MARCH 2022 FEATURED WINES
WINE ONE: DORMILONA YOKEL GRENACHE
About: These bush vines were planted in the 1950s in the middle Swan River Valley and are dry farmed. The grapes are destemmed into open-top tank for fermentation with minimal cap manipulation for up to seven days. It is then pressed off into tank for élevage on lees before racking and bottling with minimal SO2. The label always features an illustration of the Western Australian Swamp Tortoise, one of the most endangered species on the continent. Josephine donates money from every bottle of Yokel sold to help with their conservation. In 2020, a vast swath of their habitat was burned down in wildfires. To commemorate the brave firefighters that helped save them from the brink, this year’s tortoise is dressed like a turn of the century firefighter.
Taste: This wine is pale ruby in the glass. The nose is youthful with plenty of verve. You’ll find aromas of fresh grape, strawberry, nibstm, hibiscus, cascara, and honeybush. It’s a blushing cherub, innocent and pure. The palate is glossy and polished; it has the sheen of 90s lip gloss. It is medium-bodied with tea-like tannins, a supple texture, and a warm finish. You can feel the Australian sunshine. You’ll find additional flavours of redwood, red apple skins, cherry blasters, and candied rose petals.
Pairing: As you know, I love diving deep into a country’s food culture to find unsung dishes I think would compliment each wine. During my research for this pairing, I discovered an alarming combination I can’t help but share here: The Hamdog. Some guy from Western Australia created an ingenious bun shape that allows you to have both a hamburger and a hotdog simultaneously. This engineering marvel must be one of this country’s crowning culinary achievements. Conveniently, it would pair sensationally with grenache. You’re welcome. (Don’t believe me? Google it.)
WINE TWO: LES LUNES COSMIC BLEND
About: This wine is Shaunt & Diego’s take on a classic Bordeaux Blend. The Cabernet Sauvignon (74%) comes from four different vineyards around Sonoma: Stone Barn, Locke, Coplan, and Millen. The Merlot comes from Pyaleh Vineyard in Carneros, a cooler sub-region of the valley. They farm these sites using organic methodologies: dry-farming, compost and manure as fertilizer where needed, cover crops to increase soil health and biodiversity, and spraying according to the moon cycles. The remaining grapes (3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Zinfandel, 3% Chenin Blanc) are farmed by their friends using equally sustainable practices. The bulk of the grapes were hand destemmed and fermented on skins for between 4-14 days before being pressed off. A small percentage was made as rosé to add delicacy to the final blend. Each grape/site was fermented and aged separately, only blended after a seven-month élevage in neutral oak and tank. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with 15ppm of SO2. Seven hundred sixteen cases were produced this vintage.
Taste: This wine is medium purple in the glass. The nose is expressive and lifted with aromas of blueberry, plum skins, dried violets, wild mint, prairie sage, cola nut, and lava salt. It’s wildly energetic and fresh. The palate is equivalently uplifting with tightknit tannins, a salinity that balances the fruit, crispy acidity, and a sustained finish. The finish yields blackberry jam, lilac, black tea, black currant leaf, saskatoon berry, and oxalis. It’s a modern classic, quintessential, archetypal.
Pairing: Did you know the French Dip sandwich was invented in LA? The fable goes something like this: A police officer is in a hurry to grab a sandwich from Philippe the Original; Philippe Mathieu, the proprietor, in a mad dash to get him his food quickly accidentally drops the sandwich in a pan of drippings; the police officer was unfazed and liked it so much he brought the rest of his crew in the following day for a repeat. Essentially, it’s shaved beef, some mustard and horseradish, and maybe a slice of swiss cheese, dipped in a concentrated broth. I adore this pairing.
WINE THREE: RYAN STIRM KICK-ON RIESLING
About: Kick-On vineyard is located 16km east of the ocean in Los Alamos Valley, just north of Santa Barbara. This is an offshoot of the transverse range; the valley runs west-east, which means oceanic breezes cool the vineyard daily. Ryan’s vineyard block is planted mostly on windblown sand with just a pinch of clay and chirt cobbles. Strong winds cause the vines to close their stomas, resulting in incredibly delayed ripening. The grapes were macerated as whole clusters for two days before being pressed off into stainless steel. After three days of cold settling, the juice was racked into a tank for wild fermentation. No Sulphur was added until after malolactic conversion. The wine was bottled without fining or filtration. One hundred twenty cases were produced. 3.29 pH, 6 g/l TA
Taste: This wine is pale gold in the glass. The nose is contemplative, thoughtful, charming in a classic way. It has aromas of pear flesh, lime oil, maldon, yellow plums, dried mango, apple blossom, and kerosene. The palate is defiant with viscous weight, the illusions of sweet fruit despite being void of sugar, and a phenolic edge adding tension to the finish. It paradoxically sends you to the tropics and the arctic simultaneously. The palate reveals notes of pine nut, beeswax, chamomile, fennel pollen, yellow apple, candied lemon, and meringue. What a treat!
Pairing: Invented in 1923 at San Francisco’s Palace Hotel, Green Goddess Dressing is undergoing a significant revival. This herbaceous mixture features salty anchovies, tarragon, chives, parsley, garlic, and tons of lemon, making it as fresh as it is savoury. Sour cream gives the whole thing a creamy tang making it the ideal dip for raw spring veggies. I’m a huge fan of asparagus, yellow peppers, and breakfast radishes with this wine. It’s the perfect way to start a leisurely Sunday lunch.