Las Jaras Wines "Waves" Mendocino County Old Vines White

Vineyards:

the Colombard comes from the Ricetti Vineyard in Redwood Valley, just north of Ukiah. Vines planted in the 1950s, dry farmed, certified organic.

Barbera is from Testa Vineyard in Redwood Valley, certified organic

Chenin Blanc comes from Norgard Vineyard in Talmage, certified sustainable (soon organic), planted in 1980

Making of: French Colombard and Barbera are both late-ripening varieties, but were picked pretty early here. The Barbera (a red grape) was quite heavily cropped, so it had very high acidity and very little color. Direct-pressed, settled for a day, then racked to tank. When the natural fermentation started, the must was transferred to a number of non-stainless steel vessels: large format oak, concrete eggs, and sandstone amphora, where the wines then rested on their lees for five months. The wines were then racked and blended with the Chenin blanc to bring up the

minerality. The wine was not fined, but the winemakers decided to filter it because “when you are drinking wine out of a

can, you want that last sip to be as good as the first,” Joel says.

Personality: white peach, honeydew melon, and grapefruit, along with hints of wet stone. The palate is lightly sparkling and shows melon and grapefruit, and vibrates with a gentle sparkle and racy acidity. “Drinking this on a hot summer day, we’re even reminded of our favorite childhood soft drink, Squirt, which we’d gulp straight from the can while we played by the pool,” the guys say.