Overview: Populis was born from the desire to make lighthearted, naturally made, extremely drinkable wines from exciting vineyard sites throughout California. We partner with farmers who grow organically, many of whom dry farm historic, old vine vineyards.

Varieties: Carignane (60%), Zinfandel (20%), Grenache (10%), French Colombard (10%)

Production: 625 cases

Vineyards: Venturi Vineyard, Mendocino County (Carignane and Zinfandel) Arnold’s Block, Mendocino County (Carignane) Inland Ranch, Redwood Valley AVA, Mendocino County (French Colombard) Gnarly Fox Vineyard, Lodi County (Zinfandel) Love Ranch, Madera County (Grenache)

Vineyard characteristics: Venturi Vineyard: planted 1948, Pinole gravelly loam, sandstone, shale, quartz Arnold’s Block: planted 1948, Pinole gravelly loam, sandstone, shale, quartz Inland Ranch: planted 1948, Pinole gravelly loam, iron rich soils, cooler climate Gnarly Fox: planted 1960, own-rooted, fine sandy soils Love Ranch: planted 1994, thin alluvial soils, granitic schist

Farming: Farming across all of the vineyards in the blend is organic. All of the Mendocino vineyards are dry farmed while the Love Ranch and Gnarly Fox vineyards received a minimal amount of irrigation timed to set and veraison.

Vinification: Each variety was fermented separately and then blended prior to bottling. All of the red wines were hand destemmed, punched down once a day and fermented for approximately 10-14 days. 20% of the overall blend is Carignane Rose from Venturi Vineyard. The Zinfandel portion of the blend that came from Gnarly Fox Vineyard was a saignee that sat on the skins for 24 hours. The French Colombard was pressed and fermented in flextank. The components were blended after malolactic fermentation was completed, aged in flextanks and bottled in early May with 15 ppm sulfur added.

Tasting Notes: This wine is a quintessential bistro wine. There are loads of bright and juicy red fruit on the nose and mouth. Plenty of acid on the attack and a touch of structure on the finish keeps this wine taught and oh-so drinkable. A lighter style that is delicious with lighter meats and vegetable, or straight out of the bottle with a slight chill.

Alcohol by Volume: 12.5%