2018 Deux Punx Carbonic Pinot Noir

Region:McMinnville < Willamette Valley < Oregon

Grapes:Pinot Noir

Vineyard/Cellar Stats:Certified organic farming; volcanic soil; carbonic maceration; grapes are picked and trucked to Napa; xx; bottled unfined/unfiltered; 20ppm SO2; 13.5% ABV

Winemaker: Dan Schaff and Aaron Olson

Dan Schaaf, former skateboarder now water-resources engineer, and his partner Aaron Olson, former punk band drummer turned software engineer, like to call themselves aging punks who make wine.  And they have no intention of ever trading the security of their straight gigs for full-time winemaking, because they don't want to be dependent on the income from wine to put food on the table - lest it change their motivation for natty winemaking and affordability.  They met in 2005 and bonded over this shared punk attitude. Their motto: “Deux Punx are the antidote the wine industry needs. Utter crassness! No training, no affiliations and plans to keep it that way. Punk rock ethos insist wines are made frugally and sold for honest prices.” 

The parallels between their love of punk/skate culture and the back-to-basics, anti-establishment ethos of natural winemaking are clear.  They're all about risk and freedom, having skipped skilled formal winemaking training, instead taking a DIY approach.  Schaaf says: “Aaron and I have always said, ‘let’s not be influenced, let’s be outsiders a little bit.” And while they've come a long way, they're still on the fringe -- and happy to stay there.  They started with a 60-case production in 2007 and are now up to a whopping 700 cases total across 8 or so different wines.

This is a frothy cherry-raspberry adult juice box, fun, fresh, and extremely drinkable, a frivolity that belies the serious quality and work behind it.  The fruit comes from the certified-organic Havlin vineyard in Willamette Valley, so the guys pick in Oregon and immediately truck it to Napa (organic fruit is hard to come by in California). Chill and crush this July 4^th…