2023 Fall Release
Leap of Faith
“Exploration is curiosity put into action…” - Dan Walsh
At Belong Wine Co. our compass always points towards our mission: to make wines from places with untold stories. Our favorite part is sharing these wines and stories with you.
Mother Nature has a special way of reminding us that the true magic of winemaking lies in our ability to adapt when the unexpected occurs. Seizing the opportunity to get creative has led to some of our most unique and exciting wines. The 2022 growing season became one of those opportunities when a "once in a 40-year" frost happened after bud break in El Dorado, leaving little fruit in the vineyards.
A chance trip to the central coast opened our eyes to new possibilities in a wildly beautiful place. We were introduced to a vineyard in the newly designated SLO Coast AVA that felt special. A warm spot in a cool region, planted to Rhône varieties, and there happened to be a bit of fruit available. For Bertus, the vineyard's proximity to the ocean and mountains felt like going home. Many of the vineyards he grew up around are in coastal areas with a high degree of sandstone in the soils. We knew we had to try our hand at making Mourvèdre from this site.
It's no secret that Mourvèdre has always been a big part of our love story. We even spent a week of our honeymoon in the seaside town of Cassis so we could visit the legendary Domaine Tempier in the Bandol region. To honor this memory, the label features Calanque d'en Vau where we kayaked each day and the Cassis harbor where we chased the sunset each night. We can't wait for you to take a leap of faith with us and try this new wine.
Our Grand Prismatic label features a different experimental wine each year. The second release in this series is a Carbonic Vermentino (our first ever white wine)! We were very fortunate after the frost that there was enough fruit from the Goldbud and Fenaughty vineyards in El Dorado to make one barrel. Both vineyards are located above 2700 feet elevation on iron rich soils with granitic bedrock.
We love the depth of flavor and texture that the carbonic maceration process unlocks in red wine and Bertus has been playing around with this technique on white wine since 2019 with Tank Garage Winery. The results are very different, but no less compelling. This wine is all about texture, tropical fruit, and baking spices, making it the ultimate cold weather white and a perfect pairing for your holiday table.
A sense of adventure and love of the unexplored is likely what led you to us. Thank you for keeping an open heart and finding joy in the discovery as we dive deeper into this journey. Stay wild.
With love and gratitude,
Alli, Bertus, Margo, and Baby VZ (joining the team in December)