The November 2021 Explorer Club takes us from our sunny backyard here in California, to the rolling hills of Beaujolais!

Featured Wines:

2020 FOLK MACHINE "WHITE LIGHT" CALIFORNIA WHITE BLEND

"The 6th vintage of White Light continues to be fun, easy drinking, summery, and affordable. Our goals have stayed the same - bottle something fresh with acid and some mineral and retain that sort of salty, briny character that the Tocai Friulano has, but tone it down with the fruit and aromatics of Riesling and Verdelho. This is pretty much what you will find in the bottle with added leaness from the Sauvignon Blanc.

The 2020 is 51% Tocai Friulano from Mendocino, 22% Riesling from Arroyo Seco, 22% Verdelho from Suisun Valley, 5% Sauvignon Blanc from Potter Valley. Everything was picked at the beginning of the season with brix numbers ranging from 19? to 21?. The final wine is 12.5% alcohol. Each variety was fermented individually in stainless steel tanks without commercial yeast and kept at a cool fermentation temperature. When the fermentation was complete, we filtered the wine and left it in stainless steel until it was bottled in May of 2021.

White Light was inspired by a trip to the vortexes of Sedona, Arizona, but maybe a little Velvet Underground too. I’m not that much into New Age thinking, but tell me something will feel good and I’m a believer." - Kenny Likitprakong, Winemaker.

Folk Machine was created in 2005 to primarily be a home for Pinot Noir, but is now also the main venue for Hobo Wine Company's more esoteric line of wines.

Folk Machine is part of Hobo Wine Company… the brainchild, side job, menace to the wine industry, hedged bet, cash strain, mental anguish, late night musing, bruised hands, dirty t-shirts, and constant companion of Kenny Likitprakong. Despite knowing better, he started his own label in 2002 with the simple idea to have some good fun.

Hobo is Kenny's tribute and homage to a freedom and an era that he grew up romanticizing. He spent a lot of his late teens and early twenties chasing the rambling ways of the American Hobo. Instead of becoming a hobo, he became a “Hobo Winemaker.” Of the two ways to make wine, with and without money, the first should probably be the only, but a few slip through the cracks and do it on the skinny. No winery, no vineyards, no truck, no warehouse, no employees…nothing. There are advantages. Making small lots comes naturally, the flexibility to pick and choose grape type, vineyard, appellation, and winery on an ongoing basis, and a larger circle of people involved which means more ideas and expertise.

2019 MANOIR DU CARRA BEAUJOLAIS-VILLAGES

"From a selection of old vines on granitic and sandy soils, this Beaujolais-Villages exhibits an intense color, with hints of cherry and garnet, and reveals aromas of red fruit dominated by cassis and strawberry. This Cuvée was specially made for the Parisian bistros willing to offer easy drinking wines with enough body to compliment local cuisine from the Beaujolais region."-Jean-Noël Sambardier, Winemaker.

Manoir du Carra is located in the small town of Denice, south of Burgundy, in the heart of the Beaujolais area. The property dates back to 1850 and has been bequeathed from father to son for several generations. It is now owned by Jean-Noël Sambardier, his wife & two sons, Frédéric and Damien. Manoir du Carra began as 4 hectares in 1962, but today covers over 34 hectares (84 acres) and several appellations: Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages, Brouilly, Julienas, Moulin à Vent, Fleurie and Beaujolais Blanc. They have 50 vineyard plots ranging from 50-100 years old.

  • THE SORTING TABLE AT MANOIR DU CARRA
  • HOBO WINE COMPANY
  • WINEMAKER KENNY LIKITPRKONG
  • HARVEST TIME AT MANOIR DU CARRA

Explorer Club $34.95/month

Two bottles each month for $34.95. Explore the world of wine while developing your palate by enjoying a monthly delivery of wines that represent value and authenticity, hand-selected by the experts at Mission Wines!