April 2025 Wine Club
Alli Lanphear Vineyard & Winery Siegerrebe 2019
The vibe: Hey clubbers, how we doing? We good? We hanging in there? It feels like winter’s been hanging on extra long but we’re finally getting some glimpses of spring and boy did we earn it! Channeling that spring energy, we’re starting off this month’s selection with a REAL fun skin contact Siegerrebe from Alli Lanphear Vineyard. This is a hyper-local wine (maybe the most local wine we’ve ever had at Petite??) made just across the water on Vashon Island. Vashon sits squarely in the Puget Sound AVA, which stretches to the north and south of Seattle and includes island wineries all the way over to wineries situated west of the Cascades. If you’ve never heard of this AVA, you’re not alone! We recently tried a handful of wines from producers in this emerging wine region and hope to share more with y’all soon. As climate change barrels along, this region is well suited to growing certain varietals that prefer cold, wet springs and long ripening periods, just like this Siegerrebe, which is rarely seen outside of Germany but turns out is perfect for these conditions.
The winemaker: Rebecca and Damon Lanphear have been growing organic food together on Vashon Island since 2000. During this time they deepened their understanding of slow, natural fermentation processes producing wines, cider, and mead all from fruits and honey locally sourced including Chasselas grapes from an old vineyard planted on Vashon in the 1980s. To better educate themselves they traveled through France, mostly Alsace, and Burgundy, and spent time in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, studying how small scale winegrowers crafted their wines and drew inspiration from the ancient winegrowing region of the Republic of Georgia They applied their learnings and began planting in 2007, over time developing a natural winemaking style true to what makes Puget Sound wines unique.
Serve: With a chill.
Food pairing: Siegerrebe is a cross between Madeleine and Gewürztraminer grapes, making it a delicately floral and aromatic grape, perfect for either an aperitif wine before a meal, or a dessert course wine. Otherwise, spicy and umami flavors go hand in hand with wines like this.
Album pairing: Polyrhythmics - Filter System
Troon ‘Druid’s’ Red 2023
The vibe: We discovered Troon at a tasting earlier this year and have been looking forward to sharing their wines with y’all for a hot minute! First of all, any winery that begins a tasting by unfurling a geological map of Oregon’s soil history is a going to have our full, undivided attention. The Troon winery (and farm) is in Applegate Valley, which for the uninitiated is in southern Oregon, close to the border with California. Little known fact, Oregon actually has the shortest geologic history of any state in the contiguous US. While it’s the shortest history, it’s one of the most eventful. That history is why there are so many mountain ranges and volcanoes dotting the landscape. The Applegate Valley lies at the base of the Klamath Mountains, the oldest known geological region of Oregon, dating back 400 million years. A good terroir wine is basically just rock juice, and Troon wines are definitely terroir wines! The Druid’s wines are a first generation release from new plantings on the Troon estate, focused on freshness and moderate alcohol, and reflect the diversity of the biodynamic plantings of Southern French varietals. These wines are indeed inspired by wines from the Rhône valley, blended to overlap textures and flavor profiles to reflect each year’s unique vintage. Rock juice!
The winemaker: Troon Vineyard is Oregon’s only Demeter Biodynamic and Regenerative Organic Certified winery and farm, and it is one of four farms in the world to be Regenerative Organic Gold Certified. And it’s exactly as you pictured. Cider apples, veggie gardens, hay fields, honeybees, sheep, chickens and of course grapevines call the Troon farm home.
The geeky details: 30% syrah, 27% grenache, 20% cinsault, 19% mourvèdre, and 4% carignan. Several of the lots were fermented with a percentage of their stems intact (whole cluster), and for the first time in 2023, we were able to use some new concrete fermenters, such that 25% of this blend was fermented and aged in concrete.
As with all wines from Troon, no additives, acid or sugar adjustments, enzymes, or sulfur additions are used at crush. Primary fermentation occurs spontaneously with indigenous/native yeasts and bacteria in open-top bins or vats outside (and now in concrete tanks as well!). The wine is handled gently during fermentation with just one punch-down or foot-treading per day for roughly three to four weeks. The wine is then pressed off to age in neutral French oak barrels or concrete for approximately ten months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered, with a small dose of sulfur added at bottling.
Serve: With a light chill.
Food pairing: This red is a chill guy, and should be served as such. Chill it down and wash down some pizza, burgers, or BBQ with it. You could also pair it up with some less-spicy more-savory Asian dishes.
Album pairing: The Alan Parsons Project - Ammonia Avenue
Osa Major Carignan Sierra Foothills 2022
The vibe: I just realized (hi, it’s Nick) all three bottles this month are from new producers to the shop! We’re excited to debut Osa Major in the club this month as it’s a one woman show and the wines she’s making are representative of the light, crunchy, juicy styles we love so much but rarely see coming out of California. Emily Fernwood makes all of her wines thoughtfully and intentionally, especially when it comes to the fruit. The bottle before you is 100% Carignan, a red grape of Spanish origin that is commonly found in southern French blends. The fruit is grown in the Sierra Foothills at Tyee Vineyards, a new site for this vintage due to early season frosts and drought at the previous site. It’s got all this crunchy red fruit up front, which eases you into its supple tannic depths and a lingering finish reminiscent of much bigger wines. It’s giving leather and pomegranate and plum skins and some subtle tobacco leaf, with a helping of tangy acidity. It’s complex yet oh so easy to drink. Yes please.
The winemaker: Osa Major Wines is a one woman enterprise - from trucking grapes to selling bottles and everything in between. Winemaker and owner Emily Fernwood spent the years after college traveling and working harvest gigs the world over, from California and Oregon to Australia and New Zealand, until founding Osa Major Wines in 2020. As a Bay Area native, the time was right to return home and explore the incredible variety of geology and history that can be found in the vineyards in some of California’s unique known and lesser known wine regions, while crafting wines that explore a lighter and brighter side of California winemaking.
The geeky details: From Osa Major: This pick was the textbook example of perfect grapes - not a blemish to be found, perfect chemistry, smooth fermentation, and wild deep fruit all the way through. Tyee Vineyard is a new addition to the portfolio this year, after early season frosts and drought dramatically reduced crop yeilds at our previous Carignan site. Though nearly opposite in every way (young, on sloping iron rich igneous soil) it shows strong varietal similarities with previous vintages, showing that Carignan, when vinified in a straghtforward way, has a strong identity wherever it is planted.
Serve: Cellar temp or with a light chill.
Food pairing: We paired this with a steak teriyaki bowl and it was excellent. Charred and grilled is the name of the game here, this wine can handle heartier flavors.
Album pairing: LEISURE - Sunsetter
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WHAT THE FUNK?!
Buddy Buddy ‘Butterfly Kisses’ Chenin Blanc 2022
The vibe: Ok so not sure how we’ve NEVER had a wine from Cassidy Miller in the club, it’s time to change that! We hosted Cassidy at Petite a couple months ago and tasted through all her wines and hot diggity darn they are fun bottles. Her labels, done by her artist friend Laura Burke, and cuvée names come from the pet names of her ferments or the emotions around each vintage. With her background in design and photography, her experience in wine was rooted in sharing wine in tasting and community, and it reflects in the wines she makes. They are expressive and captivating but above all, they’re immensely drinkable. This porch pounder weighs in at a featherweight 11% ABV. Despite that, it’s one of the most memorable Chenins we’ve had, with a ton of lemongrass, bright pear, zesty citrus and a kiss of umami/savory notes. It’s young, wild and free and we love it. Fun fact, this Chenin Blanc was the first all grape wine that Cassidy made following her first vintage of solely apple, pear and grape co-ferments.
The winemaker: Cassidy Miller comes from a background in fashion design and photography, her first connective experiences with wines were at tasting rooms and wine bars throughout the Bay Area. In 2020 she was working for a winemaker in the North Bay and had a fast opportunity to make her own wine and at their recommendation she opted to start a label right off. As a young project built in the wild and uncertain times of the early ‘20s Bay Area wine scene, Cassidy ties her vision to one of conscious exploration. She sources fruit from organic and biodynamic sites, in relatively close proximity to her Berkley facility. Predominantly Clarksburg, Lodi, Solano, and Mendocino.
The geeky details: 100% Chenin Blanc from Wilson Vineyard - Woods Ranch in Clarksburg, CA. The Wilson family has been farming land in Clarksburg for four generations. Deep alluvial mix of clay and some sand, washed down the river and into the Delta. Planted in 1998 and farmed organically. Warm days followed by cool nights, sitting right alongside the Delta waterway. Prior to pressing the grapes were gently foot tread. After pressing, they were allowed time to settle in the tank overnight before racking to neutral french oak to ferment in barrel. 8 months in barrel before bottling. Spontaneously fermented, unfined, unfiltered.
Serve: With a chill.
Food pairing: Stone fruit desserts, pineapple cake, seafood, blue cheese, fried chicken?! Maybe not in that order :)
Album pairing: BusCrates - Blasting Off
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EASYYYYY
Josep i Pau ‘Cosmos’ Brut Nature 2018
The vibe: Spanish Champagne! This Brut Nature comes from a tiny winery in the Penedés region of Catalunya, near Barcelona. It’s basically a Champagne, forgoing Spanish varietals in favor of a 50/50 split blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It’s dry and bright, and it’s got a healthy dose of minerality, making it a great food pairing. More on that below!
The winemaker: Josep i Pau is made by Rosell Miir, a tiny family winery based in the Penedès region of Catalunya, near Barcelona. The name is a reference to Pau the son and Josep the father, who run the winery together and collaborated on this project. The vineyards at Rosell Miir are farmed organically and the wines are made in a low-intervention, chemical-free manner.
The geeky details: 50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay. Traditional method sparkling (aka Champagne method). Semi-disgorged.
Serve: With a chill.
Food pairing: This is Catalonian Champagne, soooo a fresh, bright seafood dish would be the perfect pairing. You could also totally throw this at some pastries. Speaking of breakfast wine, this would be an epic grapefruit mimosa base.
Album pairing: Arnau Obiols - Faith / San Diago