2021 Folk Machine Charbono Suisun Valley

Winemaker Notes:  Its bright blueberry flavor feels unadorned, bursting with juiciness, its exotic floral aroma meeting darker, earthy spice and peppery grip in the end. It’s a curious but memorable wine that will make plenty of friends at a dinner party. 

Probably since I first heard about the Slow Food Movement, I’ve liked the concept of preserving food and food culture by consuming it. In California, there are primarily three heritage grapes, Zinfandel, Valdiguié, and Charbono. Of those, Zin is pretty widely planted, but Valdiguié and Charbono are sparse and “endangered” if we don’t drink them. We’ve been producing Valdiguié for close to a decade now and I’ve had my eyes and ears open for a Charbono that we could foster. Typical for the grape, this wine is very dark in color and heavy in the nose, but it doesn’t live up to this expectation. It actually drinks very pretty, almost light. The tannin level is moderate given the way it looks and smells. 20% Whole Clusters or stems were included in the uninoculated fermentation and the wine was aged in all older barrels for 10 months before bottling.