Keep Wines, Aligoté 2021,  Broadway Farms Vineyard, Sonoma County, CA

This variety is little seen outside Burgundy. It has aromas of stone fruits, melons, and lychee, and is bright on the palate with a mineral finish.

COUNTRY: USA

STATE: California

APPELLATION (AVA): Sonoma

REGION: Sonoma County

SUBREGION: Carneros

VINEYARD: Sonoma Broadway Farms

VINTAGE: 2021

GRAPES: 100% Aligoté

SOIL: 

PRACTICE: Organic

VINIFICATION: Barrel aged for 12 months

STYLE: Still

COLOR: Lemon

BODY: Light to medium

TASTE: Dry

PRIMARY AROMAS: River stone, minerality, melon, lychee

FLAVOR: Stone fruit, citrusy, green, mineral finish

FORMAT: 750ml

ALCOHOL: 11.25%

SERVICE AND FOOD PAIRING SUGGESTION: Serve chilled. Pair with fish, or creamy cow’s milk cheeses.

ABOUT THE PRODUCER: Keep Wines

“Keep Wines is a collaboration between husband and wife team Johanna Jensen (Scholium Project & Broc Cellar Alum) and Jack Roberts (former Matthiasson Wines Assistant Winemaker). The 2019 Vintage marked their 10 year anniversary of making wine together. Based out of Napa California, the pair makes interesting varietals from small vineyards all over Northern California. Jack is currently farming organically a few vineyards himself and the other purchased grapes are from mostly certified organic vineyards. The focus of their winemaking style can be described as minimal intervention. No yeast or additives are used (with the exception of sulfur in small quantities) and the wines are almost never fined or filtered. With roots in France, they have recently planted a vineyard in Gascony and have purchased another vineyard site to expand in the coming years. Their future plan is to make wine in both California and in France.” (ozwinecompany.com)

ABOUT THE VINEYARD: Sonoma Broadway Farms

“Keep started working with this organically-farmed vineyard owned by Preston Raison in 2019. In 2020 Johanna was able to get aligoté budwood from one of the very few CA producers of the varietal, and grafted to it.” (ozwinecompany.com)

ABOUT THE LABEL: “It is a depiction of Beverston Castle, an 10th century Norman stronghold in Gloucestershire, England where Jack’s father was raised. All that remains of Beverstone today is what you see, the moat and the tall ‘keep’, (from the middle English’ kype’, or barrel) which was the defenders’ last resort in a siege. It was also where they stored their most precious possessions, especially their wine.” (ozwinecompany.com)