MARTHA STOUMEN BENCHLANDS MENDOCINO NERO D’ AVOLA AND ZINFANDEL

Description

Martha’s notes:

“The Mendocino Benchlands blend has been resurrected (original vintage was 2015) as a result of a new vineyard we are leasing and farming in Mendocino County called Chiarito. The blend of 60% Nero d’Avola and 40% Zinfandel is inspired by the classic Cerasuolo di Vittoria blend of 60% Nero d’Avola and 40% Frappato from Sicily. Shoutout to Chris Brockway of Broc Cellars for giving me the idea to swap Frappato for Zin. A Cerasuolo di California, if you will. The name of this wine refers to the uplifted benchlands in Mendocino where all of the original Italian settlers planted vines (rather than the valley floor). All of the vineyards in this blend are planted on those uplifted benchlands.

13% alcohol. Unfiltered. At bottling (March 2020): free SO2 12 mg/L, total SO2 23 mg/L.”

Martha Stoumen is one of the OG’s in California’s natural winemaking scene. After an undergrad apprenticeship in Tuscany, she continued her pursuit of viticultural knowledge working under Reinhard Löwenstein (Heymann-Löwenstein, Mosel), Jordan Fiorentini (Chalk Hill, California) Chris Brockway (Broc Cellars, California), Clive Dougall (Seresin, Marlborough), Didier Barral (Léon Barral, Faugères, France), and Giusto Occhipinti (COS, Sicily). Add a Master’s Degree from UC Davis and you have a woman who knows her s***! Her experience working under Sicily’s Occhipinti has made her California’s Queen of Sicilian variety, Nero d’Avola. In fact, the inspiration behind the Benchlands blend (60% Nero d’Avola / 40% Zinfandel) is the classic Cerasuolo di Vittoria blend of 60% Nero d’Avola and 40% Frappato from Sicily. A Cerasuolo di California, if you will! The name of this wine alludes to the uplifted benchlands in Mendocino where all of the original Italian settlers planted vines (rather than the valley floor).