Notable: Biodynamic, Vegan, RARE--only 200 cases made
Taste: This wine is pretty like Meyer lemon flowers. To match the season, it brings the scent of bright golden apples. As you sip it, you’ll encounter that tartness of sour grass and minerality of alluvial rocks, as if there was a river here some thousands of years ago. An ideal occasion for this wine might include a decadent spread of seafood: oysters on a half shell, uni, translucent slices of yellowtail sashimi. But if you prefer a land protein, try some miso-marinated chicken wings.
Winery: Donkey & Goat is a family owned and operated winery located in Berkeley California. Tracey & Jared Brandt craft their natural wines from Rhône varietals, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grown in the Anderson Valley, Mendocino Ridge and the undiscovered El Dorado appellation in the Sierra Foothills. Named one of five "Winemakers to Watch for 2011" by Jon Bonné at the San Francisco Chronicle, Tracey & Jared trained in France, and their maverick winemaking has helped pave the way for the natural wine movement.
"We don’t work with Napa for the prestige. We just love what the Matthiassons have been doing to the land to grow such amazing fruit. They have carefully converted this formerly conventional vineyard into a dry-farmed one. With no watering, the vines grow fewer bunches but they blossom into more complex and pristine fruit. Just beyond the border are more prestigious vineyards that earned Napa its international reputation. But we weren’t here to compete with the many mighty Napa Chardonnays out there. We made a wine that brings out Chardonnay’s lip-smacking zippiness and flowery elegance." -Tracey and Jared
