What is a Natural Wine?
Argonaut carries some of Denver's best Pet Nat, Natural, and Biodynamic wines. To find out what we currently have in stock, please call the store or use our website's search engine.
By Tracy Willis of Natural Wines
The three main proponents of Natural Wine are:
1. Using native yeasts that naturally occur on the grapevine in a particular area. This ensures that the wine will taste like the “terrior” or the geographically specific area that the wine is from. For example, a natural Malbec will taste completely different if it is grown in Mendoza, Argentina, versus in Cahor, France.
2. Little, if any, use of synthetic chemicals, herbicides, or pesticides when farming. Instead, natural wine farmers use treatments that are organic and therefore less likely to affect the flavor of the wine and keep the grapevine in the soil healthy longer. Also, if they aren’t using chemicals or pesticides the wine drinker can feel good that they aren’t getting any residual amounts in their bottle of wine!
3. Minimal intervention: the winemakers just leave the wine alone! They let the wine rest after being barreled and release it when they feel that wine is ready. They aren’t adding any flavorings, colorants, dyes, or preservatives to make their wine taste a certain way or have a longer shelf life. In essence they just let the wine be and evolve naturally!
Natural Wines that Argonaut carries
“Orange” or “Amber” Wine Selections
“Orange” or “Amber” wines are made by making wines from white grapes using the same techniques as you would use to make red wine. The result is a very structured white wine with a distinct orange color.
Sku 73407 Troon Kubli Bench Amber, Applegate Valley OR
The three components for the 2021 Kubli Bench Amber - vermentino, riesling and roussanne - were grown and harvested with the intention to make this skin-fermented "orange" or amber wine. Riesling provides ample aromatics to the final blend, along with a surprising amount of structural tannins. Skin-fermented vermentino adds richness, depth and spice, while roussanne brings fruitiness, acidity, and additional layers of phenolic texture.
Slavcek Sivi Pinot Grigio 2021
From Franc Vodopivec's family estate, which has be producing wine on the same property for more than 200 years. Originally named Slavčevih, nightingale in Slovenian, the estate is set principally on the marl terroir of the Vipava Valley. The Sivi Pinot is produced from organically grown vines, fermented in 50% neutral oak and 50% stainless with indigenous yeast, giving the wine a lovely pink, coppery hue. Aged 3 months on the lees in a blend of 200 liter neutral oak and acacia barrels.
New orange
Sku 84732 SiciLitri, Ambratu Catarratto/Zibbibo 2021 1 Liter bottles
The sourcing for our grapes comes from certified organic family vineyards and long term contracts from no more than 1 hour from the winery. The concept behind the liters was to create a product that from year to year can change varietal breakdown as needed - these wines are focused on a particular style and high level of drinkability. They must be light on their feet (for their category), low in alcohol (max 12.5%), refreshing, and a great value. All of the labels were 100% designed by Catherine from the original artwork to the lettering - they are done in watercolor and pen and are from my her personal photographs taken of the NW of Sicily - each label was designed to coordinate with both the feel of the wine and the color. 80% Cataratto from high elevation vineyards (20 years old) at 700 m.s.l. with 14 days maceration and 20% Zibibbo from lower elevation (15 years old) at 250 m.s.l. with 20 days maceration and purposeful oxidation
Red Wine Selections
Sku 59569 Domaine La Manarine Côtes du Rhône 2020, FR
Domaine La Manarine practices organic viticulture. This wine is 100% Grenache and produces a classically spicy, full-bodied wine that speaks clearly of the “terrior” of the region.
Domaine la Manarine was founded in 2001 by Gilles Gasq, a longtime assistant at Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s Domaine Monpertuis. Situated on the distinct terroir known as Le Plan de Dieu, noted particularly for its deep underlying layers of limestone galets, Gasq’s organic vineyards are, combined with the dry climate, perfectly suited to the Grenache and Syrah he grows.
Sku 78430 Birichino, "Scylla" Carignan-Grenache 2019
Allusions to rocks and hard places notwithstanding, Scylla wraps its silky yet toothsome, urbane yet rustic charms around its chosen fare without drawing it into the abyss. Prismatically perfumed, yet gently firm, it lifts us up, and invites another glass. Like the carignane at its core, with its beastly reputation for high acidity, high tannin, and high yield like some six-headed, man-eating, 300-foot long red sea serpent, when mellowed and moderated after ninety years, its underlying Birichino nature is revealed in a bright, pulsing whirlpool of refreshment and red fruits.
Birichino was established by Alex Krause and John Locke, two Bonny Doon veterans. Emphasizing old vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation (though they go as far afield as the Sierra Foothills), Krause and Locke craft their wines with a light hand. These are lower-alcohol, food-friendly wines that have the clarity and lift to allow terroir to shine through.
What is a “Pet Nat” wine?
Pét-nat, or Méthode Ancestrale, is a method of sparkling wine production used all over the world. Unlike traditional-method sparkling wines, like Champagne, which add sugar and yeast to dry, still wine in order trigger a second fermentation and produce bubbles, pét-nat works by bottling wine that is only partially fermented.
This way, the grape’s natural sugars have not yet fully been converted to alcohol, and the yeast has more material to work with upon bottling. Carbon dioxide is still produced in the process, and likewise remains trapped as bubbles. These wines aren’t fined or filtered, thus they can often appear cloudy, and might smell “funky.”
Pet-Nats that Argonaut carries
From a vineyard planted just shy of 3 decades ago up against the Santa Lucias of the Salinas Valley, the 2019 is 100% Malvasia Bianca with just a touch of malvasia juice that was added while it was actively fermenting. The result is something lightly pétulant- subtly refreshing, soft and fragrant.
BIRICHINO ZINFANDEL PET NAT SKU 83259
Tasting notes:
Technically from Santa Clara Valley 50ft from the Santa Cruz AVA, this Zinfandel Pet-Nat Rosé is sourced from the same vineyard as the St George Zin, old vines with serious costal influence, fermented with frozen juice from the previous vintage. Vibrant pink grapefruit in the glass, with ripe black raspberry, guava, and salted watermelon, resulting in a very dry rosé with lots of acidity. The true anti-Zin!
Sku 73552 Troon Vineyards “Pet-tannat” 2019, Applegate Valley OR
Troon's "Pét-tanNat" is grown from Tannat vines in their Applegate Valley estate. Pressed whole-cluster and fermented on indigenous yeast, the wine was bottled under a crown cap before fermentation was complete. The fermentation continued in bottle over the winter, at which point the yeast plug was disgorged, a rare practice for pét-nats. The finished wine is bone-dry and crystal clear.
Brigo, "Baracca" Lambrusco di Sorbara Pet-Nat 2021
Gregorio Brigo is a young man from the Northern countryside of Modena. He grew up doing hard work, helping his grandfather and father in their rural daily routine, and drinking a lot of cool lambrusco. In 2021, with his beautiful wife and two lovely children he decided to invest in his own dream: produce his own Lambrusco.
The vineyards are in Nonantola (Sorbara) ) with an average age of 25 years old, produced in the traditional method with low intervention. The two wines represent the real spirit of this land, devoted to friendship, sharing, party and happiness. Baracca means "let's party!" and it is the Lambrusco di Sorbara.
Spontaneous fermentation with no fining or filtration in order to keep the yeast for the second fermentation in bottle. At secondary fermentation a little bit of frozen sweet must from the same vintage is added. After 8 months of bottle aging the wine is ready to drink. You can drink it clear or flip the bottle upside down to mix in the sediment and lees.
Sku 74988 Garage Project “Fun Juice” Pet Nat , Nelson NZ
Garage Project is a small brewery based in Aro Valley, Wellington, New Zealand. This is their first step into the wine making business, and why not start with a Pet-Nat?! Heaps of fruitiness, lots of vitality and a crunchy texture that give a tickle of fizzy bubbles! Co-fermented Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris conditioned in bottle. Organic. Wild Ferment. No filtration.
SKU 84095 Pomalo,Plavina Rose Pet Nat 2021
The whole point of Pomalo is to take it easy and not take things too seriously. So, nothing too technical here, except that you may find yourself with a serious obsession with this wine! This sparkling winemade from the Plavina grape is so refreshing, fun, and packed juicy and refreshing pink and red fruits. This Pet Nat that captures everything about the pomalo lifestyle on the Dalmatian coast. Pair with sunsets, hammock naps, and straight fjaka (aka doing nothing).
From Giambattista Cilia, Giusto Occhipinti, and Cirino Strano, the C, O, and S in COS. Their organic (certified) and Biodynamic vineyards in Vittoria in southeastern Sicily are mainly set on limestone overlaid by a half-meter of red clay topsoil, conditions that allow the vines to thrive in Sicily's warm, arid climate. Grown from estate vines set on clay topsoil over limestone bedrock, the Frappato is hand-harvested, fermented in concrete on indigenous yeasts, and aged in concrete vats for 9 months.
SKU 47649 Fattoria San Lorenzo,Marche Rosso "Il Casolare" 2020
Il Casolare Rosso is Natalino Crognaletti's 'red wine for the people.' He declassifies this Rosso Piceno as an IGT in order to save on costs, keeping the price as low as possible. The wine is fresh, clean, balanced, easy to drink, certified organic, and in Natalino's words, 'too good'. 50% Montepulciano, 50% Sangiovese from vines planted in 1992. Fermented in concrete, 20 day maceration, age on the lees in concrete.
52% Chardonnay – North Coast • 27% Chenin Blanc – Herringer Vineyard • 17% Pinot Gris – Herringer Vineyard – Skin Fermented
• 4% Riesling Piquete – Cole Ranch – Skin Fermented • 1 % Orange Muscat – Mendocino – Skin Fermented
WINEMAKERS NOTES:
"Every year I like to play around with some odds and ends and thankfully for Es Okay, I can do that. The Skin Fermented Pinot Gris was the star this year in the white blend this year giving it the structure needed. The Chenin Blanc was foot treaded and left on skins for 6 hours before pressing off. Alone, the wines were pretty clean so the addition of Riesling Piquete and 1% Skin Fermented Orange Muscat really gave this wine the vibe I was looking for.”
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