Lady of the Sunshine - 'Narrow Gate Vineyard' - Gamay - El Dorado, CA - 2023

Narrow Gate Vineyards sits at 2,500 feet elevation in a pocket called Pleasant Valley, in the Sierra Foothills of Northern California. This is my family's vineyard and where I grew up, which is positioned in the mountains above the snow line, where the foothill oak trees transition into sugar pines and cedars. On the 90 acre Demeter certified biodynamic ranch, 15 acres of grapes were planted by my father, Frank, in 2001 and the newest addition of Gamay was grafted over in 2019, the year Mikey and I married under one of the biggest oak trees on the property. I have only made this wine once before in 2020 as Mother Nature had different plans over the past 2 years with fire and frost. We were grateful to make 4 barrels of wine, which was harvested in 2 separate picks. The wine was fermented in open top standing barrels with 100% whole cluster and native yeast. The grapes were pressed in the wooden basket press and then aged on lees in old french oak barrels for 7 months before being racked for the first time to bottle, with minimal sulfur and without fining or filtration. 96 cases were produced.

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Gina 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.