Lightwell Survey Macerated White 'Colorwave' 2022
The vibe: This bottle right here came all the way from the state of Virginia, for the first time ever. That’s right, Virginian wine is in Washington, people! And you tasted it here first! For you east coast folks, it may come as no surprise that Virginia actually has quite an established viniculture scene. In fact, it holds the title of being the birthplace of wine in this country. New settlers in Virginia who wanted to be a part of the community were required to plant several rows of vines - after all, entire global powers had been built with wine as their central currency and export. Unfortunately, European vitis vinifera didn’t fair well and they saw little success in the beginning. However after several decades of experimentation, a new hybrid grape was born in Virginia: Norton (a personal favorite of Thomas Jefferson’s). There’s a ton of history to unpack here, but the long and short of it is - there are a ton of hybrid varietals in this wine, and they were developed to thrive in Virginia! This wine is a genre-bending blend of red and white varietals, presenting as somewhere between orange and rosè, with a complex but effortless palate leaning more toward a full white wine. This is the perfect mid-seasonal-shift wine for when the sun peaks out from behind the clouds after a downpour and a rainbow unfolds on the horizon. It would also make a great pre-dinner or first course Thanksgiving wine. It’s wine from Virginia, and it’s in your glass!
The winemaker: Lightwell Survey is a Virginia winery shining a new light on the traditional wine-scape. Their small batches of lively reds, dense whites and unique combinations of the two come with no preconceived descriptions or traditional aspirations. They aim for a bullseye yet prefer to land slightly off center. Started in the fall of 2015 with the first harvest in partnership with Early Mountain Vineyards in Madison, VA, their wines will continue to delve into traditional and not so familiar territory as they bring wines to market. Formed by partners Sebastian Zutant, Ben Jordan, Jay Zutant, Julian Caustrita, and John DeNapoli.
The geeky details: Combination of direct press and whole cluster fermentation (three weeks on skins) on Vidal, two day skin maceration on Traminette, no SO2 on the fruit, Chambourcin on the skins for eight days, then pressed and combined with everything else in a big co-fermented varietal soup. It finished primary and malo in tank and aged on lees until bottling.
Serve: With a chill.
Food pairing: Foods with heat or punchy flavors like fish in curry sauce, hard cheeses, pork.
Album pairing: Kokoroko - Get The Message EP