2018 HERE TODAYGrenache Gris Sparkling Wine

The 2018 “Here Today” Sparkling Grenache Gris was grown on the Rorick estate vineyard in Calaveras County at 2000’ elevation, featuring soils comprised of a layer of schist over dolomite-rich limestone. We grafted 2 short rows of Grenache Gris into the vineyard in the spring of 2018 and over a short amount of time we observed a very positive response from the vines to the growing conditions of RHV. That same year we were able to harvest a modest amount of grapes despite it being the first year of production.

The cluster and berry size of our Grenache Gris can be almost comically large, but also quite beautiful with white berries lightly tinted with violet, pink and peachy colors. We decided to experiment with this first vintage of Grenache Gris to see how it developed as a sparkling wine. The result is a luminescent peachy color, with baked stone fruit notes and fresh orange-like acidity. 

The fruit was hand-picked and foot tread. The juice sat on its skins for 24 hours in a cold room and was gently pressed the next day into stainless steel, racked into barrel, and allowed to ferment via native yeast. After two years in barrel the wine was tiraged to bottle and underwent a second fermentation. The wine was riddled over the winter of 2023 and disgorged by hand at the end of March 2023 where it was then allowed to rest until release.

Due to this wine being unfined and unfiltered, a small amount of protein haze may occur in bottle. This has no negative effect on the quality of the wine.

ABOUT THE LABEL

The label for our Grenache gris is a print by Bay Area artist Justin Limoges: "Here Today" is a heartfelt memorial to our dear, departed friend Mauri Skinfill. An amazing person, was Mauri: loyal friend, loving wife, rock star (yep literally), brainiac, humorist, adventurer -- among so many other greater achievements, she takes the credit for coining the phrase "Another Rare Creature" which has graced our bottles for a decade. And this Rare Creature, crafted of a union of Grenache gris and bubbles, is bursting with Mauri's rock and roll, and pulls it off with her casual grace and effortless flair. Dance on some tables, y'all.