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| Birichino Malvasia Bianca Skin Contact Pét-nat 2021 Birichino “Vin Gris” Rosé California 2022 Birichino “Bechthold” Old Vines Cinsault 2022 Birichino “St Georges” Pinot Noir Central coast 2022 Birichino Besson Vineyard Old Vines Grenache 2022 |
| For this week’s tasting we are thrilled to have John Locke of Birichino in the shop to talk about and pour a selection of his wines. Some Birichino wines are available in limited quantities, but we try to always stock one or three on our shelves depending on what is available. These are beautifully-crafted, non-douchey natural wines often made from old vines, sometimes incredibly old, and are known for their whimsical and sometimes lysergic labels featuring demons and other mythical creatures—a perfect fit for us.Locke and his partner Alex Krause started Birichino while working with Randall Grahm. For a couple of years, they made wine only from malvasia bianca (the malvasia we cultivate in California, aka malvasia bianca di piemonte), but have since branched out considerably. We would be remiss if we failed to pour a Birichino malvasia, and so we are starting the tasting with their skin-contact malvasia pét-nat. With 33 days of maceration, they claim to have taken inspiration from the mysterious “33” that appears on Rolling Rock beer labels, for which no one has a convincing explanation: is it the age of Jesus when he was crucified, or the year that Prohibition was appealed, or a Free Mason code, or the preferred temperature at which to enjoy this beer? No one knows. We are also pouring the Bechthold vineyard cinsault from vines planted in 1888 and quite possibly the oldest cinsault plantation in the world. Insane, tree-like dry-farmed plants that when you are in their presence, feel like wizened old beasts. We are finishing the tasting with their Besson grenache, another wine from vines planted well over one hundred years ago. |