2018 Las Jaras Glou Glou Red

Region: Mendocino < California

Grapes: Carignan, Zinfandel, Charbono, Valdiguie

Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Organic farming; grapes were harvested early (between 20 and 21 brix), each vineyard lot was vinified separately; most underwent carbonic maceration for 7 to 12 days, then the juice was pressed off its skins and fermented spontaneously in tank; half of the lots were aged in barrels and half in tank before bottling, unfined/unfiltered, with no added So2; 12.5% ABV; 150 cases

Winemaker: Joel Burt

Actor/comedian Eric Wareheim (the tall dude from Master of None) is passionate about natural wine and drinks a lot of it with his buddy Aziz Ansari, his Master of None co-star and fellow natty wine aficionado.  So he created Las Jaras ("haras") with his friend Joel Burt, Domaine Chandon winemaker by day, to make the kind of light, bright, low ABV wines he wants to drink daily.  Wines that “elevate daily experiences”, as he puts it.  Which this nouveau-style Glou Glou most definitely does. Named after the French term for chuggable red wine, its “boisterous and fun and juicy-delicious” says Joel.  We agree and find it to be a perfect warm-weather red: fresh and light-bodied, with juicy blackberry, crunchy cranberry and cool, wet earth. It’s basically a summer romp through a shady forest. 

We love how they explain the wine: “Most of the grapes in Glou Glou underwent carbonic maceration, the classic fermentation method of Beaujolais, which means that fermentation happened inside of berries themselves, causing them to explode in happy, boozy ecstasy. That’s how you’ll feel when you drink this wine—it dances in your mouth.”