Hello Everyone!
A warm and welcoming, happy holidays to you all! First off, I just want to say I love the evolution our mailing list has gone through in such a short amount of time with supporters becoming friends and friends becoming family. And we have a few exciting bits of news to share with you, our Filomena friends and family.
After many COVID-related delays, Kat and I finally tied the knot and celebrated our marriage with a tiny group of relatives and close friends this past July at the charming and beautiful Monkey Ranch in Petaluma. It was such a fun night while also being a huge sigh of relief now that we are able to look towards the next steps of our life together.
The other big, exciting news is that I am now officially the Assistant Winemaker for Green & Red Vineyard in Napa. A hidden gem of a winery located up in the mountains between Lake Hennessey and Lake Berryessa in the Chiles Valley AVA just east of St. Helena. G&R is a longtime (founded in 1969) estate Zinfandel producer with fruit ties to some of the Zin greats of California (think Turley, Biale, Once & Future, & Ridge). Though I am appreciative of all that I learned and experienced during my time as Cellar Master at Bedrock, I can’t express enough how excited I am to play an integral role in the future of Green & Red Vineyard!
I could go on and on about Green & Red (come up for a tour/tasting and you can hear me do just that!), but let’s get to the reason for which you’re all here, our holiday release.
2020 Unti Vineyards Vermentino
Well here it is, our first white wine—finally! Now, based on the seemingly random nature of our varietal offerings, one might think that I’m just picking different varieties to make all willy-nilly. And while that may be slightly true, for the most part I settle on different varieties and vineyard sites based on farming practices. All of our vineyard partners employ sustainable practices, with most taking the next step of full organic and regenerative farming (albeit not necessarily certified, as it’s quite an expensive process).
Our new wine and vineyard partner, Vermentino from Unti Vineyards in Dry Creek Valley, only continues that trend. Unti employs organic farming techniques such as building soil health through the use of compost and planting off-season cover crops instead of chemical fertilizers. They also employ mechanical and manual techniques for weed removal instead of harmful herbicides and pesticides. The Unti family are ecologically-minded farmers looking to the future and I am extremely happy to be working with them.
The 2020 Vermentino was harvested the second week of September under hazy skies, a remnant of the Walbridge Fire that had burned only a few miles to the east in the hills above Dry Creek and Guerneville. Thankfully there is no sign of smoke taint in this wine, based both on sensory evaluation and laboratory analysis. The grapes were lightly whole-cluster pressed and fermented indigenously in a stainless steel barrel, a neutral French oak barrel, and a new French oak barrel. Following fermentation, I consolidated the wine into the neutral oak and stainless steel barrels. There it sat for 9 months on lees before being bottled in July of this year.
The resulting wine boasts a plethora of apricot, pineapple, and citrus on the nose with a saline, floral note reminiscent of jasmine growing seaside. Subtle vanilla and baking spice rise to the nostrils as it sits in the glass. Asian pear, yuzu, and honey fall on the tongue from front to back with the acidity rising to a crescendo before a mellow, lasting finish. This wine is begging to be dropped on a big dining room table, surrounded by family and a holiday feast!
$28 per bottle (35 cases produced)
We also thought it would be fun to offer an assortment of our wines at a special price to make the decision-making process a bit easier. In this sampler pack we have:
2 Bottles of 2020 Unti Vineyards Vermentino
2 Bottles of 2019 Ricci Vineyards St. Laurent
2 Bottles of 2016 Griffin's Lair Syrah
Holiday Sampler Price: $170
(Valued at $188)
All wines are sold on a first come, first served basis. There are no allocations or limits per customer. The shop will remain open through the end of the year, however if you are hoping to receive a shipment in time for Christmas, orders must be placed by Sunday, December 5th. Orders will begin shipping as early as November 29th and will continue to ship out as received. We do have a limited supply of wines from previous releases if you'd like to revisit any of those as well!
As always, thank you all for the continued support. Hearing how much our growing Filomena family has enjoyed all of our wines only makes this journey all the more rewarding. From our little family to yours, we wish you the happiest of holidays!
Cheers & Love,
Luke, Kat, & Kuma
