Fossil & Fawn "Field Blend White" 2019

Even the most cursory review of this incredible winery’s website could make you fall head over heels with their project because it is underlined by a common tenet of natural viticulture but one that often goes underreported: respect. Fossil & Fawn is born out of deep respect for the land where the grapes they now tend grow, and for its stewards over time. “We acknowledge that all the vineyards we source from are planted on Kalapuya land” they write, in this excerpt from a longer “Land Acknowledgement.” They pair this piece with a brief geologic history of Oregon. All of this is to say that what is sown into the vines is a kind of macroscopy of acknowledgment and respect that undergirds their entire approach to viticulture here in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. This project is run by Jim Fischer, Jim Fischer II, and Jenny Mosbacher.

Tasting Notes: Floral aromatics and tropical fruits on the nose. Light, juicy and refreshing, with sharp edges and crisp acidity. Another one to quench your thirst as the weather warms and your stoop becomes your new office.

Vinification: The breakdown for this field blend, an homage to or take on traditional Alsatian Edelzwicker,  is as follows: 40% Riesling, 16% Muscat Ottonel, 16% Pinot Blanc, 15% Gewürztraminer, 13% Chardonnay. The grapes are sourced from four different sites within the Willamette Valley AVA whose soil types range from alluvial deposits to marine sedimentary composition to a decayed basalt. The Riesling is directly-pressed into an egg-shaped fermentation vessel; the Gewürztraminer destemmed and fermented on its skins; Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay are carbonically macerated and co-ferment for 11 days until press onto the freshly-picked Muscat. Fermentation then continues for five months in cellar in both neutral french oak and acacia barrels. Unfined, unfiltered, with no additional SO2. 12.4% ABV.