2022 Conduit Gold Dust Vineyard Estate Syrah
2022 Conduit Gold Dust Vineyard Estate Syrah
Region: Sierra Foothills < CA
Grape: Syrah with 10% Viognier
Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Organic, zero-input farming; rocky + volcanic soils on very steep slopes; 50% whole cluster and 50% whole berry fermentation for 25 days then pressed off into old French oak and aged it 8 months before bottling, unfined and unfiltered, with 15ppm added S02; 12.5% ABV; 62 cases
Winemaker: Aaron Bryan
- Tiny estate run by husband/wife team who relocated from SF to the Sierra Foothill boons to make natural wine
- Co-fermented with Viognier, Côte-Rôtie style
- Lighter and fresher than your typical Cali Syrah, drinks like a sexy Northern Rhône
- Violets, black olives, blackberries and white pepper dance in the forest
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Great wine for all things grilled, chilled ever so slightly (or not)
Aaron's take on the wine:
More about Conduit/Divergent Vine:
Aaron has a nontraditional winemaking background. A classically trained economist, he fell in love with the art and science of winemaking during his time at UC Santa Barbara. He continued his informal wine education (drinking a lot) in New York City, so when he moved back to California he started making beer and wine out of his garage in SF's Mission District. Eventually, he met a group of urban winemakers on Treasure Island and started trading beer for a few barrels of cellar space, working with our friend Noel of Purity back in the day. In 2013 he decided to make the leap to full time winemaker, and has been producing Conduit and divergent vine wines and Tag + Jug Cider. In 2014 Aaron met Amy, who was working for a wine distributor, and they clicked around a shared love of wine and food. They got married, and Amy now runs the back office operations for the three brands. In 2020, after many years or sourcing fruit from
California’s Sierra Foothills, Aaron and Amy fell in love with a beautiful piece of property, vineyard, and winery in the Sierra Foothills that has now become the home base of Conduit, divergent vine wines, Tag + Jug Cider Co., as well as their own Gold Dust Vineyard.