Finding France (Canton Only)
Descombes "Cuvée Kéké"
the place
Beaujolais, France
the grapes
Gamay
the process
Whole cluster, semi-carbonic maceration for 10-12 days. The fruit is then pressed and then fermented and aged in concrete.
the price
Bottle: $32 | Glass: $14
Lunar Apogé
the place
Languedoc Region, France
the grapes
100% Syrah
the process
Made by Domaine des Carabiniers, Lunar Apoge is 100% Biodynamic Syrah certified by Demeter. It's classified as a Pays D'Oc but the fruit is grown five miles west of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and about 7 miles each way from Orange and Avignon. All this geography is meant to point out that Lunar Apoge is not from some massive irrigated flatland vineyard in the hottest part of Languedoc. The fruit comes from just 12 acres of limestone soil and garrigue landscapes that are dry-farmed without any chemicals or fertilizers. Winemaker Christian Leperchois follows through with spontaneous fermentation initiated by native yeasts in neutral vats. Aging is done in concrete tanks before a light filtration. Lunar Apoge is also very low in sulfur.
the price
Bottle: $23 | Glass: $10
Domaine de la Pépière Côt-Merlot "La Pépiè"
the place
Loire Valley, France
the grapes
82% Malbec/18% Merlot
the process
Only three of Pépière's 43 certifed-organic hectares of vines are planted to black grapes: Côt, Merlot and Cabernet Franc (known locally as Breton). They are in the 10-hectare "home" vineyard in Clisson, where the rocky, granite-rich soils yield top-tier Melon de Bourgogne; the black grapes are in a section with a gentle slope and southwestern exposure. As with the Cabernet Franc, the Côt and Merlot are harvested by hand, destemmed and crushed, with only the free-run juice used for the wine. It is fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts, followed by around five months of aging in stainless steel. The wine is classified as a Vin de Pays de la Loire, as there is no allowance for red wine in the Muscadet AOC.
the price
Bottle: $25 | Glass: $10
Château d'Oupia Minervois Rouge
the place
Laungedoc Region, France
the grapes
50% Carignan, 40% Syrah, 10% Grenache
the process
The Carignan goes through a full carbonic maceration. The Grenache and Syrah are destemmed and macerate 30 days with two remontages a day. The wine ferments with selected yeasts and ages in concrete tanks until bottling. Three grams of S02 are added per hectoliter after malolactic fermentation.
the price
Bottle: $18 | Glass: $8