2020 Raft Wines Grenache Blanc

Region: Potter Valley < Mendocino < California

Grapes: Grenache Blanc 

Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Organic farming; direct press then the juice was left to settle overnight before being racked to neutral barrels.  The wine completed its primary and secondary fermentation simultaneously and naturally. The wine was racked in June 2021, and went back to barrels. It was bottled unfined, unfiltered on August 16, 2021; 12.4% ABV; 95 cases

Winemaker: Jennifer Reichardt

Born and bred in Sonoma County, California, Jennifer Reichardt's family raises Sonoma County Poultry and Liberty Ducks.  Barely thirty now, Jennifer grew up surrounded by quality food production, and the lessons she learned while immersed in the family business inform her winemaking.  While she still runs the family duck farm as her day job, she decided wine was more her thing, so in 2011, Jennifer started working harvests for neighboring vineyards in Sonoma.  She continued to cultivate her craft and in 2016 launched her own brand, Raft.   An homage to her roots, a "raft" is a community to waterfowl.  Jennifer's philosophy is to craft a wine to be shared with the community.

Jennifer sources her grapes from small plots of organically farmed vines, like this Grenache Blanc from the Trail's End Vineyard in Potter Valley.  Just northeast of Lake Mendocino is the quaint town of Potter Valley,  just a stone’s throw from Mendocino National Forest. Nestled right in the heart of town is the Trails End Vineyard.  Racy yet fruit forward, this is a quintessential food wine, perfect for fall.   It even smells cozy and autumnal, with baked apple, pear and a herbal green note on the nose.  On the palette, it's like biting into a crunchy green granny smith apple. We love that you get so much satisfying fruit packed into a lean, low-ABV package with a lovely natural acidity.