Franchere Wine Company Split Infinitives Pet-Nat

This is truly a joyful oddball.  Approachable, fun and fizzy, from one of our favorite domestic producers.  From the winemaker: The deliciously playful “Split Infinitives” contains multitudes: it’s an orange wine, it’s a lightly fizzy pét-nat, it’s a zero-sulfite crown-capped white blend!

The wine began life in late 2022 as a cofermentation of Grüner veltliner and Chardonnay from the Willamette Valley that spent 17 days on the skins. I then blended in an additional portion of not-quite-dry Grüner from the Columbia Gorge and bottled after fermentation resumed. The finished blend is 74% Grüner veltliner and 26% Chardonnay.

Again, this is just lightly fizzy and not full-on bubbly, so think of this as a finely tuned orange wine – which of course it is. Think pears, some peach and apricot tones, hints of petrichor and butter biscuit, slightly bitter citrus peel, and of course some tannin from the skin contact. Drink with a light chill - not at fridge temp!

I bottled the actively fermenting wine in late January 2023 with 7.1 g/L of residual sugar and without fining, filtration, or sulfite additions.