A hope I have for Heaven's is that coming to the shop inspires thoughtfulness. So much of what we consume, be it media, food, or wine is done so with little consideration. When people come into Heaven's, they're often surprised to find it mostly filled with bottles they don't recognize. Homogenization as a result of green-washing of natural wine is why you go to five different wine shops and see all the same bottles. One of the things I like to bring attention to is natural California wine being made by individuals, not brands. This month's Wine Club is just that -- real people making real natural wine. Cheers to drinking small quantity, thoughtfully sourced and grown fruit, locally made wine. 

TWO

Clearlake County, California USA

Etteilla Wines is a small winemaking project started by Anne Disabato and Noelle Vandendriessche. The two apprenticed for Tony Coturri and produced their first vintage out of Coturri Winery in Sonoma, CA. They make zero-zero wines and ciders with a focus on heritage vineyards that are committed to organic and sustainable farming practices.

An elegant expression of what orange wine can taste like. This is light, floral and creamy with bright citrus notes and tight acidity. 

 

Sonoma, California USA

"Napa Cabernet Sauvignon must with Johnathan, York, King Apple Cider. The finished Bardos™ Cider is fermented over Cabernet Sauvignon pomace. Open top maceration, bottled under crown cap and juice with fresh apple juice for refermentation in bottle.

My first cider experiment, using magical Bardos ™ Cider, to finish over local pressed Cabernet Sauvignon and juiced back with more Bardos apple juice. This is a very drinkable, lightly purple, fresh, fizzy concoction. Sure to please." - Dan Marioni (the winemaker)

Perfect for a party: bubbles, low abv (7.5%), fruit.

FOUR

 

Mendocino, California, USA

Sam Rogers is a friend and natural wine stalwart. They are deeply invested in the California natural wine scene, and have spent numerous years doing harvest with famed, and recently deceased Beaujolais producer Julie Balagny. Having learned from one of the greatest natural wine producers of our time, Sam's premier vintage is nothing short of inspiring. Amazing things are to come for them. 

12 day whole cluster maceration Pinot Noir in stainless steel. The grapes then are slowly pressed over 7 hours on a manual basket press. The wine is then aged in neutral oak barrels for 7 months. Everything is done manually using gravity.

 Mendocino, California USA

A new wine from one of Heaven's favorite producers Graham Shelton. You may recognize him from past Wine Clubs. He'll keep making it in. Graham Shelton is a rare gem in the California natural winemaking scene. For many years he has been the winemaking assistant to Diego and Shaunt of Les Lunes, helping them farm their ever-increasing acreage in Sonoma and Mendocino. He has an intimacy with the vines that few producers in the state have. In what has become a pivotal memory for me, during an conversation at the beginning of our friendship while Graham was living in a trailer on one of his vineyards he was converted from traditional organics to practices well beyond, he described the changing sounds of the fauna. He said he started to hear lady bugs and crickets return to the vineyard. The green of the leaves just looked different. Then, when he was making the wine, he knew exactly what it wanted to become because he had been with it day in and day out. He'd seen its struggles and the successes throughout the year. It was intimate and innate. The vineyard was part of his everyday life. His wines reflect this intimacy. 

High tension, not your mom's California Chardonnay. Honeysuckle, lemon balm and fresh.