From California to Beyond! Harvest Club (Sept 2021)
Harvest Club - September 2021
This month starts us on a new wine drinking journey. We shall continue to explore the majestic wine making regions of California, but we will expand our scope to regions beyond our stately borders. From across the U.S. to around the world, brilliant viticulturalists and wine makers are truly making a lasting impression on the wine industry and its consumers.
In September we shall meet a winery just in our back yard here in the heart of Los Angeles, introducing Adam and Wendy Huss of Centralas Wine! We will then shoot up the coast to revisit an old friend, Kristie Tacey of Tessier Winery, but before we leave we'll swing by Dieter Cronje and Nick Petrone's Riding Monkey Wines for a little ride along the Pacific Coast Highway. Our journey doesn't end there though, we have a first class ticket to the mountains high above Trentino, Italy to meet Matteo Furlani, of Cantina Furlani.
This will truly be an adventure like no other. Stay tuned, as we will continue to travel to regions far beyond your wine drinking imagination!
Featured Wines
With fruit sourced from some of the best biodynamic vineyards in California, and with one of the lightest carbon footprints of any winery, Centralas produces vibrantly balanced wines with nearly zero intervention in the cellar.
The "Bandlero" is an homage to Bandol, France, made according to the AOC regulations for reds made there. Texturally plush and complex with fresh blue & black fruit, notes of licorice, violets, and truffle, and dark bittersweet oak flavors.
Centralas' "Noctilucence" is their “gateway wine.” A very dark rosé or chillable red that we think is like a summer night in a bottle. Dark but translucent purple. Aromas and flavors of cherry candy, orange zest, cranberry, and raspberry. Dangerously easy.
"i, nomad" displays the rich aromas and taste of classic northern California Cabernet – blackberry, black cherry, vanilla, cola, clove. This is well-aged, and richly flavored, with mature tannic bite that makes this an amazing food wine.
Try it with: From picnics with tangy cheeses and olives, to pizza, zesty pasta sauces, BBQ, and grilled veggies, there are so many wonderful combinations to find with these delicious offerings.
2018 TESSIER "ZABALA VINEYARD" ARROYO SECO RIESLING
From the rich agricultural history of California comes the legendary Zabala family's iconic vineyards east of Big Sur. This Riesling is bursting with aromas of white flowers, lemon verbena, honey and a hint of lychee, while on the palate, unctuous lemon oil, bright orange citrus, delicate apple compote and an herbal mineral finish.
Try it with: Freshly shucked oysters, crab, sushi…or just on its own.
2020 RIDING MONKEY SANTA YNEZ VALLEY CINSAULT
This red natural wine is made from 100% Cinsault grapes from Nolan Ranch in Alisos Canyon, and was farmed organically. Carbonic fermentation, aged in neutral French oak for 5 months, no added sulfites. A smoky raspberry nose invites you in while the palate bursts onto your tongue like sour cherry pop rocks. Delicate tannins and flavors of hibiscus tea leave you salivating and going back for another sumptuous sip. Enjoy chilled!
Try it with: So many foods! From grilled meats to mushrooms, ramen to blackened salmon.
2020 FURLANI MACERATO FRIZZANTE PINOT GRIGIO (ORANGE)
From high altitude vineyards in the Dolomites farmed free of chemicals. The "sasso dolomitico" soils (clay over schist and broken granite) impart wonderful minerality. Fermented in neutral vessels with no temperature control, ambient yeasts, and no added sulfur. It's fresh and lively with apple and citrus aromas and flavors, super fun and easy to drink.
Try it with: fruit salads, sweet and tangy BBQ pulled pork, or grilled portobello mushroooms.
CENTRALAS WINE 
TESSIER WINERY 
ADAM & WENDY HUSS
CENTRALAS WINE
RIDING MONKEY WINE 
CANTINA FURLANI
About the Producers:
Centralas Wine | Los Angeles, CA
Located in the heart of Crenshaw, Los Angeles, you will find Adam and Wendy Huss’ Centralas Wines. A low to no intervention wine producer sourcing fruit from some of the best and most historic organic and biodynamic vineyards in California. They are dedicated to the health and safety of our natural environment. The promotion of regenerative agriculture, organic viticulture, biodiversity, and transparency is at the core of their philosophy. Centralas is unique in the industry by listing all ingredients used in the production of their fabulous wines on their labels. In addition, limiting the carbon footprint they produce is paramount. They select bottles that are 30-50% lighter than average wine bottles as well as refrain from decorative foil or plastic capsules, as what goes in the bottle is what’s most important. A vibrant balance and delicious complexity are key to making Centralas’ wines. They like to pick their grapes multiple times throughout the harvesting period; some earlier, some later to create a well-rounded wine style that truly delivers. Minimal intervention during production is one of Centralas’ top priorities. They, “…attempt to capture in a bottle the unique story of a place and time in the universe by cultivating the artistry, in (themselves), to find beauty without constructing it.”
Tessier Winery | Healdsburg, CA
Kristie Tacey, winemaker and founder of Tessier Winery, is a scientist turned winemaker. A former published research scientist who studied protein pathways, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area from her native Michigan to pursue a career in biotechnology, which included working on the Human Genome Project. Kristie eventually came to realize that winemaking was her true calling and after working as operations manager and assistant winemaker at an award-winning East Bay winery, she started Tessier in 2009.
Riding Monkey Wine | Central Coast, CA
Riding Monkey Wines stands for creating premium small batch wine that doesn't take itself too seriously. It is meant to be enjoyed in the moment and shared with good company.
When it comes to wine, Nick and Dieter share the same belief; the value of wine is only measured by the company you share it with. What started with a chance meeting at a local bar, chats about motorcycles, the great wines of the world and a little bit too much beer, turned into two friends from different backgrounds coming together to make wines they wanted to drink and could share with their friends and family. Riding Monkey Wines stands for creating premium small batch wine that doesn't take itself too seriously. It is meant to be enjoyed in the moment and shared with good company. Each year they produce three wines in micro batches with every bottle numbered 1-900. They work with Chenin Blanc and Cinsault to pay homage to Dieter's South African heritage. By day Dieter is head winemaker for Presqu'ile. In his spare time you can find him with his partner in wine, Nick, cruising the roads of the central coast with their dogs in their sidecars riding monkey in their motorcycles heading on adventures that always lead to good times and good wines.
Cantina Furlani | Trentino, Alto-Adige, Italy
Towering over the alpine city of Trento, at some 700+ meters of altitude, are the tiny parcels of vines tended by Matteo Furlani. Matteo is the current custodian of his family plots high in the Dolomites; he is a fourth generation winemaker. After studying agronomy, not winemaking (he learned that from his father and grandfather) Matteo set his sights on working his land in the most natural of ways. Chemicals were never a part of what Matteo's predecessors used to tend the vines yet Matteo took an even more rigorous approach, incorporating biodynamic preparations and methodologies in the vineyards today.
Soils are surface clay over schist and broken granite, known as sasso dolomitico, planted in several small parcels surrounding the village of Povo, directly above Trento. Vines are trained in the traditional 'pergola trentina' allowing for proper ventilation, drying and sun exposure. Local varieties are prized above all though there is a small planting of pinot noir and chardonnay used to make the "metodo interrotto" sparkling wines.
Wines are fermented either in cement tanks or small glass demijohns with no temperature control, no yeast, no sulfur. To clarify the wines they are often racked into demijohns during the winter and placed outside in the snow allowing the wine to naturally settle. The "Metodo Interrotto" or Interrupted Method cuvee's essentially refer to an unfinished method champagnoise, bottle refermentation.
Harvest Club $180/month
We offer four monthly wine club subscriptions covering a range of interests and budgets. Our offerings include high quality, hand-selected wines at each level, including the option to customize. Perks include huge savings with each selection and 10% off anytime you shop. Not a members? Join today.