February 2025 Wine Club
Selvanova ‘Terre del Volturno’ Sparkling Rosato 2022
The vibe: Is it February already?? This year is flying by. This month we’ve got, dare we say, a *sexy* lineup of wines. Seemed on theme with Valentine’s Day, plus who doesn’t love an excuse for some sexy wines. Kicking things off we have a rosato pét nat from a new producer to the shop, Selvanova. Located in Campania, Italy, this winery is dedicated to advancing and providing social services in their region, symbolized by the raft in their logo. In fact, the beautiful painting on their label was made by a young painter trained at the artistic lab at the Aquilone Rehabilitation Day Center, a mental health cooperative. The colorful settlements depicted in the label line the river of the Volturno, the namesake for the cuvée. Selvanova is home to olive trees in addition to vines, all grown with a philosophy of low intervention sustainability.
The winemaker: Selvanova was founded in 1997 by Dr. Antonio Buono. The property, located in Castel Campagnano in the central part of Campania, was once a Buffalo farm. The entire property is over 100 acres with about 25 planted to grapes. In addition to winemaking, they press their own olive oil with olives grown on the property, make their own cheese from animals they raise, and grow a variety of different fruits and vegetables. The view from Selvanova’s hillside vineyards includes Monte Matese Mountain Range in the east and the Monte Taburno Range in the west. Their 25 acres of vines slopes gently downward from winery facility towards the banks of the Volturno river. The river provides a unique microclimate for the area, keeping the summers cool and the winters mild.
The geeky details: The grapes are destemmed before a short maceration period of a few hours leading to the wines beautiful dark pink hue. The fermentation is done without the use of commercial yeasts in stainless steel tanks and aged for 4 months. After 4 months, the wine is bottled with the original must added so the secondary fermentation can take place in the bottle.
Serve: With a chill.
Food pairing: You could go so many ways with this! Class it up with some lobster rolls? Charcuterie? Valentine’s Day in bed breakfast wine? Prosciutto pizza? Of course Campania is known for seafood, this would go great with a clam pasta or calamari.
Album pairing: Pellegrino & Zodyaco - Koinè
Grape Ink ‘Red Wine’ 2023
The vibe: Sexy wine? This bottle is straight up scandalous. Nelly Furtado wrote ‘Promiscuous’ about this bottle. Not to get weird but we really, really like this wine. We’ve been down with Grape Ink since day one, so when a new vintage hits the shelves we kinda make a big deal about it. This bottle is made even more special as it’s extremely limited and available for Petite club members only! That’s right, brag to your wine friends about this (or better yet, share it with them). We’re digging this light expression of Pinot Noir, Trousseau and Mondeuse, picked from Jarad’s own farmstead plots in the hills above Portland. This wine is an ode to French alpine-style wines. A cool microclimate and long ripening season means these are the last picks of the year, lending a light yet immensely expressive profile, a true terroir wine.
The winemaker: Jarad Hadi is both a talented winemaker and a poet, an unfair combination if you ask us. Born in the Willamette, he studied viniculture in Bordeaux before returning to craft wines of his own alongside his wife Giulia, who paints his labels. He grows some fruit on his property, as well as farms for his neighbors and growers across the Willamette, focusing on grape varieties suited to the ever-warming climate. You can tell his wines stem from a true farmer-first approach in their linearity and expressiveness of terroir. Jarad crafts truly singular, one-of-a-kind wines.
The geeky details: *top secret*
Just kidding. From Jarad:
Pinot Noir(40%) Mondeuse (35%) Trousseau(25%)
The red wine was the last harvest of our home vineyard in North Plains planted to Trousseau, Pinot Noir and Mondeuse. In 2023 I noticed that the harvest was ripening unevenly which made me think back to some moments when I was learning under the winemaker of Chareau Y'quem Sandrine Garbay which she taught me that grapes in Sauterne were harvested cluster by cluster not parcel by parcel with this in mind I decided to do the same in our own vineyard. It was a rigorous process in which I scoured the vineyard 3 times only choosing the grapes that were ripe leaving the under ripe grapes on the vine to further mature on the plant. Grape Ink 2023 Red wine is an expression of the last pick that occurred in October although the grapes remained on the vines the longest these were the clusters that had the hardest time to ripen. With that being said... The resulting wine was lower in alcohol and lighter in style which I saw as a perfect opportunity for a shorter elevage and an earlier release. This wine came from listening to the season and what the vineyard had to say.
Fermentation: Field Blend of the vineyard - 100% Full Cluster in old neutral barrels that I popped the heads open.
Elevage: 10 months in Neutral Barrel (Pièce Bourguignonne 228l)
Serve: With a light chill.
Food pairing: These are mountain varietals, pair them with mountain food! Think, less trail mix, more French alps ski chalet cafeteria. Roast meat cuts, chicken with morel mushroom, creamy goats milk cheeses, lamb, cheese fondue, or a tartiflette if you’re feeling fancy.
Album pairing: Fabiano do Nascimento & Sam Gendel - The Room
Domaine de Roche Noire Saint-Amour ‘Aux Terres de Guinchay’ 2023
The vibe: The smallest of the ten Crus of Beaujolais, Saint-Amour produces some of the most complex Gamays in the region, leaning into dark fruit, minerality and deep notes of violet. Maybe it’s the love in the air, but we’re really feeling this particular bottle. It has all of the notes above, plus some hints of cherry, raspberry and chocolate. Gamays from Saint-Amour are often seen as the perfect Valentine’s Day wine, and we’ll agree with that. While lighter Beaujolais might be better suited to late summer/early fall and early harvest releases, this expression has enough structure and dynamicism to warm you (and a buddy) even on the coldest night.
The winemaker: Domaine de la Roche is a project born in December 2019 thanks to the vision of two friends: Mathieu, who represents the fifth generation of winemakers who have always tended the vineyards that now belong to the domaine, and Charles, a dear friend they met in Germany. Mathieu and Charles are part of the new generation of Beaujolais winemakers and produce lively, lively, drinkable wines. They cultivate 7.5 hectares of vines mainly in the Lantignié area, where the vines they work with are between 30 and 100 years old! They also cultivate 0.5 hectares of Régnié Cru. All their sites are organically farmed and are in the process of obtaining certification.
The geeky details: 100% Gamay Noir from Saint-Amour at an elevation of 335m, carbonic maceration, aging in stainless steel.
Serve: Cellar temp or a light chill.
Food pairing: Gamay is a perfect pairing for poultry or seafood-based dishes. This particular bottle has a touch more structure, making it the perfect candidate for something heartier like a veggie ratatouille, braised beef, or a beef ragu.
Album pairing: Marcos Valle - Nova Bossa Nova
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WHAT THE FUNK?!
Dorcha 'Oranžna' 2023
The vibe: There are those who argue orange wines are only appropriate for summertime drinking. Personally, we believe that orange wines are perfect year-round, as they offer additional complexity, texture and body over their direct-press white wine counterparts. Also, those orange wines with citrus notes are especially appealing this time of year. Has anyone else been shucking and slamming clementines nonstop since the holidays? Just us? Oranžna translates to, you guessed it, orange! That is not only the color of this wine but also the profile. We get lots of juicy tangerine zest, mild tannins, and some subtle spice on the finish. Štajerska is region that is known for it’s highly aromatic varietals and tremendous balance of aromatics and freshness, due to the wonderfully cool climate in the hills. You end up with a deeply complex, subtly funky, and immensely quaffable orange wine.
The winemaker: Located in Ritoznoj in Štajerska, Dorcha is the brainchild of Izidor (Dorcha) Vehovar. He is the 3rd generation of his family to continue the path of viticulture and winemaking, and is intent on a new direction, a friendlier path. A farmer without a conventional view of wine production, a winemaker who is following the local tradition of producing pure, vibrant wines. Gaining from some fresh perspective from his relatively-new neighbor in the village (Nick Gee, Heaps Good Wine Co.), he is now adding to his family's tradition by making exciting wines made naturally with a modern twist. Farming is done with the greatest respect for the land, with entirely sustainable viticulture, and all under Slovenia’s strict integrative farming requirements, with no use of pesticides or herbicides in the vineyards.
The geeky details: Gelber Muskateller 50%, Traminer 50%. Each variety is hand-picked and processed separately. Destemmed into small open top fermenters. Spontaneous fermentation with native yeast. Pressed off skins after the completion of alcoholic fermentation (approx. 21 days). Aging on fine lees in tank for 5 months.
Serve: With a light chill.
Food pairing: Orange wines go great with spicy foods and rich dishes with umami notes. We want to pair this with banh mi or a big bowl of vermicelli. It would also complement a fruit-forward salad or could be the perfect dessert course accompaniment.
Album pairing: Vaudou Game - FINTOU
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EASYYYYY
Donkey & Goat Dommen Vineyard Pinot Meunier 2023
The vibe: Pinot Meunier?? Isn’t that a champagne grape? That’s where you normally find it, where it lends its bright red fruit, albeit from direct-press white juice. This Pinot Meunier comes from one of the oldest continuously farmed areas in the Russian River Valley AVA and it is not a blanc de noir. This wine is most certainly red! The Dommen Family Vineyard has been in continuous production for over 100 years. Donkey & Goat, based in Berkeley, makes an elegant yet immediately drinkable expression with heaps of fresh, perfectly ripe fruit - a cascade of raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries and huckleberries.
The winemaker: Donkey & Goat is celebrated for being amongst a handful of pioneers in the natural wine community because in 2004 they were unique for their ecological principles driving decisions in both the vineyard and the cellar and ten years later for promoting transparency, being one of the first to list ingredients on their label. The founding winemakers spent a year with the inimitable Eric Texier in 2002 studying the art of crafting natural wines in the Rhone Valley before co-founding Donkey & Goat in 2004 in San Francisco.
The geeky details: 100% Pinot Meunier from Dommen Vineyard in Russian River at an elevation of 300ft. Wild yeast fermentation in wood vat for 14 days.
Serve: Cellar temp
Food pairing: Smoked brisket, cumin lamb ribs, berry pie.
Album pairing: Tim Bernardes - Mil Coisas Invisíveis