2022 Union Sacre "gewurz" Gewurztraminer, Monterey, California (750ml)
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40 days of skin contact places this solidly in the "orange wine" camp. Like Union Sacre's orange Riesling, however, it retains a purity of varietal fruit that is clear as a bell . . . Union Sacré's Orange wines, both Riesling and Gewurztraminer, are among the best we have ever tasted. The style of winemaking involving extended skin contact actually has been around for a long, long time, but seems to have caught fire here in the US only the last 5 years, and is now very much in fashion. And therein lies the rub - we have tasted many an orange (and "natural") wine in the process of curating our selection that we simply will not put on the shelves. Honoring and celebrating historic winemaking techniques is one thing. Presenting wines to our customers that are a festival of spoilage factors is quite another. Union Sacré's orange wines are DELICIOUS.
Lomo del Rio Vineyard, Monterey County. 12.3% ABV, 40 days on the skins. Producer Notes - "These wines are made for the tables of friends, by two friends, from different continents, Xavier and Philip, who arrived at the Central Coast from opposite ends of the Earth. Xavier is a WSET certified, oenology degree holder from France, Philip is a self-taught designer from Michigan who kind of misses living in a van. Between the two of them, Xavier and Philip have 35+ years experience working in Central Coast wineries. Xavier has made wine with some of the Central Coasts most luminous wineries. Philip cut his teeth at Proof Wine Collective."
