Jugo Vins, "Giggle Water" 2021

30 miles northeast from Palma, just upland from Alcúdia Bay, in the town of Santa Margalida amidst some of the flattest farmland in Mallorca which makes the local markets prime for the best produce on the island, there has been for many years the intrepid Mallorcan winemaker Cati Ribot. Cati has been making wine for over 15 years in the flatlands around Santa Margalida and is a third-generation winegrower herself; she is among only a handful natural wineries on the island and is one of the only female winegrowers in all of Mallorca, full-stop. As one of the leading figures in natural wine on this Balearic island, she's had an outsized influence in the propagation of both low-intervention wine and native grape varieties. One of her mentees is none other than Charlie Pyrmanka who, by way of NYC, London, and a wide world of wine's experience, founded "Jugo Vins" in 2020, vinifying in Cati's cellar and being given portions of her fruit in addition to other organic growers' across the island. The project is one that is inspired by Cati's generosity, certainly, but also a kind of ode to a particularly Mallorquin spirit of conviviality & something a bit more easygoing -- as their importer's website puts it: "These are wines for everyone and everything, that don't take themselves too seriously and are great to drink with food or without -- Wines for whenever!" In this way, the wines are pure and simple in the best meaning of that word -- they express native grape varieties with a very subtle hand and make joyful, straightforwardly mediterranean vins de soif (among which you can find in Charlie and his partner Lauren Duttenhofer's new wine shop "CAV" also in Santa Margalida).

Mallorca, Spain. 100% Prensal Blanc. Grapes were hand harvested, almost all destemmed with 10% left whole cluster. Fermented with wild yeasts on the skins for 11 days with daily punch downs. Aged in stainless. Unfined, unfiltered, no SO2.