Domaine Fontsainte Gris de Gris
Grapes : 90% Grenache Gris, 5% Carignan, 5% Mourvèdre
Place : Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Process : Low intervention traditional fermentation. Light skin contact of Grenache Gris with a blend of light pressed Carignan and Mourvedre and ages 4-6 months in stainless steel tanks.
Family: The first vineyards at Domaine de Fontsainte, in the Corbières appellation, were planted by the Romans. Artifacts found in these vineyards, such as an old coin dating from the time of Marcus Agrippa in 25 A.D., are a testament to its antiquity. The original domaine was built around a thermal spring, which was later named for the local, twelfth-century patron saint, Saint Siméon; hence Fontsainte—the saint’s fount. Yves Laboucarié’s family has been making wine here since the seventeenth century, and we were lucky to have met him so early on in his career. For over forty years, KLWM has been proudly importing his wine, and now we work with his son, Bruno. Like his father, one of the first vignerons working with whole cluster fermentation in the region, he believes strongly in the family’s legacy of innovation. He has re-equipped the cellars, replanted new vines, and even added new cuvées.
Bottle: $25 | Glass: $11
Ercole Rosato
Grapes: 65% Barbera, 35% Dolcetto
Place: Peidmonte - Italy
Process: Fermented and stabilized in inox steel tanks.
Family: With a singular concentration on the Piedmont region of Italy, The Piedmont Guy has championed a select group of passionate winemaking families for nearly a decade. Ercole is our line of everyday wines upholding our commitment to honoring the work of the unsung heroes of Italy—the grape growers themselves. Ercole, whose English translation is Hercules, is only made possible by a generations-old cooperative of local growers in the Monferrato area.
Bottle: $19 | Glass: $8
Peybonnhome Bomba Rosita
Grapes: Merlot - Cabernet Franc
Place: Bordeaux - France
Process: Organic, Biodynamic and vegan since 2000. Manual and mechanical harvests, gentle pressing, light addition of sulphites, spontaneous fermentation, no fining of the wine, sedimentary clarification in the cold.
Family: Catherine and Jean-Luc Hubert are a tight-knit family devoting all of their energies to producing wines, plus respecting the site and its environment. In 1997, Catherine and Jean-Luc fell for the charms of Château La Grolet with its combination of a beautiful location and high-quality terroir and wines, and a biodynamic adventure was begun.
Bottle: $29 | Glass: $13
Forlorn Hope ‘Queen of the Sierra’
Grapes : Zinfandel, Grenache noir, and Tempranillo
Place : Calaveras County - California
Process : The fruit was hand-picked and whole-cluster pressed into stainless steel; fermentation was allowed to begin spontaneously with native yeast. The wine was racked off of lees in December following primary ferment, and bottled unfiltered in February
Family : At Forlorn Hope Wines, we love the longshots. We love the outsiders, the lost causes, the people/projects/ideas abandoned as not having a chance in the world.
We love the little guy because we’re all about tenacity, we relish a challenge, and – we admit it – we love us a good tussle. Taken from the Dutch ‘verloren hoop’, meaning ‘lost troop’, Forlorn Hope was the name given to the band of soldiers who volunteered to lead the charge directly into enemy defenses. The chance of success for the Forlorn Hope was always slim, but the glory and rewards granted to survivors ensured no shortage of applicants. These bottles are our headlong rush into the breach. Rare creatures from the limestone slopes of Rorick Heritage Vineyard, these wines are our brave advance party, our pride and joy – our Forlorn Hope.
Bottle: $27 | Glass: $13