With special guest Jared Brandt. Donkey & Goat was founded in 2004 on ecological principles driving decisions in both the vineyard and the cellar which was quite a few years before the term Natural Wine was coined in America!

Our Flight Nights had  barely started last year when COVID hit, and we are thrilled to be resuming the program. Show up anytime between 4:30 - 7:30, no reservations required or taken, seating as available with COVID spacing observed. Come join us!

Here is a bit of Donkey & Goat's philosophy in their own words:

“When it comes to dogma, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

We make our wines for the table not the cocktail glass. We make Rhône varietals in both colors plus an unusual Chardonnay. Of late, natural is fashionable, which we do of course appreciate, but the reality is we’ve done this from the start because we feel it makes a superior wine while aligning with our environmental objectives. We pick early. We would love to make under 12.5% but to make wines naturally at that alcohol in California is impossible. We believe alcohol is a byproduct of our winemaking decisions and we try to live with the repercussions of our decisions rather than cover them up after the fact. We have vineyards that are organic.

Biodynamic is very interesting to us but we are hesitant to adopt a management system that is dependent on copper sulfate due to health concerns.

We add nothing at the vat after crush save the occasional minuscule dose of SO2 if we have a rainy year where rot is an issue. That means no enzymes to enhance color and extraction, no tannin, no commercial yeast, no nutrients to feed the super yeast and 95% of the time no SO2 (until after MLF completes). 

Flight price: $18

The Wines, Four our 2-ounce pours:

2020 “Lily’s Pet Nat” Sparkling Chardonnay, Anderson Valley: retail $39, glass $11
2019 “Stone Crusher” Roussanne, El Dorado: retail $40, glass $11.50
2019 Old Vine Carignane, Testa Vineyard, Mendocino: retail $33.50, glass $10
2020 “Twinkle “Mourvèdre, El Dorado: retail $31.50, glass $9

Purchase any of these wines for retail and get an additional 15% off all bottles to take home.