NV Fausse Piste 'Pizza Sauce'

Region: Carnuntum < Austria

Grapes: Malbec, Syrah, Grenache, Pinot Noir + more

Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Fruit from 2014,2015,2016 vintages from a bunch of Oregon vineyards: Red Willow, Jaxon, Patina, Sonrisa, Johan, Cooper Mtn., Mae’s, Granite and more; fermented using a mix of carbonic, traditional whole cluster, stems, 100% destemmed and other fermentation techniques; aged on the lees in older French oak barrels & puncheons for 10 to 45 months; no fining or filtration; 40ppm So2 at bottling; 400 cases; 13.5% ABV

Winemaker: Jesse & Maryna Skiles From a chef-turned-winemaker who works out of a small cellar in SE Portland, with minimal handling and no additions except a bit of SO2 at bottling. When he founded the Fausse Piste label in 2008 (a mere baby at 24), Jesse Skiles was one of Oregon’s youngest winemakers. Complex wines from France’s Rhône Valley were his inspiration, but he fell hard for natural winemaking. He says: “At first you think you’re going to ruin everything by not controlling the wine. Then it turns out so much more beautiful than it had ever been before.” This is his kitchen-sink wine, made up of small batches of juice from multiple vineyards, different varietals and three vintages. Meant to be the everyday table wine that goes with everything, but especially tomato and red-sauced things (and duh, pizza), it’s bright, fresh, easy -- and super tasty. Note: Jesse confirms that large amounts of Pizza were consumed in making and bottling the wine. And we did verify the pairing over wood-fired pies at our SF favorite Del Popolo​…