AROMA: rock salt, fresh clover, white grapefruit
FLAVOR: umami, white sage, Eureka lemon
FOOD PAIRINGS: fried oysters, caesar salad, chicken yakitori
VINIFICATION: 4.18 T were hand harvested on Sept. 4th. Fruit was whole cluster pressed and cold settled. Wine fermented on native yeasts in a mix of stainless steel and neutral puncheons and underwent a spontaneous malolactic fermentation. Aged in tank on the lees for 4-months and cross flow filtered to bottle.
SITE: The Lost Slough Vineyard lies in the heart of the Clarksburg AVA just east of the Sacramento River. It is planted below sea level (!) on the black peat soils of the California Delta. An advanced levee system holds back the vast tidal river waters. This interior zone sees hot days, but cooler nights from breezes blowing off the bay. The vineyard is under the direction of multi-generational grower Celia McCormack and her capable crew at KG Vineyard Management.
NOTES: Our first trip to Lost Slough Vineyard felt like a mission. After a long drive toward Sacramento, we reached District 17, deep in the inner Delta, then crossed four bridges and the Sacramento River by ferry, winding for miles along levee roads into the outer Delta. This vast landscape of historic farms and small towns dates back to the Gold Rush and railroad era. Lost Slough sits on McCormack Tract, established in the 1930s, and—remarkably—lies below sea level, protected by an intricate levee system. The soils are Egbert series: rich, alluvial deposits washed down from the Sierra. Long devoted to pears, cherries, watermelon, garlic, and olives, the ranch welcomed grapes in 2000. The McCormacks planted varieties suited to heat yet capable of retaining acidity—Grüner, Orange Muscat, Verdejo, Loureiro, Falanghina, Cortese, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, and Albariño. They agreed to farm our section of Cortese (and Falanghina and Albariño) organically. Farming here demands balance: broad canopies and moderated yields to preserve freshness without dilution. It’s a wild place, unmistakably Californian.
