2024 Radical Imagination Project "Simbiosis" Pet-Nat, Mendoza, Argentina

ABOUT THE WINE

Simbiosis is made from 100% Syrah grown in Vista Flores, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, on the producers’ biodynamically farmed estate. The fruit is harvested by hand and comes from vineyards cultivated without agrochemicals, reflecting the broader ecological philosophy behind the Radical Imagination Project.

The wine is made by the ancestral method (méthode ancestrale), in which fermentation begins in tank and finishes naturally inside the bottle, trapping carbon dioxide and creating its gentle sparkle. Fermentation occurs spontaneously with indigenous yeasts from the estate, and the wine is raised in stainless steel with approximately nine months of lees contact. It undergoes a partial disgorgement and is bottled without filtration or added sulfur. Technical information lists approximately 12.2% alcohol, 6.2 g/L acidity, and just 1.8 g/L residual sugar, giving the finished wine a distinctly dry and energetic profile.

The name Simbiosis is especially meaningful. The wine celebrates the interconnected role of fungi within healthy ecosystems and was inspired by Giuliana Furci, founder of the Fungi Foundation and a pioneering Chilean mycologist. It is a particularly fitting subject for a naturally fermented wine: yeasts themselves are fungi, making the organisms celebrated by the project essential participants in transforming grapes into wine. The label artwork, created by Meagan Boyd, depicts this ecological theme through a richly symbolic, mystical visual language.

Serve very cold, ideally below 40°F (4°C), and open carefully, as pét-nat can be exuberantly sparkling. It is intended for youthful drinking and works beautifully as an aperitif or alongside ceviche, shrimp, oysters, fresh salads, sushi, fried seafood, soft cheeses, or vegetable-driven dishes.

ABOUT THE PRODUCER

The Radical Imagination Project is connected to Stella Crinita, the natural-wine project created by Joanna Foster and Ernesto Catena in Vista Flores. The couple began farming their Uco Valley estate according to biodynamic principles in 2006, developing a philosophy in which wine is understood as part of a larger ecological and social system rather than simply an agricultural product.

Radical Imagination takes that philosophy a step further by using wine to highlight women working to protect nature, biodiversity, and their communities. Each bottling connects natural winemaking with a wider environmental story, while Meagan Boyd’s labels translate those ideas into art. Simbiosis focuses specifically on fungi and the essential role they play as decomposers, recyclers, symbiotic partners, and—in the form of yeast—the organisms responsible for fermentation.

In the vineyard and cellar, the approach is deliberately minimal: biodynamic farming, hand harvesting, spontaneous fermentation, indigenous yeast, extended lees contact, no filtration, and no added sulfur. Simbiosis brings all of these ideas together particularly clearly—a naturally sparkling Syrah that is playful and immediately drinkable, yet rooted in a serious philosophy of biodiversity, interconnectedness, and regenerative agriculture.