2021 Nue Wilde Mission

Region: Clement HIlls AVA < Lodi < CA

Grapes: Mission

Winemaker: Ben Herod

Nue Wilde is the new project from our friend Ben, who's been deeply involved in winemaking and natural wine distributing for a minute here in the Bay Area.  But for his own project he's sourcing fruit from organic vineyards and making wine in an old-school, hands off fashion. 

Like this light, punchy Mission, a varietal whose storied origins trace back to the Canary Islands before the missionaries brought it to the Americas, hence the name Mission.  We're so enamored of this wine, a refreshing light red that defies categorization (red, orange or pink?) and smells like a Campari cocktail, with those bittersweet flavors pared down on the palate.  Yes, you get tart strawberry, blood orange, red currant and a touch of baking spice with soft, bouncy, silky tannins, but the overall impression is not bitter or sweet, just pure joy.  This one demands a slight chill, but once you give her that, she's easy breezy and so versatile for pairing with almost any food, or none at all.  We're thinking this one should be on the Thanksgiving table, but it's also equally good on its own, on a Friday at 4pm...