Blue Ox Wine

• White Wines
• Fossil Point Chardonnay, Edna Valley, California $17.00
• One of the wines that “hooked” us early was Edna Valley Vineyard Paragon Chardonnay in the mid-late 1990s. The Edna Valley possesses climatic and geological conditions that are a time-tested sweet spot for growing California Chardonnay. Ripe pear, meyer lemon, and a smidge of creaminess. It’s balanced (and not buttery) with great acidity, making its charm hard to resist. Old school Edna Valley deliciousness at a Monday night price.

• Bohigas, Xarel-lo, Catalonia, Spain $15.00
• Shakira vs. Shah-REL-lo (Xarello): one's the much-heralded Queen of Latin Music, with a platinum album called "Oral Fixation;" the other's the Queen of Cava (Xarello's the most important white grape in Spain's Catalonia region) and our *actual* oral fixation. Bohigas dates back to the 13th century, and has some of the oldest vineyards in Spain; as much as we love their sparkling wines, their still Xarello is a cool, mineral-zipped white similar in taste and texture to Chablis. Think lemon oil and Granny Smith apple skin with crushed rock and a flourish of briny minerality. (One of the best white wine values in the store, by a lot!)

• Stereophonic, Grüner Veltliner, Endless River, Edna Valley, California $28.00
• VB Emeritus Jason Lefler nailed it with his first vintage of Gruner from Edna Valley’s famed Paragon Vineyard. The site looks west to the Pacific, and that cool vantage lends it all of the exciting herbal and floral elements of the Austrian original. This packs in flavor and acidity at generous levels while *also* retaining low alcohol... no easy feat! Shot through with apple and pear notes and laced with subtle hints of lychee and pepper, it’s as suited for spring rolls and Thai noodles as it is all by itself for Scrabble night.

• Quinto De Raza, Vinho Verde, Portugal $15.00
• This is dangerous stuff. We taste a lot of Vinho Verdes with importers, and Raza’s version is the best of the bunch. The lime zest, lemon scents, and white peach flavors are electric. Those tiny little bubbles are so refreshing on a warm afternoon. If you have any leftover (yeah right), you can literally drink it for breakfast. Or you could try it with ceviche. Just sayin...

• Otto's Constant Dream New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc $19.00
• OCD: it usually stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and you could be forgiven, after tasting Otto's Constant Dream (OCD, see), for imagining the same here, so meticulously and exactingly well-made a white wine this is. But what we have here is simply the best new New Zealand Sauvy B we've tasted in years: bright and expressive, with tropical aromatics -- pineapple, passionfruit, ginger, yuzu peel... and a decided absence of the intense gooseberry (read: somm-code for cat pee) notes that can get so extreme Down Under. Crisp and refreshing with a green-apple laced mineral zip. We haven't met Otto, but we like the way he dreams.

• Birichino, Malvasia Bianca, Monterey, California $25.00
• Fermented in stainless steel with little else added, a little lees contact for texture, this gorgeously scented Malvasia Bianca smells of kefir lime leaf and gardenia. But don’t be fooled by the beauty on the surface -- like a Portuguese Man o’ War this baby packs a sting! It is bone-dry on the palate, with bright lime, white peach, and a very clean minerally finish that will have you going back for another glass.... and another.

• Nortico, Alvarinho, Minho, Portugal $22.00
• Nortico Alvarinho is a great example of the grapes hallmark: fresh citrus, peach and tropical fruit aromas paired with clean, juicy fruit and vibrant minerality. Nortico is produced on the south bank of the Minho River in plots so small they are called "Jardins", gardens in Portuguese. Soils here are granite and shiest and although it rains a lot (2,000 ml annually) the inland area is a little warmer than the coastal plantings allowing for a perfect maturation.

• Les Deux Moulins Sauvignon Blanc, Loire, France $17.00
• Deux Moulins is a new label made as a side-project by one of our favorite French wine importers (Paris Wine Company). Organic, Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc is turned into an insanely good-value house white which rivals many of the familiar village-designate Sauvignon Blancs from the region (Sancerre, Quincy, Menetou Salon). The chalky minerality, grapefruit, pomelo, and green apple tones hint at an almost Chablisienne soul behind this wine. And its modest alcohol content means you can go through two bottles at the dinner table and still be awake for dessert.

• Ercole Bianco 1l $23.00
• American-turned-Italian turned American importer of Italian wines, Weston Hoard, spent many a harvest in the fields of Piedmont with his trusty labrador companion "Ercole" (Hercules) by his side. Fate would have it that they would one day be parted, and so “Ercole” was made to vinously honor his irrepressible spirit. Piedmontese native variety Cortese (the star of Gavi's white wines) brings the freshness and vibrancy, plus a splish of Chardonnay fpr body and a splash of Sauv Blanc for aromatic sass. Pairs with all things (salads! ceviche! grilled vegs!), but that 1-L screw topped bottle also makes it a fave for plain ol' sunny-day sippin’.

• Rouge Vine Pipeno Blanco 1l $23.00
• Rogue Vine: An Itata Bush Vine Revolution. Their mission: to fight corporate interests, and preserve both the terroir and history of Chilean wine. Sounds pretty good, no?! The Rogue Vine wines are some of the best expressions of Chilean Terroir we have ever tasted - honest wines of freshness and of place. Their pipeño (AKA: unpretentious, gulpable Chilean house wines) is a blend of Semillon and Chasselas, grapes that thrive in other alpine climates like the Pyrenees and Alps, from a small coastal vineyard in Guarilihue, Itata that was first planted sometime in the early 1800's. Organically farmed by hand and horse, they maintain the spirit of the pioneering vignerons. Juicy bright stone fruit, tart and light on the palate, with a slight smoky minerality on the finish.

• Folk Machine, "white Light", California $19.00
• We’ve been rabid fans of Kenny Likitprakong’s Tocai Friulano ever since its first release a few years back. So when we heard he wasn’t able to make it this year we were massively bummed out. Fortunately, he sourced a portion of the Potter Valley Friulano fruit, which he then blended with Suisun Valley Verdelho, and Central Coast Riesling. The result is a crisp, aromatic kaleidoscope called White Light. Bursting with lush nectarine, zippy citrus, and yellow roses, it’s a shining beacon for a wine-sailor lost in the ocean of boring Cali’ whites.

• Domini Del Leone Pinot Grigio $21.00
• Inspired by his grandfather, who was regarded as a pioneer of organic farming in Italy, having omitted chemicals from his land in the 70s, Emilio Fidora (who, with a name like that, we can all just picture looking like Sherlock Holmes) has been converting the 140 hectare family property to biodynamic vineyard practices since 2015. The estate is located only a couple of miles from the Lagoon of Venice – this proximity to the sea and its constant winds, together with the particular soil of Alpine-glacier origin give the grapes distinct mineral notes and aromatic richness. Coupled with all the classic apple, pear, floral notes of traditional pinot grigio, you have a crowd pleasing, inexpensive white wine that is actually interesting (looking at you, grocery store PG…)

• Gulp Hablo, Verdejo, Spain $17.00
• WHAAAAAAAT? A *liter*-sized bottle of biodynamically farmed Verdejo from the three Parra brothers (Francisco, Javier and Luis)... for 15 bucks?!? Minerally, herbaceous and eminently GULP-ABLE, this is our new favorite bottle for crushing sessions. Beach wine, sushi wine, party wine, oyster wine, roast chicken wine, save your wallet wine -- this is all of the above. (The label might not be serious but the wine sure is!).

• Majas Blanc $22.00
• Alain and Agnès: it sounds like a chic home furnishing company for the Bobos (the bohemian bourgeoisie) of the 11th arrondissement. But no: we refer here to the impossibly thoughtful Carrère couple, who founded Domaine de Majas in 1992. They now have a wild, sprawling, and gorgeous estate right where France turns into the Pyrenees and Spain. Schist, volcanic stone and mountainous limestone make these wines quite unlike other Southern Frenchies. Add organic farming (they're partners with famed biodynamic producer Tom Lubbe of Matassa) and this blend of Macabeu, Rolle, and Carignane Blanc turns quite special indeed: lively, structured and serious, with notes of peach, a floral kick, and a long mineral finish.

• Red Wines
• Saint Cyr 'la Galoche' Beaujolais $27.00
• A little secret from the wine world: a great Beaujolais can go head-to-head with Burgundies... for a fraction of their price! You’ve got a serious contender here in La Galoche: organically grown from a single vineyard sitting on clay and limestone soils, this Beaujolais starts off with bright red berry fruits followed by dried herbs and an earthy finish. Fans of village-level Burgundies and Oregon Pinots will find a ton to love here. (Perfection with a roasted butternut squash, or an herb-laced chicken.)

• Domaine De Pierredon, Côtes Du Rhone, France $20.00
• I’ll have a Cotes du Rhone, please. But wait, hold the Syrah... and don’t filter that beautiful juice! This organically farmed beauty, a 50/50 blend of Grenache and Mourvedre, comes from a plateau in the Rhone Valley made by the same forces that formed the nearby Châteauneuf-du-Pape plateau. Rich with notes of black cherry, leather, and lingering olives. Sprinkle your rack of lamb with some fresh rosemary and open up this French gem!

• Fossil Point, Pinot Noir, Edna Valley, California $20.00
• Made by the legendary Central Coast Talley family--who have been crafting stunning Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the Central Coast since the mid 1980s--we simply can't think of another CA Pinot Noir that's better bang-for-$! Elegant flavors of red plum, raspberry, and the slightest hint of Madagascar vanilla provides this bottle with incredible depth and personality. A glass of Fossil Point, a chunk of cave-aged Gruyere and a warm baguette seems just about perfect!

• Sean Thackrey Pleiades Red, California $27.00
• Sean Thackrey was arguably one of California’s most iconic and eccentric wine personalities, a polylinguist lunatic who makes wines in open-top fermenters in Bolinas near a eucalyptus grove (it’s unclear if leaves fall into the fermenters, but each of his wines have an herbal eucalyptus note). Thackrey crafts the Pleiades based on what’s available to him - version XXVIII is said to be heavy on the Sangiovese, lending the wine more dried cherry and fig notes than usual, while the addition of Viognier brings gorgeous floral aromatics. It’s full of hibiscus, anise and eucalyptus flavors along with plush Californian fruit. Sui generis & sui delicious.

• Vignetti Del Sole, Montepulciano, Italy $13.00
• Its Tuesday night and the family unit is cranky. You picked up the pizzas and popped onto Doordash on the way home for the right bottle and don’t want to spend much. Don’t think, you have found it. Clean fresh and fruity. No wood. We love selling wines like this. Buy two.

• Julien Cecillon Syrah $24.00
• ‘Les Graviers’ is a négociant blend of three vineyard sites in the Rhône. The majority of fruit comes from the southern parts of the Drôme and Ardèche, a smaller amount from vineyards around Tournon. ‘Les Graviers’ means ‘gravel,’: the winery was a former gravel warehouse, and the market square in Tournon where Julien grew up is called ‘Place des Graviers.’ The soils in this 4 ha cluster of vineyards are clay-limestone and granite with pebbles; fermentation is 70% destemmed, 30% whole-cluster in stainless steel. Élevage is between 8 to 14 months in neutral barrels.

• Fossil Point Pinot Noir, Edna Valley, California $20.00
• Made by the legendary Central Coast Talley family--who have been crafting stunning Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the Central Coast since the mid 1980s--we simply can't think of another CA Pinot Noir that's better bang-for-$! Elegant flavors of red plum, raspberry, and the slightest hint of Madagascar vanilla provides this bottle with incredible depth and personality. A glass of Fossil Point, a chunk of cave-aged Gruyere and a warm baguette seems just about perfect!

• Gulp Hablo Red, Spain (1l) $17.00
• Are you a more-is-more gal? Find normal 750ml bottles Lilliputian? Do wines made from one grape leave you, like, 15 grapes short of full brain-dilating delight? Well, look no further, amiga -- our favorite Men of La Mancha (the Parra brothers, Francisco, Javier, and Luis) have brought us a one liter bottle made up of not one, two, or three -- but 16 varietals! The result? The summer bottle with the mostest: fresh and light with notes of strawberries, wet stones, and herb-laced deliciousness. An organic/biodynamic 1-Liter bottle of freakishly fun red...

• Sere Montsant Vendrell $17.00
• Grown in the sultry sands of Catalunya, this luscious blend of Garnacha & Carignane (80/20) delivers all the spicy berry pleasure of our favorite southern Rhones... at a freakishly bargain tariff. 30-something-year-old winemaker Josep-Maria Vendrell tends 17 hectares of dry-farmed, organic, old-vine fruit around the village of Marca in Montsant. He reserves the best parcels for himself, and and sells off the rest. Seré delivers a bold, earthy black and red berry punch along the lines of good Sablet or Rasteau, but at half the price. A slamming value, and a customer fave.

• Bedrock Wine Co., Shebang Red Blend, California $17.00
• Back in the mid 1800s, Sherman & Hooker owned and surveyed much of what is now known as Sonoma County. Farmers soon discovered that the region was well suited to growing grapes, and they planted vast swaths of “mixed blacks” - Zinfandel, Syrah, and Carignan intermixed at random - to try their hand at making wine. Intrepid young winemaker Morgan Peterson pays homage to their legacy with a spicy field blend of these grapes from small plots nestled amongst the valley. It’s a tasty glimpse into winemaking history.

• Ercole Barbera 1l $22.00
• AIR-KOH-LAY! I think maybe *everything* tastes better if you shout the Italian name for Hercules aloud before drinking, but in this case it's also the name of the wine! Pros know that the greatest spot for Barbera in all the world is the eastern side of Piemonte, in the hills of Monferrato. Not content to bring in some of the greatest reds from this corner of northern Italy, our favorite Piedmontese specialist (he's even called "The Piedmont Guy," for Pied's sake!) has here fashioned a dry-but-juicy rosé as well. Once you've drunk the nectar of the super-sized demigod of summertime sippin’? It's hard to return to the stuff the mortals drink. AIR-KOH-LAY!

• Cirelli Montepulciano $22.00
• You must have caught on to our Cirelli obsession by now... but hey, it's not everyday you find delicious, biodynamic, affordable, crowd pleasing wines, so when you do, you jump and we mean ALL IN! This montepulciano is claaaaassic: red cherry fruit, a bit of spice, some structure but still so juicy and playful. It goes with everything, truly (pizza! roast chicken! big salads with lots of olives!) If you haven't bought this bottle (and then come back to buy it several more times) you are missing out!

• Niepoort Rotulo Dao Tinto $18.00
• Usually best known for his mind-blowingly beautiful Port and brain-bogglingly good Douro reds & whites, Dirk Niepoort is no neophyte to the Portuguese wine scene. That’s why when we tasted this new release from the Dao region of central Portugal, we weren’t surprised we loved it. There’s an immaculate balance between its deeper tones of black fig, tobacco and chocolate and the brighter tones of black currant and pomegranate. Just the thing for a hard, savory cheese like Bra Duro, or Pecorino with some smoked meats.

• Three Wine Co, Zinfandel, Contra Costa, California $16.00
• Winemaker Matt Cline has a long history with Contra Costa grape growers, and his Zin is a textbook example of the region's classic style of lusty, dusty, old vine Zin. Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, Carignane, and Mataro account get thrown into the blend to enliven and deepen the whole. 45 minutes from Berkeley near Oakley, these patchwork vineyards (now surrounded by development) tell a tale of CA wine history that goes back over a century. Like our own Priorat, right smack in the suburbs! It’s our new house Zin -- it’s hard to resist that blackberry/raspberry magic!

• Bedrock Wine Co., Shebang Red Blend, California $17.00
• Back in the mid 1800s, Sherman & Hooker owned and surveyed much of what is now known as Sonoma County. Farmers soon discovered that the region was well suited to growing grapes, and they planted vast swaths of “mixed blacks” - Zinfandel, Syrah, and Carignan intermixed at random - to try their hand at making wine. Intrepid young winemaker Morgan Peterson pays homage to their legacy with a spicy field blend of these grapes from small plots nestled amongst the valley. It’s a tasty glimpse into winemaking history.

• Clos De Fous 'mr Chile' Red Blend $21.00
• Clos des Fous: like a Chilean Voltron, formed when four of the most talented winemaking amigos in South America grew tired of hearing that Chilean wine was all boring, industrial, green and stupid. What did they do? Got together, named themselves (in French) "Vineyard of the Lunatics," and set out in search of vinous treasure, or the Dark Side of the Moon, whichever came first. The result, here? Pais, Cinsault and Carignan from Southern Chile, a charming crusher full of wild red fruit, savory earth and spice. Let's get Fou!

• Parts And Labor Red Blend $20.00
• Grenache, Carignane and a dash of Syrah make up this Côtes-du-California-styled bistro red from Hobo’s Kenny Likitprakong. The 2022 gets a great lift from the Syrah to go along with the deeply colored, soulful, darker fruits from the Potter Valley in Mendocino. Formerly known as “Simple Machine," Parts & Labor is easy-going, fresh, and delicious. Think raspberry and peppered pomegranate thoughts, with musings of crushed huckleberry. Served cool, with any grilled food.

• Stereophonic Dream Of Spring Red Blend $44.00
• Here in California here's no governing appellation making decisions about what goes with what, in what quantities -- so instead of dutifully adhering to a regulatory framework, winemaking team Jason Lefler and Aaron Jackson were free to improvise, and Oh Mama are we happy they had their freedom. They quickly intuited that Syrah was their gemstone, and (extending that metaphor) enlisted other grapes as the jewelry in which to set it. The Syrah provides a core of plum, cherry, violet and bacon. The Grenache fills in the mid-palate, and adds a mineral note; the Mourvedre provides a little bit of baked fruit and some tannic structure.

• Requiem, Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, Washington State $28.00
• After weeks of hungry research we finally found the solution to the most pressing Sunday night problem: where can I find a complex, intense Cab, that will impress my hosts and comes at an irresistible price point? We found the answer in a small production in Columbia Valley, where the organic grapes are sourced from three high-quality AVAs: Walla Walla, Horse Heaven and Red Mountain. With up to 32 days of fermentation on the skins and 40% new oak this purple beauty will deliver mouth coating tannins, cassis flavors and a rich, full-bodied texture. Pairing with solemn classical music highly recommended.

• Camp Cabernet Sauvignon $21.00
• The talented Kenny Likitprakong of Hobo Wine Co. impresses yet again with this Sonoma Cab that echoes both Bordeaux and Chinon. When’s the last time you had a California Cab that tasted of earth, anise, black currant, olive tapenade, and cassis? At just 13% ABV, it’s savory and structured rather than soft and sweet. A young pup now, it drinks well over three days with hearty fare... and should do well over the next six to ten years! It’s always been one of our favorite Cabs in the store for the dough, but we think this may be his best vintage yet.

• Orange Wines
• Gulp, Hablo Orange, La Mancha, Spain (1l) $26.00
• WHAAAAAAAT? A *liter*-sized bottle of biodynamically farmed Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc from the three Parra brothers (Francisco, Javier and Luis)... but made into an orange wine? Sign us up. A week of maceration on the skins turns the usual regional white blend into a minor miracle of fun. Dried citrus peels, pekoe tea and dried apricots all pop on and above the textured palate. And at an easy-breezy 11% ABV? This is an orange that's chillable and gulpable (GULP/HABLO, get it?), too.

• Les Encuves Maceration $27.00
• Times they are a'changing! For better and worse...but in the case of new generations taking over centuries-old family domaines, definitely for the better! And this here is a perfect example: a macerated Alsatian blend that takes all the aromatics and depth that we have loved about these wines and adds some chew! When the Frey brothers took over for their parents, they surly had a leg up with a 14 hectare polyculture vineyard that has been farmed organic since the early 90s, and 200 years of generational knowledge doesn't hurt either, but credit where credit is due... these guys have added their stamp of modern winemaking and catchy labels. KUDOS!

• Bubbles
• Lelarge-pugeot, Tradition, Extra Brut, Champagne, France $62.00
• Eighth generation winemakers, making champagne under their family domaine since the 80s, and certified organic & biodynamic vineyards -- what's not to love?! Especially since it's a Pinot Meunier-driven cuvée, making this bottle even more of a unicorn (the Premier Cru village of Vrigny, where Lelarge-Pugeot is based, is famous for it). Three years aged to deliciousness and set to an extra brut level makes it the ultimate crowd-pleasing and tastebud-bending revelation. If this is an entry-level champagne then slap my croissant and butter my touché!

• Rolfshark Lambrusco $23.00
• Nope: not Spielberg's new horror movie about a dangerous underwater masseur ("You'll never get on the table again..."), this is our avorite thing from Emilia-Romagna, a wine as naturally made as it is eminently gulpable. In a region scarred by industrial-scale production (Remember Riunite?), winemaker Antonia Munari pioneered a hardcore sustainable approach: 100% organic farming, and a winery that's solar-powered and carbon-neutral. This is a gorgeously classic dry Lambrusco: lightly sparkling, with savory dark fruit: think muddled blackberry, blueberry, with hints of black pepper and a ferrous mineral core. The only horror here is how fast the bottle has a way of disappearing!

• Durante, Le Spinee 'spago', Prosecco, Italy $21.00
• If any wine requires no introduction, it’s Prosecco. Or does it? The category's eclipsed Champagne as the world’s best-selling sparkler, but its mass appeal has led to an indifferent ocean of industrial fizz. In essence? Not all Prosecco's are created equal. Enter the tiny, family-owned Durante estate, organically farmed by dad Lino and sons Ivano and Michele. They farm an ancient plot of land -- “Le Spinee” derives its name from a place originally inhabited by monks, who named this wild land, strewn with prickly bushes and brambles, “Le Spinee,” Italian for “spine” -- and the wine seems alive and prickly itself. Nervy, bright, simple in the best sense, and real: this is what we wish Prosecco was.

• Victorine De Chastenay Crémant De Bourgogne Brut, France $26.00
• Doesn’t this dame - Victorine de Chastenay - just *look* classy? Well it’s not just an outward appearance: the Chastenay sparklers come from fruit sourced from the Côtes de Nuits and Côtes De Beaune in Burgundy (a welcome contrast to most Crémant de Bourgognes that are made from fruit in the Mâconnais, Beaujolais, and Côte Chalonnaise.) Seductive stone fruit, bright acidity, and a soft, smooth white chocolate-esque mouthfeel... it all adds up to make this a no-brainer choice for a Champagne method bubbly at a non-Champagne tariff!

• Rosé
• Castel Del Piano Clare Rosato $25.00
• A fresh 'n' flirty, slightly hazy Ros(e/ato) from a Tuscan microproducer? Yeah, cool huh? Castel del Piano crafts fresh and lively wines out of hyperlocal Tuscan varieties from their tiny organically farmed vineyards running along the Taverone River of the Lunigiana region. Made from Cannaiolo (typically used as a blending grape in chianti), this rose flaunts balanced tannins, a beautiful blush, and a juicy snap.

• Domaine De La Fouquette Provence Rose $23.00
• Fifteen years ago, Isabelle and Jean-Pierre Daziano were taken prisoner by the beauty of the Massif des Maures mountains, the backdrop to their 35-acre organic vineyard and farm in the heart of Provence. Their respect for the land and the labor-intensive regimen in the vineyard has resulted in this pale pink cuvée emphatically Provençale: dry, crisp and elegant. Candied kumquats, mara des bois strawberries and sharlyn melon aromas leap from the glass. Truly a show-stopper... Stock up!

• Birdhorse Rose $34.00
• Great wine doesn't necessarily require context. Great wine is, after all, the confluence of art and science, of place and process; if the quality of both sides of that equation is exceptional, then the sum of those parts will be equally as such. That should be the intention - to communicate the character of a varietal or varieties and the terroir in which they're grown without any additional adornment, fruit in its purest form. Context isn't necessary, but in the case Corinne Rich and Katie Rouse, the winemaking couple behind Birdhorse, it's more than welcome. Rich and Rouse met in grad school at UC Davis , and after graduating, travelled to South Africa to work the 2018 harvest together the at the iconic Mullineux. In an old Verdelho vineyard, they found their inspiration for Birdhorse Wines. Their mission is simple - to highlight regions and varietals in California that have long had a presence in the wine industry but have remained woefully under-the-radar. As they explain:"We are driven by intellectual curiosity, transparency, science, and data, but most importantly an ardor for delicious wines... Birdhorse is intended to evoke a sense of adventure and whimsey, rooted in the familiar... a thing you can conjure in your mind’s eye, a faint outline, but requires an inquisitive and open mind to fill in the details. That is Birdhorse: a desire for understanding, grounded by our own experience and perception, fueled by our imagination."In their endeavor to meet that mission, they've also done something that is (woefully) uncommon in the wine industry: they've exemplified queer excellence and joy (making a point to raise funds for LGBTQ+ youth programs) and have unabashedly and proudly been women with a point of view in an industry that often doesn't allow them to have one. In short, they are extraordinary, and we've been hooked from day one.Their Rosé is perhaps the best summation of their ethos: a blend of varietals, each from a unique vineyard site, blended to best express the hallmark character of each. This year, Valdiguie from the Suisun Valley was once again the cornerstone, bringing with it a wave of blue fruit and ancho chili smoke. Barbera from the iconic Shake Ridge offers wild cherry and anise, and Mendocino Carignan adds to the spicebox complexity, with the snap of red plum skin dancing in the background. Altogether, they form a palate of fresh summer berry, with a campari-like bitterness that offers structure and intrigue. Birdhorse is the best of honest, expressive winemaker; it also represents a more meaningful shift in a hopeful future for California winemaking.