2019 Vinca Minor Mendocino Red Wine

Region: Redwood Valley < Mendocino < California  Grapes: Carignan, Zinfandel, Sangiovese Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Certified organic farming; dry-farmed, old vines; de-stemmed, spontaneous fermentation in small open-top fermenters, juice is pressed into old French oak, aged for 16 months; bottled unfined/unfiltered with minimal So2; 13% ABV Winemaker: Jason Charles SF resident Jason Charles caught the wine bug waiting tables post-college in New York City restaurants. After working in vineyards in Saint Emilion (Bordeaux) and the Sonoma Coast, he started the Vinca Minor label to “explore the intersection between farmer, winemaker and artist.”  He farms organically, and makes the wines as naturally as possible, always working with indigenous yeast, never filtering or fining, and adding a minuscule amount of SO2 only at bottling.  And he now has a tasting room in Berkeley! Jason is known for his impeccable understanding of Carignan. This quote from natural wine proponent and critic Ali