Overview:

Populis was born from the desire to make lighthearted, naturally made, extremely drinkable wines from organically farmed, historic vineyard sites throughout Northern California.

Varieties: Zinfandel (35%), Carignane (30%), Grenache noir (20%), Sangiovese (10%), & Counoise (5%)

Production: 1151 cases

Vineyards:

Hawkeye Ranch, Redwood Valley, Mendocino County (Carignane)

Venturi Vineyard, Mendocino County (Carignane & Zinfandel)

Lolonis Vineyard, Redwood Valley AVA, Mendocino CA (Zinfandel)

Marcheschi Vineyard, Alexander Valley AVA, Sonoma, CA (Sangiovese & Zinfandel)

Hannah Nicole Vineyard, San Francisco Bay AVA, Contra Costa, CA (Grenache noir)

Fernow Vineyard, Lodi, CA (Counoise)

Farming:

All the farming is performed strictly according to organic principles and the utmost of care and respect is paid to the local environment.

2022 Vintage Conditions: A cold spring delayed budbreak in vineyards throughout California. The summer was mild and dry, with cool conditions during flowering, giving a poor fruit-set and low yields. We experienced a big heat-wave in early September. Paradoxically, this had a delaying effect on the ripening, as the vines shut down photosynthesis for a period to preserve their water supplies. As a result, we were harvesting these grapes in late September and early October. This created the ideal conditions to achieve full ripeness in the grapes while still retaining low alcohols and bright, fresh acidity.

Vinification:

The Zinfandel and Carignane from Venturi Vineyard was destemmed and fermented separately with 14 days each on the skins. Carignane from Hawkeye Ranch underwent 7 days of Carbonic Maceration before being destemmed and macerated an additional 10 days until dry. Zinfandel from Lolonis Vineyard was fermented with 25% whole clusters for 14 days and pressed at dryness. Sangiovese and Zinfandel from the Marcheschi Vineyard were destemmed and co-fermented for 16 days and pressed when dry. The Fernow Counoise was macerated for 5 days on the skins, pressed early and allowed to finish fermenting in flextanks. The wines were aged in primarily 300 gallon flextanks and a portion in neutral French oak barrels. The wines were blended in June, 2023 with 18ppm SO2 added and bottled in July 2023.

Tasting Notes:

The delayed harvest allowed us to make a riper version of our Wabi-Sabi Red while still maintaining great freshness and acidity. Deep notes of dark, red fruit and spice mark the nose, while a dense mouthfeel and luscious tannins define the palate. One of our favorite editions of the Wabi-Sabi red, it strikes a great balance of finesse, power and freshness.

Alcohol: 12.5% v/v