Gimme Some Skin
From Orange Wine to Rosé, experimenting with skin contact has been a part of the winemaking process for centuries. Whether it is leaving the skin on white grapes longer to make the hue orange, or removing the skins of red grapes early, to make that beautiful pink wine, it is always fun to explore the wonderful iterations of skin-contact wine
Poderi Cellario
E Orange
Grapes: Nascetta + Arneis + Incrocio Manzoni
Place: Piedmont - Italy
Process: Hand-harvested into small bins. Spontaneous fermentation with 5 days skin maceration. Aged in amphora for 6 to 8 months until bottling. Bottled with minimal sulphur (~10ppm) and without filtering or fining.
Family: Fausto and Cinzia Cellario are 3rd generation winemakers in the village of Carru` on the western outskirts of the Langhe. The family believes in only working with local, indigenous Piemontese grape varieties and fiercely defends local winemaking traditions both in the vineyard work and the cellar practices.
Bottle: $23 | Glass: $10
Scarbolo “IlRamato”
Grapes: 100% Pinot Grigio
Place: Friuli - Italy
Process: With ILRamato, we harvest the clusters at their peak ripeness and, destemmed, the grapes macerate at a low temperature. This way, the must is able to extract the iconic color from the grapeskins ahead of fermentation, hence maintaining a contemporary brightness and fragrance.
Although a common way of fermenting white grapes until the ‘50s, maceration was quickly dismissed as archaic once new technologies were made available and its use faded. Connecting the two visions, ILRamato is a contemporary interpretation of Pinot Grigio made “like we used to”.
Family: Scarbolo winery was founded by Gino Scarbolo. At an early age, Gino, who was born into a family of farmers, was bitten by the wine bug and started producing small batches of wine on the family’s farm.
Years later, he moved to Lauzacco with his family, where he purchased his first parcels, planted some vines, and started producing wine in bulk. Gino’s son, Valter, who grew up between vines and wines, learned the business and decided to take a step further into his expertise, and in 1982, he started his studies in viticulture and winemaking. This was a touring point into this family-owned business. What started with bulk wine, is today recognized as one of the most emblematic estates of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.
Bottle: $23 | Glass: $10
Höpler
“Pannonica”
Grapes: Blaufränkisch + Pinot Noir + St. Laurent
Place: Burgenland - Austria
Process: Hand-harvested and fermented in stainless steel.
Family: The Höpler vision is to allow their wines to grow and mature in harmony, develop strong characters, and find their own identity. Their origins always remain tangible, and their homeland ever present. Their signature style is delicate, elegant and high in minerality. They are excellent to drink on their own but versatile when it comes to food and wine pairings. Höpler is famous for making the house wines for the Trapp Family Lodge of Sound of Music fame and are fortunate to count the Vienna State Opera Ball, Jamie Oliver, Thomas Keller (French Laundry, Yountville), Boby Flay (Mesa Grill, New York), Petri Lukkarinen (Olo, Helsinki), Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White amongst some of their more prestigious customers.
Bottle: $15 | Glass: $6
Jean-Paul Brun Terres Dorées "Rosé d'Folie"
Grapes: 100% Gamay
Place: Beaujolais - France
Process: organically farmed, old vines on clay-limestone soils in the hills of Charnay in the southern Beaujolais. The bunches are hand-harvested and directly pressed with no maceration. The juice is fermented in tank with native yeasts. The wine goes through malolactic fermentation and is aged in tank. It is bottled with a light, non-sterile filtration and minimal sulfur.
Family: Jean Paul Brun is located in Charnay, a village in the Southern Beaujolais just north of Lyon, in a beautiful area known as the "Terres Dorées" or Region of Golden Stones. Brun is the owner and winemaker at this 60+ hectare family estate and has attracted the attention of the French and American press for the wonderfully fruity and delicate wines he produces. Brun wants to make "old-style" Beaujolais and his vinification differs from the prevailing practices in the region.
Bottle: $25 | Glass: $11
