Wine Club: Orientation
So, incredibly, amazingly, and because of our hard work and dedication to eachother’s health and well-being, Vermont is about to re-open. We think everyone truly deserves a little time to adjust; it’s been a while, and we need to unwind and loosen up. And perhaps, some of us may have forgotten how to properly socialize. This month’s wine club focuses on ideal wines for coming out of our shells again. But unlike, say, freshman orientation week of college, we’re setting you up for success, fun, and almost no hangovers. Consider these wines a safe way to kick back, invite some friends to your deck, fire up the grill, and let the good times roll. All-natural, lower ABV, juicy, easy, and light, these wines will have you hitting your stride and hopefully beginning a summer full of joy and relaxation. Cheers, Crushers!
Vale de Capucha ‘Clima Tinto’ Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Castelão
The wines of Portuguese producer Pedro Marques of Vale da Capucha have completely reinvigorated my interest in this corner of Iberian peninsula. Although stunning Albarinos and Vinho Verdes have always been easy go-to summertime staples, wines from Portugal can often find themselves pigeonholed into either the cheap-but-serviceable category or the impossible-to-find and then prohibitively expensive realm. Especially difficult to source then are natural, estate-grown, terroir-driven wines which satisfy the need for food-friendly and party-ready crushability while offering a great deal of uniqueness, all for a cool price. Enter, Vale de Capucha. With vines growing only 10km from the Atlantic ocean in the Torres Vedras region outside of Lisbon, Pedro Marques native varietals inherit unmistakable sea-breeze and saline characteristics. However, it’s the line of kimmeridgian soil and limestone running through the region’s bedrock that really makes its wines stand out. Every bottle from Vale de Capucha has a focus and mineral precision that makes me question if I’m drinking wine from Chablis or Lisboa, such is their likeness to similar terroir-focused French finds. But let’s be clear- these wines are uniquely Portuegese, and with blends such as this Clima Tinto utilizing only native varietals (Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Castelão), deserve recognition on their own merits as true pinnacles of winemaking from the region. This bottle is perfection; whole-cluster fermented grapes, short maceration, lean and crisp fruit married with tense and vibrant minerality all create a blushing red which encourages enjoyment with a slight chill, a whole mess of shellfish, and a party that only STARTS at like, 10pm. Okay, fine, 7pm. We’re still in Vermont, after all.
Poderi Cellario, “E” Orange, Nascetta, Arneis
Every year in the fall, western Massachusetts (where I grew up) hosts the Eastern States Exposition---a state fair, but a real’ big one, for ALL the states of New England. It’s informally called “the Big E”, and as a kid, there was no more important event in the calendar year. Nowadays, while I don’t really get hype for fried dough and petting zoos, I do still get a thrill from the arrival of new big “E” wines from Fausto Cellario. Let me explain why these wines are like a carnival for natural wine lovers.
First of all, Fausto is a big deal and has made a big name for himself and Cinzia as natural winemakers in the Langhe, spreading the good word of natural wine and advocating for a revolution in winemaking in Italy. Piedmont (where they’re from) is one of the premier wine regions of Italy, but somehow the Cellario output never feels stuffy, outdated, or pretentious. They’re constantly creating easy-to-love, modestly-priced, inventively-packaged, perfect expressions of Piedmontese varietals. Their line of “E” wines, and especially this orange, is so refreshing, light, citrusy, floral, and fun, that I’ve been declaring orange wine the new rosé and insisting it take its place as the perfect summer sipper. The “E” orange is, of course, biodynamically farmed, naturally fermented, delightfully unfiltered, and patiently packed with flavor. It’s also an entire litre of porch-pounding arneis, nascetta, and moscato, blended and macerated to peak enjoyment. And enjoy it, you will. (Probably more than you would a state fair...but that’s your call.)
RAW CLUB:
This month we’re taking a much-awaited trip to Hungary, a region which has deep roots and a millenia-spanning history of winemaking. Here, history meets innovation as a new generation of winemakers take up the mantle and introduce a broader audience to the wonderful wines of their homeland. Through natural winemaking and a focus on native varietals and traditional flavors, both Levente Major and Peter Wetzer showcase the unmistakable character of Hungarian wine, while modernizing and updating the concept of what Eastern/Central European winemaking can and should do.
Levente Major ‘Olazrizling’
The wines of Levente Major are anything but the expected. Well, perhaps given that the man himself has been described as a “punk-rock viking” or “lost zz-top member” of the wine world, it should stand to reason that his wines would be defiant, bold, enticing, and...a damn good time. Growing up near the foothills of the Matra mountains, Levente was raised around barrels of wine. The region in Central/Northern Hungary produces some 40% of the nation’s output of wine---most of it, not very remarkable. Especially pedestrian were wines made from he Olazrizling grape (aka Welschriesling...which is neither Welsh nor a Riesling so...I guess just don’t worry about the name too much) which is widely planted for table wine in Hungary. But Levente thought this everyday grape could do a whole lot more under the right conditions. Old vines, older terraces, alluvial soils, and 100% organic farming produce concentrated fruit, which the winemaker uses in experimental batches to conjure unexpected flavors and characteristics. His Olazrizling is aged under flor ( a protective layer of yeast, also used in Sherry production) to promote oxidative, kernel-y notes alongside the bright stone fruit and citrus notes of the grape. Did I also mention Levente got rid of almost all machinery in his winery and crushes his grapes using an old school basket press? LEGIT. This white wine is weird, wild, exciting, unpredictably delicious, audacious, and unique. Open it up and rock out.
Peter Wetzer “PetiNat” Rosé Kékfrankos
Meanwhile, over in Sopron, Hungary (which was really close to being Burgenland, Austria..but voted to stay in Hungry when the ol’ empire got split up) Peter Wetzer is also taking his upbringing around wine and winemakers and flipping the script to create exciting new wines. His holdings include plenty of native Kekfrankos (or Blaufrankish, to the Austrians) which he carefully farms using only biodynamic principles on his 3.5 hectare holding. Peter is meticulous among his vines- only using a nettle tincture to control for pests and rot, encouraging biodiversity in the vineyard through no-till agriculture, and never even trimming the leaves of his plants. Talk about commitment to authenticity. But that super non-interventionist approach pays off in his wines, which are pure, light, charismatic, and cheerful, while containing a great depth of flavor and complexity. His PetiNat is a lovely, deep pink, resulting from only 5 hours of maceration time. Without pressing again, he free-run juice ferments in an old monastery cellar at a constant cool temperature. No disgorgement, unfiltered, unfined...just fizzy juice, au naturale, straight from the Austro-Hungarian border. It’s bursting with cherry-lambic-tart-juicy flavor, bright and refreshing, and truly perfect for grill season. I want smoky lamb shanks with wild-berry relish with this. Time to kek it up a notch.