June 2023
With summer all of a sudden in full swing, June wine club is the perfect set of fresh, fun wines to beat the heat. No real theme this month outside of each wine being refreshing and perfect for a warm June evening. We’ve got a Spanish white, Argentinian red, and two wines from Wisconsin (rose and orange). Let’s dig in!
American Wine Project
Song of Myself 2020
Producer Profile
Located in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, American Wine Project is winemaker Erin Rasmussen’s bold and progressive exploration of what can be done with midwestern hybrid grapes. She sources sustainably farmed grapes from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa and uses minimal intervention winemaking techniques to create clean, natural wines with flavor profiles that are often unlike any other wine out there (in a good way). Song of Myself is our first ever orange wine from Wisconsin (well, half Wisconsin and half Minnesota) in the shop and we couldn’t be more excited about it. It’s a blend of La Crescent, Frontenac Gris, and Frontenac Blanc fermented and aged on the skins, giving the wine its deep orange/amber tint.
Tasting Notes
Lush tropical fruit on the nose with heavy floral aromatics. Primary fruits are ripe mango and papaya, giving the wine a depth of sweetness without actually being sweet. Decent tannin and lower acidity give way to a long finish that highlights the rich papaya notes.
Pairing Suggestions
We enjoyed this with chicken tikka masala and it worked really well. With the tannin this has you could push it with a red meat like lamb chops and it would still be up to the task. Important note with orange wine: serve chilled!
| The region: Mineral Point, Wisconsin |
The style: Orange, Natural |
The grapes: La Crescent, Frontenac Gris, Frontenac Blanc |
Azul y Garanza
Viura (Macabeo) 2021
Producer Profile
The vineyards of Azul y Garanza are located in the harsh desert-like foothills of the pyrenees in the region of Navarre. Brushy scrubland makes for harsh growing conditions and low yields. The founding trio of Dani Sánchez, María Barrena and Fernando Barrena call their vineyards ‘landscapes’ as a way to express the diversity of plant and animal life that intertwine with the grape vines. All farming is organic and fermentation is spontaneous with native yeasts.
Tasting Notes
Honeysuckle and white flowers on the nose with some ripe kaffir-lime fruit. Pear and other stonefruit come through on the palate with really well-balanced acidity. Viura, which can tend to be boring, is very expressive in this wine because of the naturally low yields in Navarre leading to very concentrated fruit. The finish is clean and aromatic with the honeysuckle coming back around.
Pairing Suggestions
The lime notes and crisp acidity would pair really nicely with something curry-based or Thai. A citrus salad would also be quite nice. Ultimately though this is a wine made to be chilled all the way down and enjoyed on a hot day.
| The region: Navarre, Spain |
The style: White, Organic |
The grapes: Viura |
Château St. Croix
Château Rosé 2021
Producer Profile
Chateau St. Croix is the most local wine producer we work with, located almost exactly an hour away, just north of St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. Owned and operated by winemaker Irv Geary, the winery focuses on making high-quality wines with the local hybrid grapes grown in their slice of the St. Croix river valley. This rosé is a blend of Frontenac and Marechal Foch. Frontenac is one of the University of Minnesota hybrid grapes and Marechal Foch was developed in Alsace, France, making for a fun pairing of grapes.
Tasting Notes
Tart red candy (cherry, strawberry, watermelon) is the overwhelming note here. There’s the tiniest kiss of sugar to balance out the acid. Rose petal and hibiscus aromatics emerge in the finish but the pure juiciness of the candied fruit is the star here.
Pairing Suggestions
The heavier body opens up options for pairing that a more classic dry rose wouldn’t have. Charcuterie of all types would benefit from the fruit flavors in the same way they benefit from tart jams. Something a little more out there: vanilla ice cream would be pretty killer with this rose.
| The region: St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin |
The style: Rosé |
The grapes: Frontenac, Marechal Foch |
Ver Sacrum
Gloria 2019
Producer Profile
Owner and winemaker Eduardo Soler is one of a handful of Argentine winemakers pushing the boundaries of a wine culture that is fairly homogenized around a specific style of Malbec. Soler grows almost entirely Rhone varietals, vinted with minimal intervention and in a very bright and playful style. Not much skin contact, even on reds like this Garnacha, lead to more perfumed and aromatic wines. ‘Gloria’ is hand-picked, foot-crushed, and aged 50% in amphora and 50% in neutral oak before going into bottle. This wine had extremely limited distribution in Wisconsin and our entire allocation is going to you lovely folks in our wine club - if you liked it and want more, ask about the other red wine we got from Ver Sacrum as it’s made in a very similar style!
Tasting Notes
This is a wine where the tech sheet hits the nail on the head - “The nose is vibrant and perfumed showing raspberry and cranberry wrapped up in wet clay and a touch of ash. The palate is soft and round with red cherry and baking spices with a light tannin backbone.”
Pairing Suggestions
Can’t go wrong with barbeque chicken. Any light meat with relatively bright/tart flavors (bbq) would pair well with the energy of this wine. I would recommend a slight chill on it but it will drink great at room temperature as well.
| The region: Mendoza, Argentina |
The style: Red, Natural, Biodynamic |
The grapes: Garnacha |