2020 St. Reginald Parish The Marigny Piquette

Region: Willamette Valley < Oregon

Grapes: Pinot Gris

Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Pomace and water fermented in an open top fermentation bin and moved to a stainless steel VC tank after pressing; racked to a Flextank egg post dryness and filtered back to stainless steel for bottling, unfined/unfiltered and without sulfur; 4.2% ABV

Winemaker: Andrew Reginald Young

Ok, you all LOVE Andrew's carbonic Pinot (and pretty much everything this man makes), so get ready for your new dry January beverage (move over Kombucha!) A refresher: Andrew Young, the son of a preacher man from New Orleans, started as a musician but later caught the wine bug. This happens a lot in the world of natural wine. In 2007 he immersed himself in Willamette Valley’s natty winemaking scene, then launched The Marigny label (a nod to that neighborhood in the French Quarter known for its live music). All fruit is sourced from friends with old, established sites – an important point, as access to top quality fruit means he doesn’t need to do much in the winery. Bootstrapping things together, he started with a press he rented from a beer store and would use his friend’s meat fridge to cold soak. Things have evolved a tiny bit from there, but Andy intends to keep things simple and small.

We'll let Andy tell you about his newest baby: "When wine is too much, and water is too little, there is Piquette. This 'Wine Like Beverage' is made by re-fermenting the grape skins and stems after they are pressed, resulting in a highly-drinkable low-alcohol beverage that has been around since the dawn of time, but is experiencing a revival in the states in large part due to the efforts of our friends Wild Arc Farm in NY.
Our take on Piquette was made by filling fermentation bins with pressed pomace (the leftover grape stuff I mentioned above) + water and giving that combo a few days of maceration on skins. After the liquid seemed to taste about right, it was drained to tank and the pomace was re-pressed into that same tank. A small amount of underripe Pinot Gris juice was added to help adjust the acidity and general chemistry. This liquid was racked twice, crossflow filtered and professionally bottled with CO2 added. The result is a crisp, clean drink that straddles the line of many of our favorite things (flavored fizzy water, beer, hard seltzer), while being completely unique and unto itself. Open at lunch, at the park, in the sun, by the river, or wherever you'd like a drink but don't want to imbibe too much. And yes, we're sorry in advance that we don't have oceans of the stuff...but we're working on that."

Yeah, quantities are the only bummer.  We can never get enough of his bottles.  But the juice itself is stellar.  It's like amped up cranberry juice/sparkling water concoction infused with a happy THC gummy.  Definitely doesn't feel like wine, but way more interesting than juice or fizzy water, with major social and relaxation benefits.  Just be sure to hide it from the kiddos, as it could totally pass as their juice box, minus all the sugar and other crap.  Get some now, supplies are limited!