Haarmeyer Cellars, "St. Rey, Chenin Blanc" 2022

A classically trained painter, Craig Haarmeyer's excursions in winemaking began in 2008 & 15 years later, the project of Haarmeyer Cellars is a family affair, with Craig, Alex, Kelly, & Marian Haarmeyer all a part of the operation. 2008's start happened with the purchase of some fruit from a vineyard near Galt, California -- the original inspiration being to make wine from Spanish & Portuguese varieties planted around the Sacramento Delta given this was what interested Craig in addition to what he thought was a climate well-suited to such grapes. However, very quickly the vision took a turn - the focus would be Chenin Blanc. That magical grape and its potency, its flexibility and world-beating ability to express....everything. Acidity, alcohol, body, sugar, off-dry, sparkling, still... it can do it all. And there were several heirloom vineyards around the Sacramento Delta that Craig thought could begin to speak to what he termed Sacramento Terroir. There are analogies & comparisons to be made between his art practice and his wine practice - that he would use the 'control' of Chenin to highlight the variability of place endemic to the broader Sacramento Delta speaks to the anchor of a tool (paintbrush) to give rise to the variousness of the imagination. One of the most committed and exciting American wine projects in recent memory, the wines are now standard-bearers for a truly different, new way to see California Wine. 

100% Chenin from the Clarksburg AVA, an appellation in Sacramento, CA. The vines go through multiple picks throughout the harvest season, and the SRV comes from the second & third passes. The grapes are direct pressed and fermented in various vessels with wild yeasts, including stainless steel, concrete egg and neutral barrique. Aged on the lees and bottled unfined, unfiltered.