Wino Wrestling Federation #5 Soils
WWF Lineup ~ JUNE 2021
Dirt Don’t Hurt
This month we are focusing on wines with unique soils, specifically Volcanic and Limestone. I think this is a fun way to consider regionality without bowing down to nationalism. The earth has been doing its thing long before we started to draw borders. Soil is a topic that comes up often in the wine world, and rightly so, without soil us as humans would have very little to do with being alive on this planet and the same goes for grapevines. Soil plays three main roles when it comes to grapevines 1. It provides a stable environment for which the vines and roots can affix themselves too. 2. It is the repository for water. 3. It’s a source for nutrients that are vital to plant growth.
Volcanic Soils are derived from the weathering of igneous rock, ash and pomace that gets distributed by volcanic activity. As we all remember from 4th grade science, igneous rock is the part of the rock cycle where metamorphic rock becomes molten and then decides to make its way to the surface, sometimes rather violently. There is a huge variety of volcanic soils with all kinds of different granular make-ups. Volcanic soils provide an excellent balance of minerals such as lime and soda, low water retention and tend to produce wines with a good amount of salinity.
Limestone Soils are sedimentary soils of which the principle component is calcium carbonate. It is rare here in California where there is a vein on the coast near Santa Cruz and and in the Sierra Foothills where the Rorick Heritage vineyards lays claim. Limestone soils are rich in nutrients, reflective when chalky, due to its structure limestone retains moisture in dry climates but offer good drainage in wetter weather. Since limestone tends to be more alkaline it is beneficial for grapes with a high acidity
- Addam
Domaine Ostertag - Les Jardins 2019 - Pinot Blanc
Varietal: 100% Pinot Blanc
Region: Alsace, France
Soil: : 6 gardens of vines in Epfig, in the Domaine garden and the Fronholz, on 2 natures of soil : clay and silt ; marl and sandstone.
Viticulture: Certified Biodynamic ( Since 1998, one of the first in the region)
Vinification: Hand Harvested, Gentle pressing, fermentation with indigenous yeast until dry. Aged in old 228L oak barrels for 9 months
Colour: Pale Yellow
Nose: Apple, Petrichor, Apricot
Taste: Apple, Peach, Lemon, Chamomile, Pear, Honey
Our Take:
I don't want to make your eyes glaze over with how these Pinot Blanc vines are literally fighting for their lives in this limestone, clay and granite soil. That dirt literally looks like it was taken from the yard in front of Santa's fucking workshop in the North Pole. I won't even go into why this wine is probably the best shit you're going to drink all summer in Sacramento, no matter how many wine shops you visit... Instead, I'd rather be frank- it doesn't matter if you want to flex on some friends or family , whether you're eating BBQ or a dope salad from your sick COVID garden- DRINK THIS SHIT NOW. Drink several bottles of it. You can't ignore it. Get to know it like your crush. It's very obvious you are drinking a piece of art with this Pinot Blanc- unbelievably dry, vibrant and a little tannic because Andre Ostertag doesn't give a fuck about grape varietals, just the dirt they're grown in. Skål!
- Eric Cockrell
Producer Notes:
To call André Ostertag a revolutionary winemaker is to tell just half the story. He is a pioneer, certainly, but also an ardent environmentalist (as demonstrated in both his wine and his sculpture, another passion). After training in Burgundy, André returned to the family domaine in Alsace with renewed zeal: he lowered yields considerably and introduced viticultural and vinification techniques from other regions to his own home ground. The 1996 vintage marked his first collaboration with KLWM, and the following year he brought biodynamic viticulture to his fourteen hectares of vineyards, including his flagship parcel in the Muenchberg Grand Cru. There is poetry to Ostertag’s practices. He looks for the nuance of terroir rather than the typicity of a grape varietal. In an act of rejection against the official classifications dictated by the A.O.C., he made up his own categories: Vins de Fruit that express fruit character rather than that of a specific vineyard site, Vins de Pierre reflecting the terroir from which they originate, and Vin de Temps that rely on time and weather to encourage the development of botrytis. He ferments the majority of his wines completely dry, so their versatility at the table surpasses that of many other wines from the region. In Ostertag’s experience, a careful use of oak subtly enhances the traditional Alsatian varietals from the Pinot family, giving them greater depth on the palate. He uses oak sourced exclusively from the Vosges Mountains and, for his Pinots, prefers barriques to the traditional foudres. He rejects formulaic, scientifically engineered wines, and since going biodynamic in 1997, has been an active member of the natural farming community. As he so beautifully explains in Kermit Lynch’s Inspiring Thirst, …true quality is that which succeeds in surprising and moving us. It is not locked inside a formula. Its essence is subtle (subjective) and never rational. It resides in the unique, the singular, but it is ultimately connected to something more universal. A great wine is one in which quality is contained. Such a wine will necessarily be uncommon and decidedly unique because it cannot be like any other, and because of this fact it will be atypical, or only typical of itself. (p 279) That is a quote we wish more wine critics would take to heart.
Maloof - Where ya PJs At? - Pinot Gris & Riesling
Varietal: 80% Skin Contact Pinot Gris, 20% Riesling
Region: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Viticulture: Organic
Soil: Jory (colluvium derived from igneous rock)
Vinification: 80% Skin contact Pinot Gris (equal amounts Rudolfo & Beckenridge), 20% Riesling The majority of the rudolfo gris was fermented in open top fermenters on the skins, with daily punch downs until dry (16 days). 10% of the Rudolfo gris was fermented carbonically in a sealed container for the same length of time. The two lots were pressed off together, and then moved into barrel. The Beckenridge gris was fermented in open top bins on the skins, with daily punchdowns until dry (17 days) The Riesling was direct pressed, and fermented in neutral oak barrels. All of the lots were blended in the late winter, and bottled unfined and unfiltered in March. 22ppm sulfur
Colour: Ombre Pink/Purple
Nose: Strawberry, Cream, Lemongrass, Lime Peel
Taste: Raspberry, Peach, Green Strawberry, Saline,
Our Take:
I drank this in a hot tub. It ruled. 5 out of 5 stars.
Producer Notes:
A true yin and yang team. One materials engineer grounded in hard science, and one restaurant professional with a sensory aligned M.O. Two nerds with a penchant for good hospitality and properly fermented pizza dough.
Bee Maloof represents the hard science behind the project. Prior to playing with grapes, she worked for close to a decade as a materials science engineer within the aerospace industry. As a long-time lover of food and wine, Bee turned her scientific eye from rotorcraft to winemaking during the 2016 harvest.
Ross Maloof broke into the production side of the wine industry initially by traveling to Oregon to visit some friends, and ended up working harvest in the Willamette Valley. Prior to getting his first taste for winemaking, he worked for just over a decade in the Philadelphia dining scene, with a huge focus on beverage.
Maloof Wines has been making juice since 2015, and today are proudly produced alongside our best pals from Fossil & Fawn at our estate vineyard, No Clos Radio, just outside of Forest Grove, OR.
Don’t you dare hesitate to reach out to us!
Yours in grapes n such,
Ross & Bee
TRAPL - Uni6
Varietal: Zweigelt, Sankt Laurent, Blaufrankisch
Region: Carnuntum, Austria
Soil: Limestone, Loam, Loess and Gravels
Viticulture:
Vinification: 100% Whole Cluster, 1-2 Days maceration, fermented in stainless steel and aged in both barrel and Qvevri for 8 months
Colour: Magenta
Nose: Guava, Cherry, Caramelized Sugar
Taste: Cranberry, Pomegranate, Blood Orange, Strawberry
Our Take:
We all know this feeling of regret, “Shit, I drank too much today, this wasn’t the plan”. I think for most of us, or at least the people that I spend most my time around that feeling is a good que to say, “fuck it” and keep the party going. Luckily my boss and favorite enabler has given me a bottle of wine to take as homework.
There’s a ram on the side of the bottle and the city of Sacramento recently hired a mob of goats to clean out the weeds on a plot of land next to my house. I suggest you drink this wine cold and let a little bit of you first glass warm up to really taste the expression, but it’s definitely best out of the fridge and cold. So, I pack up a cooler with my bottle of UNI6, grab my folding camp chair that’s stained with ash burns of all varieties and hike down the street to hang out with goats.
Sit down, open the bottle, pour and smell, “It’s got some stank to it! Maybe that’s just the goats?”. I squeeze my nose through the fencing to get a better whiff of the goats, “That’s not it, must be the wine”. At Ro Sham Beaux we take pride in stank, funk and odd aromas it’s a driving force in our entire ethos. Don’t worry we still wear deodorant, for the most part. This rose is off to a good start. I say the color is magenta, but my mom always tells me “Boys are colored blind”. Let’s just say if you take this wine to the beach, people will drop their White Claws in the sand as they rush over to ask you “What type of drank is that?”.
Bright, acidic, juicy and slightly bubbly when you open it the UNI6 is a perfect banger summer rose. This bottle is only 10.5% ABV which is perfect for the tapped-out liver or if you want to be the person who always has a drink in their hand at the barbeque. The wine tastes like the product of a sensual night between a blood orange and a pomegranate. When the glass warms up a little, I start smelling a little bit of caramelized sugar. Don’t feel rushed to drink it all in one night, the wine holds up well for at least a day.
I hang out with the goats while I drink a glass or two. I start explaining to the goats how there’s more to life than just going through the motions. Nobody listens because, goats are stubborn and hardheaded. “Fine! You don’t want to take my advice? I know when my company isn’t wanted!” So, I stumble home and make a veggie melt. The gooey rich cheese and light but complex flavors from the vegetables pair perfectly with this juicy, light and acidic rose.
All in all, it's a successful night spent alongside a beautifully fruity and acidic rose and a bunch of stinky goats. I hope you guys enjoy this bottle as much as I do.
- Alex Schildgen
Producer Notes:
Johannes Trapl founded his winery in 2003 when he was just 25 years old. It was Johannes' grandfather that planted most of the family estate’s vineyards in Carnuntum, a region known at the time for big, inexpensive Zweigelt wines. After working for Cardinale winery in California, Johannes took over the responsibility of managing the small family winery with initially only half a hectare (1 acre) of vineyards and also worked for the nearby Muhr-van der Niepoort estate. Today, together with Dorli Muhr of Muhr-van der Niepoort, Johannes Trapl is coinstigator of the renaissance of Spitzerberg, a small extension of the Little Carpathians made of limestone and schist, which can produce wines with extraordinary elegance and minerality. The wine-growing region Carnuntum stretches from the eastern limits of Vienna to the border of Slovakia. The vineyards are dispersed in three hilly landscapes: the Leitha Mountains, the Arbesthaler Hills near Göttlesbrunn and the Hainburger Mountain. Heavy loam and loess soils and sandy gravelly soils dominate the slopes of the Arbesthaler Hills in Stixneusiedl. The hot summers and cold winters that characterize the Pannonian climate, the proximity of the moderating effects of the Danube River and Lake Neusiedl allow red grapes to ripen perfectly.
-Eric Danch, Danch & Granger Selections
Domaine Miolane - Pinot Noir 2018
Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir
Region: Cote d’Auvergne, France
Soil: Basalt
Viticulture: Organic
Colour: Eggplant
Nose: Cherry, Leather, Slate
Taste: Black Cherry, Plum, Saline,
Our Take:
If you’ve ever been through the Central Valley on a blazing hot California summer day, you’re going to know exactly what I’m about to say: It’s 108 degrees outside, you’re driving some backroad lined with nut orchards somewhere outside of Lodi, or maybe it’s Escalón. The highway is rippling with heat, and every few miles there is a roadside stand hocking almonds, strawberries, cherries.
You stop at one of these stands and pick up the five pound bag of ripe, black cherries, and you sit in the car with the doors open, a slight breeze passing through and the flesh of the cherry so sun-hot in your mouth from the dusty heat of the day that the flavor seems impossibly concentrated- a deeper sweeter cherry than you think you’ve ever had before.
You sit in your car saving the fruit until your hands are stained purple and there’s a cup full of pits in the center consul cup holder, the gentle breeze (still 100 degrees in the shade) passing over the skin of your arms and the woozy occasional whooshing of a car along the county highway nearby.
This Pinot noir is the embodiment of that experience. Black cherry, dark plum, leather and dusty soil and the hot baking sun on river rocks or country highway. Full enough to fill you but light enough to quench your thirst like handful after handful of roadside cherries.
- Julianna Boggs
Producer Notes:
Located in the Cotes d’Auvergne in the southern Loire Valley, Domaine Miolanne allows the volcanic terroir to speak through their Gamay and Pinot Noir vines. The region is centered around one of the oldest french cities of Clermont-Ferrand, which is perhaps most famous for the Michelin tire factory. The vine has been cultivated here for least 1500 years, with the appellation finally achieving AOP status in 2011.
There are 2 separate areas of dormant volcanoes that have not erupted for at least 7500 years, and which have helped to shape the interesting topography of the region. Odette and Gilles Miolanne own 17 hectares of grains and vines in the southern end of the appellation. They planted vines in 1994 with 3 hectares of Pinot Noir and 1.5 hectares of Gamay. They produce both a red and rosé wine, and all farming is done without the use of herbicides or pesticides. Harvesting is by hand with minimal intervention in the cellar.
