the rows. In 2006, the estate started its conversion to biodynamic principles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn September 2012, shortly after getting through a long battle with cancer, Christian was tragically killed in a tractor accident. His influence on the Loire valley and the natural wine movement as a whole (he was president of the AVN for five years) has been crucial in shaping a new generation of forward thinking vignerons.\u003cbr\u003e We miss him, but take comfort in Natalie continuing their collective work at Le Briseau.\u003cbr\u003eNathalie, now married to fellow vigneron Emile Hérédia, currently splits her time between the Loireand the Languedoc where Emile decamped to start his new estate Domaine des Dimanches. She has shrunk the size of Briseau to 6.3 hectares and has a local, full time employee in the vines. She returns for essential moments in the season, namely pruning, harvest and the vinifications.\u003cbr\u003e Besides the reduction in size, the major evolutions have occurred in the cellar: vats are no longer saturated with CO2 there are no more pigeages or aging in wood. The wines do not see any S02 until bottling.\u003cbr\u003e-Louis Dressner Imports\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42969939804411,"sku":"00073266","price":48.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/9ef2c671f8290ae68435adb5cc6e883f.jpg?v=1651211112"},{"product_id":"julien-altaber-la-fleur-au-verre-blanc-chardonnay-burgundy-fr-2020","title":"Julien Altaber - 'La Fleur au Verre Blanc' - Chardonnay - Burgundy, FR - 2020","description":"\u003ch2 id=\"not-your-mom-s-chard-all-fresh-and-unfiltered-delights-within-this-green-glass-magic-from-a-single-parcel-of-chardonnay-in-montbellet-macon-you-will-hardly-see-a-whute-burgundy-like-julien-s-6-10-days-of-skin-contact-technically-make-this-orange-but-we-like-it-when-people-choose-it-off-the-white-list-only-to-have-their-world-opened-to-the-flower-in-the-glass-because-it-it-s-perfect-\"\u003eNot your mom's chard - all fresh and unfiltered delights within this green glass magic. From a single parcel of chardonnay in Montbellet - Macon - you will hardly see a whute burgundy like Julien's... 6-10 days of skin contact technically make this orange... but we like it when people choose it off the white list only to have their world opened to \"The Flower in the Glass\" because it... it's PERFECT 🤩\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJulien Altaber was not born Burgundian nor did he inherit vines, as most of Burgundy’s successful vignerons have. Raised in Auvergne, he hoped to continue the family tradition of dairy farming. But after insistence from his mother, he enrolled in trade school to study viticulture, setting his life on an unexpected path. His mother may have imagined her son at work for a lucrative Cote D’Or domaine where men in suits line up to purchase Pinot “futures,” but Julien always wanted to work for himself, in his own vines. Despite its idyllic appearance, the political economy of Burgundy is increasingly similar to Bordeaux or Napa, with serious barriers to entry for young vignerons with big ideas and small pockets. This is the landscape that Julien confronted after trade school: record-high cost of land and not a lot of friendly faces.\u003cbr\u003eJulien Altaber\u003cbr\u003eAround that time, he made the acquaintance of Dominique Derain in Saint Aubin, a pioneer of organic viticulture and natural winemaking in Burgundy and an all around charitable fellow. Dominique had always been a black sheep in the conservative world of the Cote D’Or and he found something familiar in Julien’s idealism. The two struck a deal. Julien would work as Dominique’s cellar assistant and help him tend the vines and Dominique would allow Julien to make a few barrels of wine in the basement. In the meanwhile, Dominique would help Julien find interesting and affordable parcels to purchase. In 2011, Julien found what he was looking for: an exceptional old-vines parcel of uncloned Aligoté vines, close to the village of Puligny, one of the great terroirs of the Cotes de Beaune. The following year, he arranged a \u003cem\u003efermage\u003c\/em\u003e, a long-term lease on a parcel of pinot noir high up in the hills of the relatively obscure Maranges AOC, from which he vinifies approximately two barrels per year. And in the mean while, Julien has established hands-on relationships with a small circle of growers in and around Saint Aubin and in the Cote Chalonaise, from whom he buys fruit for negoce cuvees. Here, a few words about sourcing are necessary. In the smoke-and-mirrors world of Burgundy negociants, Julien’s work is totally transparent. He demands organic farming without exception and prefers recurring relationships to one-off deals. His Bourgogne Blanc, for instance, has been sourced from Vincent Talmot’s lovely organic vineyard at Montbellet for the last 5 years and his Puligny-Montrachet is purchased from Renaud Boyer, a long-time friend and a notable natural winemaker in his own right.\u003cbr\u003eThere’s a subtlety in these Burgundies that bears an obvious resemblance to Julien’s mentor, Dominique Derain. At the same time, though, there’s an incredible energy and liveliness that results from Julien’s gentle, hands-off cellar work. He believes that Burgundies are at their best without chaptalization, even if nature gives him a mere 11% alcohol, as is often the case in Maranages. Fermentation is always spontaneous and sulfur is usually avoided entirely. Finally, the wines are left unfiltered to showcase the aromatic complexity of Julien’s unique terroirs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePercy Selections, Importer\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42969940132091,"sku":"00073264","price":52.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/50ec51e8f6f78a7a48bf39bda9989e1d.jpg?v=1651211134"},{"product_id":"domaine-des-marnes-blanches-en-quartre-vis-chardonnay-cotes-de-jura-fr-2019","title":"Domaine des Marnes Blanches - 'en Quartre Vis' - Chardonnay - Côtes de Jura, FR - 2019","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis wine simply sings. A pure Jura expression that is somehow both softer on the edges yet less obscured by winemaking than most wines from the region. I think this wine stands apart for its clarity and lean directness that simply screams - \" I AM SUPER EFFING GOOD AND MAYBE YOU CAN DRINK ME NOW OR ... LIKE IN 20 YEARS\" ... that's just what the bottle says, ya know?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"chardonnay-en-quartre-vis-2019-100-from-50-year-old-vines-in-from-cesancey-only-one-demi-muid-of-500-liters-for-vinification-and-elevage\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eChardonnay En Quartre Vis 2019\u003c\/strong\u003e: 100% from 50-year-old vines in from Cesancey. Only one demi muid of 500 liters for vinification and elevage\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAOC: Côtes du Jura (Sud Revermont)\u003cbr\u003eVarieties: Chardonnay, Savagnin, Poulsard, Pinot Noir, Trousseau\u003cbr\u003eViticulture: Organic (Ecocert)\u003cbr\u003eSize: 10 hectares\u003cbr\u003eProduction: 7000\/9000 cases a year\u003cbr\u003eTerroirs: White marl, red marl, limestone, fossilized limestone (Gryphées)\u003cbr\u003eNatives of the Jura, but from farming rather than winemaking backgrounds, Géraud and Pauline Fromont began this Domaine when they were in their mid-20s, and are ambitious, talented young winemakers.  They share all vineyard, cellar, and sales duties, and are rising stars in the region.\u003cbr\u003eThe Marnes Blanches vineyards are divided between three towns: Cesancey, Vincelles, and Ste-Agnès.  The Fromonts acquired their Cesancey vineyards first, and those feature the “white marl” soil that gives the Domaine its name, with topsoil of limestone.  The vineyards in Ste-Agnès and Vincelles are primarily red marl, with fossilized limestone. With vines up to 100 years old and interesting local strains such as Melon-Queue-Rouge and Savagnin Muscaté, the Fromonts have excellent material to work with in the cellar. They began farming organically immediately upon beginning the Domaine in 2006 and are now Ecocert certified, with plowing between rows.\u003cbr\u003eAs with most Jura producers, the Fromonts make a variety of cuvees ranging from ouillé whites, to sous-voile whites, to Crémants white and rosé, single variety reds, and a delicious vin de paille.  They work with all native yeast.  Parcels are vinified separately and aged in either stainless steel or neutral cask.  Sulfuring is minimal, and they’ve begun tentatively to experiment with sans soufre winemaking.\u003cbr\u003eThe Fromonts ouillé white wines are labeled “\u003cem\u003eReflet\u003c\/em\u003e” and their sous-voile whites “\u003cem\u003eEmpreinte\u003c\/em\u003e” to indicate which wines are purely reflective of terroir, and which are “imprinted” by winemaking style.  Of particular note amongst their collection of topped-up wines are Savagnin Muscaté “Le Jensillard” and Chardonnay “Le Levrette” from old vines on fossilized limestone.  The reds are typically delicate and elegant, with Poulsard showing the zesty, high-toned notes of pomegranate and blood orange that make us love the grape.  These are clean, pure, vibrant wines with all styles well-executed and delicious.\u003cbr\u003eIn 2018 they also began a \u003cem\u003enégoce\u003c\/em\u003e project called Coup de Jus. These are made with certified organic fruit in tank and are pure \u003cem\u003eglou glou.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42980151951611,"sku":"00073277","price":68.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/c8c7296d3849ce096c0b66e6e855567d.jpg?v=1651542404"},{"product_id":"lady-of-the-sunshine-chevey-sauvignon-blanc-chardonnay-edna-valley-ca-2021","title":"Lady of the Sunshine - 'Chevey' - Sauvignon Blanc \u0026 Chardonnay - Edna Valley, CA - 2021","description":"\u003cp\u003ea collaborative effort in practicing organic farming at oliver's vineyard in edna valley, owned by talley vineyards. this block was planted in 1991 and is located on the southwest side of the valley, four miles from the coast on a mix of sandy clay loam soils.\u003cbr\u003ethis playful blend is inspired by the traditional blends of the cheverny region. the two varietals were harvested on the same day and foot tread and soaked on skins overnight before being whole bunch pressed, separately. the juice was fermented with native yeast in neutral french oak barrels and aged on lees for 7 months before its first racking to blend before bottling, without filtration.\u003cbr\u003ethink orchard bloom, coconut meringue, \u0026amp; lemon zest.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e402 cases produced, 12.5% alcohol\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGina Giugni is a second generation biodynamic farmer and winemaker. Gina started Lady of the Sunshine in 2017, with a focus on regenerative, organic, and biodynamic farming in pursuit of making natural wines that reflect the purity of the place they come from. Gina also farms, full time, the 6.5 acre Chene Vineyard, located in the Edna Valley appellation. Since her takeover in 2018, the vineyard is now a Demeter certified biodynamic vineyard. Gina and her husband, Mikey, run Scar of the Sea and Lady of the Sunshine together out of their winery in San Luis Obispo, CA.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42980152475899,"sku":"00073275","price":52.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/4a7ea171b767f6efd469da1bf9dbe8e5.jpg?v=1651542431"},{"product_id":"scar-of-the-sea-bassi-vineyard-chardonnay-avila-beach-ca-2020","title":"Scar of the Sea - 'Bassi Vineyard' - Chardonnay - Avila Beach, CA - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis wine is crafted from 20 year old vines at Bassi Vineyard, located on the coastal hillsides of Avila Valley. This bottling is a unique snapshot of a true coastal vineyard in California, located 1.2 miles from the Pacific Ocean. This wine is full of energy and precision. Fermented in 228 L \u0026amp; 500 L barrels, aged on lees for 17 months, and bottled without fining or filtration.\u003cbr\u003eThink chalk, lemon cake, caramel apple and flint\u003cbr\u003e12.5% alcohol, 160 cases made\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScar of the Sea was established in 2012 and is owned \u0026amp; operated by Mikey \u0026amp; Gina Giugni in San Luis Obispo, California.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Central Coast offers us the opportunity to live, work, and play by the sea, who is influential to the vineyards we work with and how we spend our time.  The ocean’s presence has shaped our way of life along with the climate, soils, and geology of  the coastal vineyards we work with that fall under the spell of her fog each day.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScar of the Sea focuses on working with farmers who are instrumental in farming for the future and making wines with as little intervention as possible.  Our wines are made with the intention to tell a story of where they come from, the people who farm them, and reflect each vintage under the California sun. \u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42980152508667,"sku":"00073274","price":74.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/d8f953ab32cc3a0af7cf09f4a09e5b4f.jpg?v=1651542442"},{"product_id":"lady-of-the-sunshine-stolpman-vineyard-sauvignon-blanc-ballard-canyon-santa-barbara-ca-2021","title":"Lady of the Sunshine - 'Stolpman Vineyard' - Sauvignon Blanc - Ballard Canyon, Santa Barbara, CA - 2021","description":"\u003cp\u003ethe 2021 vintage of sauvignon blanc comes from the stolpman vineyard, located in ballard canyon, 15 miles from the coast. the sauvignon blanc is farmed with organic practices, planted on a limestone outcropping, at high density and on it’s own roots.\u003cbr\u003ethe grapes were foot tread and soaked on skins overnight before being whole bunch pressed. the juice fermented with native yeast in neutral french oak barrels. the wine was aged on lees for 7 months, bottled without filtration.\u003cbr\u003ethink margarita salt, lime zest, \u0026amp; green pineapple.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e432 cases produced, 12.5% alcohol\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGina Giugni is a second generation biodynamic farmer and winemaker. Gina started Lady of the Sunshine in 2017, with a focus on regenerative, organic, and biodynamic farming in pursuit of making natural wines that reflect the purity of the place they come from. Gina also farms, full time, the 6.5 acre Chene Vineyard, located in the Edna Valley appellation. Since her takeover in 2018, the vineyard is now a Demeter certified biodynamic vineyard. Gina and her husband, Mikey, run Scar of the Sea and Lady of the Sunshine together out of their winery in San Luis Obispo, CA.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42980154769659,"sku":"00073272","price":52.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/a3545a89113e0709a36c040944145e29.jpg?v=1651542469"},{"product_id":"bodegas-de-las-estrellas-ego-vinum-blanco-verdejo-macabeo-castilla-la-mancha-es-2019","title":"Bodegas de las Estrellas - 'Ego Vinum Blanco' - Verdejo, Macabeo - Castilla la Mancha, ES - 2019","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is... \"a no-brainer\" - Amphora aged, biodynamic, spanish sunshine. That's it!\u003cbr\u003e50% Verdejo, 50% Macabeo. Greenish yellow, bright and bright. It shows fresh, clean and sweet notes of ripe fruits. It is soft, light and with pleasant permanence. Its air character makes it subtle and delicate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the southern part of the Spanish region of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.verovinogusto.com\/vero-blog\/castilla-la-mancha-spain-windmills-don-quixote-travel-food-wine\"\u003eCastilla-La Mancha\u003c\/a\u003e,  \u003cstrong\u003eBodega de las Estrellas **is the 200 year old De Nova family winemaking legacy, an estate which has been making organic, natural wines using amphora with vessels from the 19th century. With vineyards situated at 700 meters (almost a 1\/2 mile high) with marl and limestone soil, Bodega de las Estrellas is now led by fourth generation winemakers\u003c\/strong\u003e Dionisio \u003cstrong\u003eand\u003c\/strong\u003e Karina de Nova\u003cstrong\u003e, Bodega de las Estrellas is committed to crafting wines that are traditional to their area, but are also trailblazers in the local *\u003cem\u003eorganic *\u003c\/em\u003eand\u003c\/strong\u003e natural wine \u003cstrong\u003emovement.\u003cbr\u003eMaking their **US debut\u003c\/strong\u003e with Vero with their bottled wines, Bodega de las Estrelllas is the \u003cstrong\u003efirst winery\u003c\/strong\u003e in Castilla-La Mancha to be \u003cstrong\u003ecertified organic *\u003cem\u003eand using *\u003c\/em\u003eamphora\u003c\/strong\u003e, Bodega de las Estrellas creates \u003cstrong\u003enatural\u003c\/strong\u003e wines using only \u003cstrong\u003enative yeast fermentation\u003c\/strong\u003e and with \u003cstrong\u003eno added sulfites\u003c\/strong\u003e.   Dionisio De Nova and his family with Bodega de las Estrellas has carved their own path to create \u003cstrong\u003eenvironmentally sustainable\u003c\/strong\u003e methods to \u003cstrong\u003ebiodynamically\u003c\/strong\u003e craft their wines.  Part of this is the decision to make their wines exclusively in \u003cstrong\u003eamphora\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003cbr\u003eClay vessels of oblong shape,** Bodega de las Estrellas** works with \u003cstrong\u003eamphora\u003c\/strong\u003e (or \u003cem\u003etinajas\u003c\/em\u003e in Spanish) that hold approximately 5000 liters of wine.  The amphora are an important part of \u003cstrong\u003eBodega de las Estrellas’\u003c\/strong\u003e sustainable approach, as the thick clay walls and vortex shape vessels of the amphora help to naturally maintain even temperatures and to keep t.  As well, the amphora when used as aging vessels can create unique wines when compared to modern oak\/wood vessels.  The ceramic material of the amphora allows for a slight \u003cstrong\u003emicro-oxidation\u003c\/strong\u003e (like an oak barrel), but without imparting any tertiary flavor to the wine. Filtering is done naturally by decanting directly from the amphora.\u003cbr\u003eAll told, \u003cstrong\u003eBodega de las Estrellas’\u003c\/strong\u003e methods create wines that embody natural wine principles.  For example they use of winemaking by-products for fertilization in order to reduce the carbon footprint. Their use of \u003cstrong\u003eamphorae\u003c\/strong\u003e in the winery, combined with biodynamic and organic processes in the vineyard, create natural wines that give a sense of place, transporting you to the Land of La Mancha.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42986321215739,"sku":"00073278","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/ce789472aff7602e52144470cf611243.jpg?v=1651706932"},{"product_id":"kolfok-querschnitt-gruner-veltliner-chardonnay-burgenland-at-2017","title":"Kolfok - 'Querschnitt' - Grüner Veltliner, Chardonnay - Burgenland, AT - 2017","description":"\u003cp\u003eQuerschnitt means 'cross-section' referring to the representation of Burgenland's soils and varietals in one cuvée. Grown organically on volcanic, as well as schist and loam soils surrounding the Neckenmart village. Whole cluster press then 2hr soak and spontaneous fermentation in 1200L oak.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"kolfok-wines-are-never-filtered-or-fined-\"\u003eKolfok wines are never filtered or fined.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe word Kolfok has its origins in a regional dialect and describes a person, critical to common thoughts — an unconventional thinker.\u003cbr\u003eWinemaker 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.\u003cbr\u003eWhile 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.\u003cbr\u003eSome 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.\u003cbr\u003eSays 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.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42993261740283,"sku":"00073284","price":31.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/68838411efa1961a844493e3fdc31948.jpg?v=1651869807"},{"product_id":"turning-tide-chenin-blanc-verdelho-santa-ynez-valley-ca-2020","title":"Turning Tide - Chenin Blanc, Verdelho - Santa Ynez Valley, CA - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eSavory spicy aromas with citrus peel notes and crisp, bright acidity on the palate and a mineral-driven finish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVINEYARDS\u003c\/strong\u003e Pacific Ocean breezes rustle the leaves in the two vineyards that provide us with Verdelho and Chenin Blanc. Both vineyards are planted in the alluvial sandy bench of the Santa Ynez River Basin. The coastal fog has a cooling-effect on daytime temperatures, imbuing these white varieties with more depth of flavor without increasing sugars rapidly. The Portuguese variety Verdelho, comes from AJ’s personal vineyard in the Santa Ynez AVA..\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABOUT THE VINTAGE\u003c\/strong\u003e Climate change brought us a very difficult 2020 vintage due to dry conditions, winds and lightening storms. While much of the state had a smoke haze in the atmosphere, the on-shore wines from the ocean blew through Santa Barbara county much of the summer, clearing the air and creating fresh sunny days. The degree-day accumulation in 2020 (a measure of ripening temperatures) were cooler than 2019 but warmer than the 30 year average, meaning the grapes had longer to mature on the vines and they retained a fresh natural acidity. The spring time rains grew healthy vine canopies and shaded the grapes from any hot afternoon sun. Tasting the grapes almost daily as we got closer to harvest, we picked our grapes at the optimum flavor profile, well before the accumulation of higher sugar levels, helping preserve freshness and complexity with lower alcohol.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWINEMAKING\u003c\/strong\u003e Verdelho is known for its nuances of citrus and savory, salinity aromas, originally from the Portuguese island of Madeira. To accentuate this, grapes are cold-macerated on their skins for a rounder texture and are combined in the press with whole clusters of Chenin Blanc grapes picked on the same day. Both varieties are co-fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel delivering a bright, crisp, and refreshing white wine.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAPPELLATION\u003c\/strong\u003e: Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County, California\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCOMPOSITION\u003c\/strong\u003e: 66% Chenin Blanc 34% Verdelho\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePICK DATE\u003c\/strong\u003e: October 7, 2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBOTTLING DATE\u003c\/strong\u003e: June 18, 2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eALCOHOL\u003c\/strong\u003e: 12.5%\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003epH \/ T.A.\u003c\/strong\u003e: 3.35 6.4 g\/L\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"total-cases-produced-440\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTOTAL CASES PRODUCED\u003c\/strong\u003e: 440\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOwner, winemaker, environmentalist, and outdoor enthusiast Alisa Jacobson founded Turning Tide in 2018. The first wines were released in December of 2020.\u003cbr\u003eJacobson (who goes by “AJ”) has followed her passion for agriculture and the sciences from an early age. She was raised in the fertile California Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Growing up in and around farms instilled in her a lifelong desire to find ways to help protect the land and water supply and to educate people about preserving natural resources.\u003cbr\u003eIn 2001, upon graduation from UC Davis with a degree in viticulture and enology, Jacobson found work in cellars and winemaking labs in California focused on sparkling wine production. She also ventured to Australia to make Shiraz (and to take deep dives along the Great Barrier Reef!). After returning to California, Jacobson began work at Joseph Phelps, which is where she met Joel and Sarah Gott.\u003cbr\u003eIn 2003, the Gotts hired her as their first employee. She helped usher the Joel Gott wine label from obscurity to the globally-recognized iconic brand it is today. Jacobson rose to the rank of VP of Winemaking, overseeing a team of 30, and managing all winery and vineyard operations throughout California, Oregon, and Washington, as well as projects in Argentina, Chile, Italy, France, and New Zealand. Recently, she passed the baton back to Joel and Sarah Gott and set out to forge her own path with a renewed and passionate focus on making wine from sustainably-farmed vineyards in coastal regions.\u003cbr\u003eToday, Jacobson’s primary focus is on Turning Tide Wines. She relocated from Sonoma to San Luis Obispo County, owns two vineyards in the Santa Ynez AVA—one with a decked-out vacation rental house—and is looking to acquire more as she grows her consulting business.\u003cbr\u003eDedicated to her cause of trying to help the wine industry become more sustainable and climate-forward, she currently sits on the board of the Oregon Wine Council, is co-chair of the Unified Grape and Wine Symposium Program Development Committee, is a peer review panelist for the NW Center for Small Fruits Research proposals, and is the chair of the research committee on the West Coast Smoke Exposure Task Force.\u003cbr\u003eMaking wines from all over the world has taught Jacobson that wine is made in the vineyard and the healthier the soil and environment, the more alive and vibrant the wine will appear in the glass. She is committed to the goal of showcasing the true essence of the grapes she harvests, all while respecting the elements each vineyard site provides—and helping turn the tide on how vineyards are farmed around the globe.\u003cbr\u003eWinemaking\u003cbr\u003eThe most exciting moment for me, as a winemaker, is experiencing the true expression of the fruit from each vineyard site, as it appears in the glass—poured from a bottle that began as grapes years earlier.\u003cbr\u003eMy winemaking style is to show off, or in some cases, help enhance the essence of each grape variety all while respecting the elements each vineyard site provides. I believe that each bottle of wine should be a reflection of the place it came from.\u003cbr\u003e“I want each bottle to be as expressive, and true to site as possible.”\u003cbr\u003eTurning Tide wines are sourced from vineyards that are distinctly influenced by oceanic fog, which provides a cool, slow-ripening environment. Grapes are picked at naturally lower sugar levels to produce wines with lower alcohol. I believe that lower alcohol levels allow for more complex nuances to shine, particularly the more delicate aromas and flavors that can be overshadowed higher alcohols.\u003cbr\u003eAny oak used for aging purposes is intended to “lift up” the expression of the wine—never to mask it. I also use as little sulphur as possible, because I’ve experienced that with strict, hygienic winemaking practices, the addition of sulphur—which acts as a preservative—is not necessary. Experience has taught me that extra sulphur additions can actually mask some of those more ephemeral aromas and flavors in wine, and with Turning Tide, I want each bottle to be as expressive, and true to site as possible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42993285071099,"sku":"00073285","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/b98dfd36cd5aef9c59d396111c5e29bc.jpg?v=1651870562"},{"product_id":"der-rebenhof-trocken-weissburgunder-south-styria-at-2017","title":"Der Rebenhof - 'Trocken' - Weissburgunder - South Styria, AT - 2017","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) comes from 30-40 year old vines grown on ancient river and lakebed deposits of sandstone, gravel and calcareous marl. Light and easy drinking. Perfect wine for a spring picnic. Juicy fresh peach, a kiss of marzipan with a salty crushed gravel finish. Absolutely thirst-quenching.\u003cbr\u003e​\u003cbr\u003eWine making notes:​\u003cbr\u003eHand harvested\u003cbr\u003eMacerated for 2 days\u003cbr\u003eWhole cluster pressed\u003cbr\u003eNative yeast fermentation in stainless steel\u003cbr\u003eAged in stainless steel\u003cbr\u003eBottled unfined and unfiltered in Spring 2019\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"12-alc-by-vol-\"\u003e12% alc by vol \u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDer Rebenhof is located in South Styria, Austria, just a stone’s throw from the Slovenian border. In 2008 Hartmut Aubell took over the vineyard that has been in his family since 1924. He farms his 23.5 acre vineyard with extreme slopes and terraces following biodynamic principles, and received Demeter certification in 2016. \u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43010033058043,"sku":"00073293","price":38.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/730954ac25954df195b9bab0171297d0.jpg?v=1652307827"},{"product_id":"nibiru-grundstein-riesling-kamptal-at-2020","title":"Nibiru - 'Grundstein' - Riesling - Kamptal, AT - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eBrilliantly high definition wines come from perfect farms. Nibiru is just that. This is not your grandfaja's Riesling - aged in ancient oak barrels to be open and honest, with incredibly dense fruit, diverse mouthfeel, and a nose that will require revisiting over and over. This Riesling is the kind we like to drink with dinner - it can handle just about anything with style and grace... and it's pure nature! \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJosef Schenter and Julia Nather present their collaborative wines under the name NIBIRU. They show the beginning of their cooperative work with their vintage from 2015.\u003cbr\u003eNIBIRU is according to sumerian writing the name of a planet that wonders trough our solar system only every 3.600 years. It is the only planet that wonders the other way around the sun opposing to the rest of our planets. It is a name that appealed to them right away, because it reflects their philosophy and the style of their wines.\u003cbr\u003eWINES THAT ARE WILLFULL AND DETERMINED TO FOLLOW THEIR OWN DIRECTION.\u003cbr\u003e One principle of Josef and Julia is honesty. All their wines are treated with spontaneous fermentation, without finings nor supplements. Also the usage of sulphur is reduced to the minimum. The wines are mostly binned in old oak barrels until they are bottled unfiltered and sealed with a natural cork.\u003cbr\u003eWINES THAT ARE HONEST.\u003cbr\u003e The wines are developed and stored in the parental winery of Josef in the north of Kamptal. Josef and Julia cultivate their vineyards organic. Many vines they work with are very old but add a lot of liveliness and structure to the taste. This specialty can also be felt with light and classically grown wines. The work in the old vines is usually more challenging than growing new vineyards because they are time consuming but in the end worth the effort. Nevertheless both Julia and Josef enjoy working with the old vineyards a lot and try to express and share their passion trough their NIBIRU OLD WINES line.\u003cbr\u003eJosef has grown up around wine. Starting really young he helped out at the parents winery and was therefore also able to develop his own wines at a young age. He was expanded his knowledge in other wineries, when he was studying to become a winemaker and on different experiences abroad. Having collected so many impressions he now tries to show them trough his own wines.\u003cbr\u003eJulia did not grow up with wine but she found it. First she finished an education in orcharding, then she decided to become a hotel manageress and later on worked in the field of fine dining. There she started to develop deeper interest in wines for the first time. As a result she decided to become a Sommelier and got her qualification in 2014. After that she also collected experiences in different vineyards abroad but soon she knew that developing her own wines is her real dream as well as Josef's.\u003cbr\u003eSOMETIMES CHANCE LEADS YOU EXCATLY TO WHERE YOU SHOULD BE.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43010033484027,"sku":"00073290","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/11baabadc3e81d3f6f323f176c7d91ee.jpg?v=1652307859"},{"product_id":"weinreich-riesling-rheinhessen-de-2019","title":"Weinreich - Riesling - Rheinhessen, DE - 2019","description":"\u003ch2 id=\"wonderfully-refreshing-fruity-and-just-plain-fun-ripe-apples-and-fresh-herbs-dominate-the-nose-followed-by-racy-acidity-with-a-mineral-twist-those-willing-to-linger-a-few-extra-moments-with-this-wine-will-be-sure-to-get-their-money-s-worth-\"\u003eWonderfully refreshing, fruity and just plain fun. Ripe apples and fresh herbs dominate the nose, followed by racy acidity with a mineral twist. Those willing to linger a few extra moments with this wine will be sure to get their money's worth.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWeingut Weinreich lies in the Wonnegau district of the Rheinhessen wine region. With a Wonnegau address and a name like Weinreich (literal translation: “rich with wine”), your choice is pretty clear: dedicate your life to viniculture. And that is exactly what we’ve done.\u003cbr\u003eAlthough the reins to our winery were handed over to the young generation of winemakers in 2009, we have continued using the traditional methods that would have been well familiar to our grandfather. We are dedicated to utilizing environmentally sustainable practices in the vineyards, manual harvests, and minimal interventionist winemaking. This commitment allows us to grow wines that truly express the individual character of the Bechtheim vineyards. These wines tell the story of winemaker and origin — wines with a unique sense of place — yet they can only come when the natural conditions of the soil and vineyard are respected.\u003cbr\u003eWe have consciously limited our collection, opting instead for fewer choices, a return to the basics, and clearer distinctions between the wines. Our focus is on 3 varietals: Riesling, Silvaner and Burgunder (the Pinot family).\u003cbr\u003eThe building blocks of our collection are the Gutsweine, our easy-drinking, varietally true favorites. The Ortsweine shine with a mineral-based authenticity. They pave the way for the crown jewels of our collection, the Lagenweine. These one-of-a-kind wines are shaped by both their minerality and the character of the soil. Each glass is a master seminar on the terroir of Bechtheim’s top vineyards.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43010033582331,"sku":"00073289","price":31.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/ad9f7fca3b826a64b0b2a606504850c0.jpg?v=1652307875"},{"product_id":"luigi-baudana-dragon-white-field-blend-langhe-piemonte-it-2020","title":"Luigi Baudana - 'Dragon' - White Field Blend - Langhe, Piemonte, IT - 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eDragon is a unique white blend from the Langhe. Originally produced by Luigi Baudana during the 1980s with Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc, it has evolved to embrace Nascetta, the most exciting white heirloom varietal of the Langhe, and a tiny amount of Riesling.\u003cbr\u003eVARIETY: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Nascetta.\u003cbr\u003eVINEYARD AND TERROIR: The original vineyard was located in Cerretta Piani in Serralunga d’Alba. The Nascetta was instead planted in Comune di Novello, the very place of origin of this grape, at the top of the Ravera hill.\u003cbr\u003eGROWING: Luigi and Fiorina always tended their vines with the outmost care. One episode really illustrates their care. Summer of 2008, two days after a serious hailstorm that hit Serralunga: their vineyards showed no signs of damage because the couple had ‘cleaned’ every single bunch to make sure ruined berries wouldn’t affect the rest of the cluster. Since 2009, the vineyards have been farmed under the Vajra’s organic protocol. Intense research is also placed into monitoring and improving the biodiversity of both flora and fauna not just in the vineyards, but also in the winery fields and forests. The winery is sustainably certified (UNI EN 11233:2009) and will be again fully organic certified since 2019.\u003cbr\u003eHARVEST AND WINEMAKING: Grapes are picked at optimal ripening. The fruit is carefully sorted and undergoes a whole cluster gentle pressing. Fermentations lasts up to twelve days in vertical vats at low temperature. Usually, no malolactic occurs in Dragon. The wine is bottled the following Spring.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"tasting-opens-to-fresh-fruit-aromas-such-as-kiwi-lime-and-pear-hints-of-minerality-like-flint-and-sea-stones-complete-the-elegant-bouquet-the-palate-is-citrusy-whit-flavors-of-orchard-fruit-macerated-elder-flower-and-candied-orange-peel-that-shine-through-the-fresh-and-vibrant-acidity-drinkable-and-accessible-it-totally-reflects-the-elegance-and-energy-of-the-2018-vintage-\"\u003eTasting: opens to fresh fruit aromas such as kiwi, lime and pear. Hints of minerality like flint and sea stones complete the elegant bouquet. The palate is citrusy whit flavors of orchard fruit, macerated elder flower and candied orange peel that shine through the fresh and vibrant acidity. Drinkable and accessible it totally reflects the elegance and energy of the 2018 vintage.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLuigi Baudana is one of the smallest active wineries in Serralunga d’Alba and the entire Barolo region. With only 2,6 hectares (6.4 acres) farmed in some of the prime crus of the village, this can rightly be considered a true garagiste producer.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eFor over 30 years, Luigi and his wife Fiorina carried on the family’s heritage in Serralunga d’Alba. _\u003cbr\u003e_They cared their vineyards with the same tenderness of their own love.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eIn January 2009, Luigi and Fiorina entrusted the Vajra family with a unique mission: being the guardian of their family name, story and vineyards. Perpetuating Luigi’s legacy, learning from his wealth of experience and seeking for authenticity is all what matters here.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe history of our cantina is lost in time. Worth saying that ‘Baudana’ is the name of the family, the vineyard and even the tiny hamlet on top of the hill. The Baudanas have belonged to this place so long that Luigi and Fiorina don’t have records of when the family first settled, nor any knowledge of how the name passed on to the cru.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Satellite SB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43015869366523,"sku":"00073297","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0403\/3655\/6193\/products\/2453bd79786e688599da6c532cc85137.jpg?v=1652400044"}],"url":"https:\/\/satellitesb.com\/collections\/white.oembed?page=13","provider":"Satellite SB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}