Located just above the Santa Ynez River between the towns of Buellton and Solvang is Shoestring vineyard. There is a small, 2-acre block of Pinot Gris planted in alluvial soils with sand and riverbed rock. The site receives plenty of sun exposure while staying relatively cool by being situated low in the valley near the river.

We made this Pét-Nat according to the "méthode ancestrale"—the world's oldest technique for making sparkling wine. Under this method, we simply used the native yeast from the vineyard and bottled the wine while it still undergoing primary fermentation in order to trap CO2 in the bottle. After six months with lees in the bottle, we disgorged the wine by hand and finished with corks and cages. Finally, we hand-labeled each bottle.

Tasting notes: melon, nectarine, grapefruit, salinity

méthode ancestrale / hand bottled, riddled, and disgorged / native yeast / unfined / unfiltered