2019 L’Archetipo Greco Bianco

Region: Puglia < Italy

Grapes: Greco

Winemaker: Francesco Valentino + Anna Maria Dibenedetto

NEW VINTAGE ALERT! RJ fan favorite orange wine from Puglia is back!

Francesco comes from a long line of farmers and winegrowers, taking over the family vineyard from his pop after studying agronomy at university.  Starting in the 80’s, he began to convert his land to organic farming, then transitioned to biodynamic farming in 2000.  He went even further a few years later, eliminating all physical working of the soil after studying Masanobu Fukuoka’s philosophy of "do nothing" agriculture in which all synergies in the ecosystem are linked, and ploughing or tilling the soil is disruptive to the root structure and biome of the soil.  We love that he's focusing on building the strongest vineyard possible, rather than experimentation in the cellar, because we've come to learn over the years that what happens in the vineyard matters most.

All of these next-level practices would be considered edgy, progressive and rare anywhere, but in Puglia they are unheard of.  We can't wait to meet this mad scientist this summer, as the Summer 2020 visit obviously didn't happen as planned. But until then, we'll be drinking boat loads of his skin-contact Greco -- one of the prettiest, most floral and mineral-driven orange wines we've found.  Greco is a subtly aromatic grape, so it makes sense that it smells like flowers and honey, but the palate is full of ripe pineapple and yellow peach, with a salty, mineral finish.  Not only is this wine incredibly delicious, it also happens to be one of the best-value orange wines
around.  Stock up.