APRIL 2025 - CALIFORNIA DREAMING

In the initial days of Red & White, wines from California producers were non-existent in our store. In fact, for many, many months we didn’t have a single wine on the shelves from that great state. We hadn’t come across anything that had moved us quite like the nature driven wines we were fascinated with coming from Europe. I remember thinking, somewhat naively, that the wines being produced on the West Coast were all flash and zero substance. It wasn’t that they weren’t being produced, it was just that we hadn’t come across any yet.

Over the years we have come to understand that indeed there has been a movement swelling for many years, with lots of young, aspiring vignerons looking to approach farming and winemaking in a different light than those long established estates from years past, as well as outliers working this way for many years in California. We certainly don’t profess to think that the practices we have come to admire and support weren’t present already. We simply had to delve a little deeper.

Similar to the Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux regions in France, viticultural land in Napa and Sonoma have made it impossible for new generations to purchase parcels and vines because the cost is so astronomical. Part of this new generational movement of oenologists is one of a different approach, the negociant model, where winemakers form partnerships with grape growers, who are aligned with the same philosophies of how to nurture the soils and the plant life within the culture of vines. More often than not these days, this is where we are realizing new discoveries from California. This is a path, though relatively new to us, that we are happy to continue walking - to admire the type of hard work, perseverance, determination, humility and gratitude that these vignerons exemplify.

For this month’s wine club we are happy to highlight the works of 3 individuals working in California to make wines that speak of terroir and substance, wines that are expressive in aromatics and texture, wines that entice you to take another sip, experience a different aroma from the previous, wines that ignite an interest in continuing to seek out new discoveries. All three vignerons do actually spend countless hours working in the vines, it’s just that they do not themselves own the parcels. They establish connections with the farmers and provide valuable information on how they would prefer the vines to be cultivated, in addition to the aforementioned manual labor. And then, of course, they buy the fruit when they individually feel it’s the best moment to pick and begin fermentations for their specific style of wines. The selections this month are representative of a warm season in Chicago on the horizon, wines that are thirst quenching, entice the appetite for food and are a sheer joy to consume.

Two Shepherds

El Dorado County

L’il Trouble Mourvèdre 2023

200 Cases Produced

William Allen has been fascinated with Rhône varietals and been making ‘garagiste’ wines prior to 2010, when he found and built his own facility in Windsor. The first release in the new facility was in 2011 and totaled 175 cases. His partner Karen joined in 2015 and together they have built up their total annual production to 5000 cases. A firm believer in organic and biodynamic farming, utilizing native yeasts for ferments and never any fining or filtering before bottling. The wines are fresh and vibrant. The L’il Trouble undergoes a very short maceration, whole cluster and is fermented in stainless steel before resting in neutral barrels before bottling. this vintage finished with under 10% abv and exudes lip smacking, bright red currant and cranberry fruits, is well balanced and recommended to chill down a bit for ultimate enjoyment.

MARGINS WINE

Contra Costa County

Muscat Blanc 2024

Cecchini Ranch

Megan Bell has been making no frills, low intervention wines in California’s Central Coast since 2016 and now also has a small tasting room in Santa Cruz. She studied at UC Davis and then apprenticed in New Zealand and France before moving back to California. For some years now, Megan has been somewhat of an underdog, steadfast and determined to make vividly aromatic, high toned wines from selected organic vineyards in the area. The Muscat Blanc vines are 25 years old in clay, loamy soils with an incredible view of Mt Diablo, and an existing bee keeping practice within the parcel. The wine is whole cluster pressed and then aged in neutral barrels for 5 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered with a small amount of SO2. It is incredibly aromatic and dry. Only 48 Cases produced.

RUTH LEWANDOWSKI

Mendocino County

Elimelech Riesling 2022

Cole Ranch

Evan Lewandowski is making some of our favorite wines to come out of California. Period! He began his production in 2012, after various stints learning from vignerons in California, France & Italy. It all started in the state of Utah, where his father would initially truck enough CA fruit back to Utah to initially make 3000 cases of wine per year in Salt Lake City. After a few years there, he would make the decision to move out to California. He is located in Geyserville and has long running relationships with organic growers, mainly in Mendocino County, but also sources from the Sierra Nevada Foothills. He produces a vast array of zero-zero wines, nothing added, nothing taken away and all are incredibly pleasing. If there was a remote island wine for Evan, it would be this varietal. The fruit is sourced from Cole Ranch between Ukiah and Boonville. The vines were planted in the 1970’s and is the smallest AVA in the U.S. It is a rare limestone packed subsoil site that is organic and dry farmed. This wine is thought provoking and ethereal. It exudes incredible intention, of musky aromatics - jasmine and burnt lime with savory tones, almost vermouth-like with amazing texture and buoyancy.