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Winemaker Evan Lewandowski makes thought-provoking wines inspired by the redemptive cycle of life, death, and life again, using farming and winemaking as a means to explore this theme.  After working at Binner in Alsace for several years, he moved back to his home state of Utah to start making his own wine, using fruit grown at Fox Hill Vineyards and Testa Vineyards in Mendocino county. He began fermentation in California and then transported his fermenting juice in a refrigerated U-Haul to his home in Salt Lake City where he completed the fermentation, aging, and bottling process. 

Evan moved to Northern CA in 2018 and now makes all his wine here, continuing to source fruit from several organic vineyards in the North Coast AVA, and Fox Hill (now owned by Broc Cellars). He focuses largely on Italian and Portuguese grape varieties, which are well-suited to the warm and dry Californian summers and produce interesting, fresh and delicious wines with a ton of character.

Evan explains that natural fermentation is the building up and dying off of multiple strains of yeast and bacteria, each paving the way for the next strain to take over (and each leaving its unique signature of flavor, aroma, and textural compounds). No additives are used: no acid, no sugar, no water, no tannin, no filtration, and no cultured yeast. Little-to-no no sulfur is used, according to the cuvée.

A native of the city of Catania, Salvo Foti studied oenology and began his career in 1981 as a technical and agrarian advisor to some noted estates in eastern Sicily. He continues that work today for estates such as Gulfi, Benanti and Vini Biondi, all of whose wines are universally recognized as among the best in Sicily.

Several years ago, Salvo’s love of Etna inspired him to begin a consortium called I Vigneri. Today I Vigneri is an association between Salvo Foti, other vine experts and local grape growers who bring their mutual experience working the particular vines of Etna. It is also the name of his own winery, which he now runs with his sons Simone and Andrea.

Many of the vines Salvo uses for his wines are rehabilitated old vines, some over 100 years old, planted at 10,000 plants per hectare in the albarello (gobelet) system. Work is done exclusively by hand or by mule in the vineyards. The grapes are the indigenous Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio with Alicante (Grenache) and a smattering of vines referred to as Francisi, because their variety and provenance are unknown. A newly planted vineyard in 2005 of white varietals at about a 1,200 meters forms the base of Vinujancu, while the rest comes from a vineyard of mainly one hundred year old Alicante (Grenache) vines with some other red and white grape vines at 1,300 metres surrounded by an oak forest, and from which the rosé wine Vinudilice is also made.

Salvo only uses copper/sulfur mix in the vineyards. The grapes are harvested by hand at the end of September until mid-October. Fermentations are carried out in open oak vats, without enzymes or thermal control. There is very little sulfur used on the grapes or must, if any at all. Racking and bottling are done according to the lunar cycle. The wines are bottled with little or no filtration.

This is a breathtaking estate with a mission to make great wines, which are some of the purest expressions of Etna.

Located in the heart of the Langhe hills, at the top of the village of Castiglione Falletto, the Vietti wine cellar was founded in the late 1800's by Carlo Vietti. The estate has gradually grown over the years, and today the vineyards include some of the most highly-prized terroirs within the Barolo winegrowing area. 

Although they have been making wine for four generations, the turning point came in the 1960's when Luciana Vietti married winemaker and art connoisseur Alfredo Currado, whose intuitions--from the production of one of the first Barolo crus (Rocche di Castiglione - 1961), through the single-varietal vinification of Arneis (1967) to the invention of Artist Labels (1974)--made him both symbol and architect of some of the most significant revolutions of the time. 

His intellectual, professional and prospective legacy was taken up by Luca Currado Vietti (Luciana and Alfredo’s son) and his wife Elena, who have contributed to the success of the Vietti brand - universally recognized today as being one of the very finest Italian wine labels - by continuing along the path of the pursuit of quality, considered experimentation and working for expansion and consolidation internationally. 

Ewald Tscheppe took over his family farm and winery in Styria, Austria at age 26. In the years since then he has produced some of the region’s most fascinating wines. Ewald makes some of the most compelling white wines in the world. 

The Biodynamic farm is about 18 hectares, with 12.5 planted to vineyards. The remaining land is forest, pasture, gardens and rolling hills with incredible views. Styria is covered in incredibly steep hillsides that are so steep tractor work is not possible in many parts. As a result, Ewald does all of his vineyard work by hand. The region rests on the same latitude as the Jura and shares some of its soil types like Limestone and Marl as well as Chardonnay biotypes (often called Morillon there).

Ewald’s generation of winegrowers includes people like his brother Andreas Tscheppe, Gut Oggau, Judith Beck, Christian Tschida, Claus Preisinger and Franz Weninger. They are the second wave of growers pushing biodynamic agriculture in the area but they are the some of the first to bring these ideas into the wineries and produce natural wines.

Ewald only works with white grapes, predominantly Sauvignon Blanc and Morillon that are planted over Opok and heavy clay. The vineyards are split up and picked depending on how much Opok is exposed, which is a kind of Grey Marl, not unlike limestone. The vineyard is split into many parcels, but it is really one continuous hill with variation in aspect and slope. Some parts are so steep that when you put your picking box on the ground during harvest, it just slides down the hill.

The single varietal “Vom Opok” wines come from the bottom of the hill, around 300m above sea level. Ewald uses Welschriesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Morillon (a Chardonnay biotype) for these wines and they are typically more open and giving in their youth than his other wines. Despite this, they have an incredible capacity to age. These wines are all direct pressed and go into barrel for about 18 months.

Ex Vero II comes mainly from the middle slope which has a more even mixture of both Opok and clay. Ex Vero III is the mostly from the highest points at the top of the hill with the most exposed pure bedrock. However there are mid slope parts that go into both I and III and more flat parts at the bottom that go into III as well. The wines are really divided by soil type, not slope or elevation.

Ewald also makes two orange wines. These skin Fermented wines are either destemmed (Gluck, Ex Vero II fruit) or fermented in whole clusters (Freude. Ex Vero III fruit). Generally skin ferments go for the length of alcoholic fermentation plus some time, usually 5-6 weeks.

Grapes are harvested by hand and brought to the winery for a slow pressing which typically takes place over night. Fermentation is with natural yeast and elevage is in large barrels and Austrian Foudres. Wines are all aged for a minimum of 18 months but many for up to 3 years before being bottled unfltered. For the most part wines are made without sulfur at all, though Ewald takes a pragmatic approach in the cellar.

These are deep, complex, and soulful wines that age for many years and benefit from oxygen when opened.