Baja California:
2021 Pouya Wines “Vino Naranja” Chenin Blanc, El Porvenir 

ABV: 11%
SRP: $40? 
Grapes: organic dry farmed Chenin Blanc
Beso Imports
purchased at a natural wine event I attended
during a press trip to Valle de Guadeloupe during OIV in 2022

Founded in 2017 by Fernanda Parra, Pouya operates out of shipping containers turned into a winery in a small village east of Valle de Guadalupe towards Tecate (Carretera ensenada-tecate 990E, Ignacio Zaragoza, Mexico). A Baja native, Fernanda received her M.S. in enology and viticulture after attending university in Montpellier, France. She worked in the lab at Tenuta Rapitalà in Sicily, as a cellar intern at Domaine La Croix Montjoie in Burgundy, and served as assistant winemaker to Camillo Magoni at the Magoni Estate.

The name Pouya is an homage to Fernanda’s great grandfather, a French scientist who fell in love with Baja, and the wines reflect Fernanda’s years of training combined with her love for Baja’s terroir. 

Fernanda’s grapes come from from two old vine vineyard sites in the northern part of the Valle de Guadalupe that are farmed organically and harvested by hand with some even dry farmed because there’s enough fresh water there. Seven different wines are made totaling about 800 cases, and Beso imports all seven to the US.

Descendants of Russian immigrants planted the Bibayoff Estate in the 1950s; there are some of the first established vineyards in the region and represent some of Valle’s best Chenin Blanc plantings. Located at 1,100′ in elevation, the vineyard has soil composed of sand mixed with granite and clay marl. 

They also get Grenache from the Olegario Sandoval Vineyards which were also planted in the 1950s near the end of the region of the Valle approximately 15 miles from the Pacific on a dry farmed site with sandy soils. From this Grenache, Fernanda makes Methode Champenoise Sparkling, Rosé and Red (Tinto).

Fernanda makes all natural wines with no additions, corrections, filtration or stabilization with minimal sulfites added at bottling (about 30 ppm). Click HERE to visit their Facebook page. Find their wines here. 

Appearance:  Golden amber, very beautiful in the glass, lots of sediment in the bottle. It has a crown cap on a clear bottle; we were expecting bubbles and that’s what I thought I’d bought but it was a still wine. 

Aroma: Herbal, subtle, chamomile, ponderosa pine, butterscotch, vanilla, asian pear, apple, bee’s wax

Palate: Tart and dry, tannic, salty, asian pear, tart tangerine at the back of the experience, it is hot but not alcohol, spicy but not peppers, a complexity that we couldn’t put our finger on, cardamon, bee’s wax, cleansing, very interesting, nectarine, peach, fresh slightly under ripe white stone fruit, 

Pairing: The wine is alright with the salad, the dressing is a bit too sweet for the wine but it does love the apple and the walnuts, dressings can be adjusted to go with the wine and the palate, this wine fu***ing loves the lobster Mac and cheese, and while it was so awesome together it was not my favorite wine with this dish for the evening, which made me think about shrimp scampi with our local ridgeback prawn, the aroma of the lava cake was beautiful with the aroma of the wine, the richness of the cake with the cream and the orange in the wine worked well together with this dessert. 

Norte California:
2023 Lo-Fi Pinot Gris, Santa Barbara County

Norte California:
2023 Lo-Fi Pinot Gris, Santa Barbara County 

ABV: 11.5%
SRP: $28
Grapes: organic Pinot Gris

I think Sue bought this wine at the winery. She may have purchased it with an industry discount. 

They are committed to sustainability and organic practices throughout the winemaking process. Hand harvested grapes were fermented using the carbonic maceration technique, with 100% whole clusters being utilized in a large sealed stainless steel tank using native yeasts and bacteria for both primary and secondary fermentation, and avoiding the use of sulfur during harvest with a total of 50 ppm so2, and bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Pinot Gris grapes range in color from pink to white to gray, and the resulting wine might be considered a rosé in color. With it’s extended skin contact, we definitely consider it an orange wine.

Appearance:  Rhubarb, pale rim, ruby grapefruit, cloudy

Aroma: I like it better as it has opened up as I swirl it in the glass, rhubarb, plum, geranium, grassy, clay, fresh roses, very enticing yet elusive, vey lovely nose, citrus, baking spices, 

Palate: Lovely on the palate as well, this is a really fun wine, lovely texture, this is a very nice introductory wine if you have never experienced a skin contact wine before, refreshing, juicy, similar to aromatic bitters that one might put in to a cocktail, pink grapefruit, orange oil, tangerine, watermelon, 

Pairing: While we loved the wine and the Mac and cheese on their own, this was not the perfect companion for this dish, in fact it was not that good at all, Sue was thinking it would be better with fish tacos, or possibly a margarita pizza,  and sadly the salad was a bit too sweet for the wine, we loved this wine so much on its own so there has to be a dish that will help the wine shine. It is not a horrid comment it is just not a great as all of the others and a bit of a let down when we got there, the lava cakes were absolutely the best pairing with this wine, I was surprised at how well they went together, this was such a super fun pairing both the wine and the dessert balance each other out so nicely. The dessert is not too sweet for this wine and the high quality bittersweet organic chocolate works so well with the wine, 

Germany:
2023 Weingut Strub Raw “Dino” Riesling Trocken, Rheinhessen

ABV: 12%
SRP: ? 1 liter bottle
Grapes: organic Riesling
Importer: Skurnik

Walter Strub and his son Sebastian desire to craft “transparent, pure expressions of Riesling on slopes along the Rhine River” in Nierstein where the Strub family has been making wine in the Rheinhessen region since 1710 making Walter Strub the 11th generation to make wine from the family vineyards. Sebastian Strub graduated from Geisenheim, and had an apprenticeship at Dönnhoff.  Sebastian has placed more focus on the family’s vineyard work, including the use of straw coverings between rows to prevent erosion and aid in water retention – a technique he learned while working at Dönnhoff. On their 15 hectares they produce 7,500 cases a year.

This Riesling comes from various vineyards with various soils including limestone in the Rheinhessen. Grapes spent three days on the skins, fermented with berries in tank, kept on full lees until March, and racked once.

Sue bought this wine for my birthday at Ojai’s Point de Chene Wine & Beer– a favorite spot for natural wine like these! When she gave it to me she said “you don’t have tow rite about it! Just enjoy it!” But of course it helped inspire the idea for this post, so we had to open it! Sue purchased it with an industry discount. 

Appearance:  Gold and cloudy in the glass, platinum rim, 

Aroma: Sue loved the aroma, after I got past the first layer I loved the complexity, pear, kiwi, grapes, Madagascar jasmine, orange blossom, tangerine, very interesting and aromatic,  after having food there is lavender, lavender lemon tea, pennyroyal

Palate: Very juicy, valencia orange, fresh, pleasurable, minerals, some wines are really delicious, this is one of those wines, 

Pairing: The acidity in the wine is heightened by the salad, it is a beautiful pairing because it is equal they match, they marry, they are complementary but they are not opposite they just work together, there is a union of the butter lettuce and the arugula, the sweetness of the lobster is heightened by this wine, OMG this was the pairing for me, I could taste each of the flavors of the different cheeses in the dish, we both agreed that the lobster Mac and cheese and this wine were absolutely perfect together. All in all this wine went perfectly with this menu. With our dessert the wine lets the chocolate be the chocolate, we noticed a fizziness to the wine as the evening went on, but it wasn’t an effervescence, this fizziness really worked well with our dessert, the chocolate dessert went very nicely with all of the citrus elements in the wine. 

Austria:
2022 Schodl In Natura “Bloody Muscat Muscat Muscat”

Austria:
2022 Schodl In Natura “Bloody Muscat Muscat Muscat”

ABV: 12%
SRP: ?
Grapes: organic Muscat
Importer: Barrel Down Selections

At the end of World War II, the Schödl family built their farm as a mixed agriculture and wine operation in the Weinviertel region located between Vienna and the Czech Republic.  Influenced by the Danube and March rivers, and a Pannonian climate of hot, dry summers and dry, cold winters, grapes reach full ripeness and maintain refreshing acidity. In the 1980s, Hubert Schödl, a winemaking professor transformed the focus into a vineyard and winemaking operation. His children Matthias, Leonhard and Viktoria took over in 2012, and they have farmed organically with biodynamic principles since 2014, and certified organic in 2019. In addition, they seek to create robust soil and vine health through low till, natural fertilization, cover crops, bees and other beneficial insects. On their 15 ha they produce 50,000 bottles. 

Sue found this wine at Ojai’s Point de Chene Wine & Beer, that favorite spot for natural wine like these, and purchased it with an industry discount. 

Appearance:  Ruby grapefruit, very cloudy, golden colors throughout, platinum rim, 

Aroma: Very perfume, citrus, orchard fruit, cherry, citrus blossom, waxy pollen, bee pollen, 

Palate: Very tart and dry, strong tannins, texturally like clay, Meyer lemon, earthen, nectarine, apricot, dried apricot, long clean light lingering finish, very present for a really long time, the mouthfeel sticks with you as well, 

Pairing: This tart acidic wine was totally tamed and enhanced with the meal, With this rich creamy meal this refreshing wine is so complementary and cleansing. For something this rich you need something to cleanse the palate in between bites, the salad works perfectly as well, the wine responds to the bitterness of the arugula and the tannins in the walnuts and the sweetness of the apples, cranberries and honey lemon vinegarette, the dessert enhanced the aromatics in the wine and it was fine together, however not perfect, the wine becomes very dry while the rich bittersweet chocolate is enhanced, tart tangy grapefruit is evedent in the wine and the chocolate is evident in the wine, they work together and do not fight but is not perfect, This is an interesting wine to take through our entire meal. The wine changed and molded itself nicely to the different pairing, The wine and the dessert became similar to a candied orange rind dipped in chocolate.

Alsace:
2022 Pepin “Orange” Gewurtraziminer

Alsace:
2022 Pepin “Orange” Gewurtraziminer

ABV: 13.5%
SRP: $30
Grapes: organic Gewurtraziminer
Importer: Nomadic Distribution

“I taste, therefore I am,” they say. “We are establishing a network of committed winemakers. All are certified organic, respecting strict specifications and applying no synthetic pesticides, insecticides or weedkillers to their vines. The grapes are harvested by hand to promote quality, as well as the social ties, human energy and festivities that harvesting creates. After systematic maceration for reds and oranges, and occasional maceration for whites, the grapes are pressed. The juice is simply put into tanks, foudres and barrels, and then we let the wine do its own thing.”

This wine is also made as a pet-nat! Oh, get in my glass, please! 

Sue found this wine at Ojai’s Point de Chene Wine & Beer, a favorite spot for natural wine, and purchased it with an industry discount. 

Appearance:  Cloudy, like pear juice, I did not think it was a very pretty color, gold, slightly peachy, very cloudy, a tinge of brown, water from a rusty pipe, 

Aroma: I love the aroma of this wine, spicy, baked pear, baked apple, fruit danish, pumpkin pie spice, Chinese five spice, alpine meadow, peach, the aroma of this wine keeps you coming back for more, after having food chocolate and cream there is a bit of orange blossom on the nose, 

Palate: Texture of pear, but tastes like spiced apple, apple cobbler, peach cobbler, very refreshing, 

Pairing: Great with the salad loves the fruit and the honey lemon vinegarette, Wow I can not imagine a wine being better than this wine with the meal, the meal brings out lovely fruit in the wine, for me it was the lovely pear in the wine that shined with the dish, the wine highlights food and the food highlights the wine, At the end of the evening I made Sue retaste the Mac and Cheese with this wine it was absolutely fantastic. This wine was also very good with the dessert, both were bittersweet together.

Happy Valentine’s Day!