2018 Hiyu "Aura" Columbia Gorge Red Wine, Columbia Gorge, Oregon, USA

2018 Hiyu "Aura" Columbia Gorge Red Wine, Columbia Gorge, Oregon, USA

This was the first wine Hiyu ever made that fully embraced a wine’s possibility for color ambiguity and directly led to later field blends like Sean Nos and Solais. Over the past 5 years this has aged into a fragrant elixir of rose, strawberry, truffle and spice.

$112.99
$112.99

 ABOUT THIS WINE

This is a three quarter acre  parcel of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris on the hill above the tavern. In 2018 it was picked in three passes. The first pick was picked early and directly pressed to create a layer of pure energy. The second pick spent 10 days on the skins to reveal fruity and floral aspects of the site. The final pick of just Pinot Gris spent 100 days on the skins and is responsible for subtle sensations of umami and tannin. The aspect of this wine that is usually associated with red wines is actually coming from a white grape!  

This was the first wine Hiyu ever made that fully embraced a wine’s possibility for color ambiguity and directly led to later field blends like Sean Nos and Solais. Over the past 5 years this has aged into a fragrant elixir of rose, strawberry, truffle and spice. 

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Its leaders Nate Ready, a former high-profile sommelier (think award-winning restaurants like Thomas Keller's French Laundry or Frasca in Boulder, CO) and China Tressemer, a talented artist and culinary guide, have gradually built a flourishing mixed farm and tavern where not just vine and crops, but all sorts of natural life cohabit in what Hiyu calls “the wild side of permaculture”.

Their approach to viticulture is similarly wild, in the best sense: the estate is divided into many small blocks, each planted to a field blend from a different place or moment in the genetic history of the grapevine, from Alpine grapes to Southern Italy or Central Europe. This “IRL grape variety atlas”, consisting of a whopping 100+ different varieties and clones in total, is being transformed into boutique quantities of truly singular wines that Nate describes and contextualises using his vast tasting memory and cultural experience. There's a lot of freedom, art and philosophy involved at Hiyu Wine Farm.

Details:

Grape(s) Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir
Farming Organic