Buddy Buddy 'Butterfly Kisses' Chenin Blanc

The vibe: 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