Wine

unique ferments with an eye toward resiliency

We love growing wine and the communities that spring up around it. But as Ben has farmed wine grapes and worked in cellars for 10+ years on multiple continents, we’ve been long nagged by an urgent sense that it is getting too hot and precarious on this planet to only be growing finicky European grapes that might not be suited for many sites, and that there are likely some beautiful ferments to be created by stepping outside a narrow conception of what “typical” or “serious” wine should be.

In 2019, we made our first wine under the Quartzwood name with a hybrid grape called Noiret. In 2020, we expanded the line, and it continues to grow. All of the grapes for these wines are made with interesting or sustainable varieties of grapes that we think deserve a closer look. Many of the vineyards that the grapes come from were planted by or managed by Ben.

2022 VIDAL MÉTHODE ANCESTRALE

All aboard the hybrid pét-nat train! We expanded in 2020 with an addition to our pét-nat family: enter this 93% Vidal Blanc / 7% Petit Manseng skin contact sparkling white. While this is a skin contact white wine, it doesn’t display as much of the cider-y or funky qualities you may associate with the style. Vidal Blanc is a hybrid wine grape, a cross between European grape Ugni Blanc and an American/French hybrid grape.

On the nose, lemon zest, lime blossom, lightly herbaceous lemon-thyme or squash blossom. On the palate, bright fruity acidity and medium bubbles. Download the tech sheet here for more information.

$26/bottle

2022 NOIRET MÉTHODE ANCESTRALE

Meet Noiret, your new favorite hybrid wine grape. After our 2019 vintage of this grape and style, we knew we were onto something special, so we made it again. Vinified as a dry, natural sparkling rosé, this wine brings beautiful saturated pink color pressed straight off the skins. The color is so deep that you may think of it more as a lighter-bodied red. On the nose, brandied cherries and plums, with unique spicy notes ranging from potpourri to black pepper.

On the palate, zingy acidity gives way to thirst quenching, brambly red fruit, finishing up with enough of that spice to keep things interesting.

Download the tech sheet here for more information.

$26/bottle

2021 CHARDONEL

Introducing our first still white wine: Chardonel, a hybrid grape we’ve loved working with. Partially barrel-fermented and aged in neutral oak (with lots of lees-stirring) and partially glass-fermented in demijohns, this wine has extremely bright upfront acidity balanced by underlying round juiciness.
On the nose, think white peach (both the fruit and the slight bite of their astringent skins) with a citric-lemon squeeze.

Super food friendly for white wine pairing standbys, but also good for happy hour sipping.

$31/bottle

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Our wines are small-batch and limited release.

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