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Dave Potter, longtime winemaker and proprietor of three wine labels, earlier this 12 months launched a white and crimson non-alcoholic “tea” made out of chardonnay and grenache grapes, herbs, roots and botanical elements.
In a information launch and subsequent July interview, Potter detailed how January Drinks happened: “My spouse instructed me, ‘we drink an excessive amount of (wine).’”
The label’s title is a play on “Dry January,” the month throughout which some shoppers abstain from alcohol following their vacation celebrations.
Potter continued: “We soak grape skins for 3 to 4 days to create the constructing blocks of a posh taste that’s then enhanced with fragrant infusions. Then we roast, smoke, steam and sous vide fruit, aromatics and herbs, that are steeped in scorching water like an enormous cup of tea with herbs and spices.”
The end result, he mentioned, is a cross between the method of including hops to beer, after which straining it, and the standard method vermouth or aperitifs are made by macerating elements in a base wine.
Whereas the 2 January Drinks are primarily based on chardonnay and grenache grape skins, they didn’t undergo fermentation, so legally, they aren’t wine, in accordance with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Commerce Bureau, or TTB.gov.
The Juniper Grenache is a “chillable” crimson made out of Santa Ynez Valley grenache grapes, juniper berries, bay laurel leaves, black tea, sumac, angelica root, smoked sea salt and black peppercorns. The black tea provides tannin and construction, Potter famous.
The Juniper Grenache bottling provides “a rift on a light-bodied, whole-cluster-style grenache,” he instructed me. “It’s fruity, earthy, savory.”
January Drinks’ first launch additionally included Manzilla Chardonnay, an aperitif made out of austere, citrus-driven Sta. Rita Hills chardonnay, and infused with chamomile flowers, Meyer lemons, elecampane, gentian, cinnamon sticks, and crimson peppercorn.
Potter suggests including January Drinks to soda water with a slice of mango for a refreshing late summer season drink. Sadly, the Manzilla is totally offered out, as he produced simply 30 circumstances of it in comparison with 80 circumstances of the Juniper, which continues to be accessible. He envisions making extra of each this 12 months.
Potter’s “actual” wine manufacturers — Municipal, Potek and Nowadays, launched in 2007, 2013 and 2019, respectively — characteristic intelligent label designs and names equivalent to You Received This and Good Job Shiny Pink.
Potter opened a vineyard and tasting room inside The Mill on East Haley Avenue in 2015, and he’s by no means seemed again. He sells most of his wines out his Santa Barbara and Los Alamos tasting rooms; solely Potek is distributed, Potter famous.
If Muni Wines are progressive and enjoyable and the Potek label conventional, from single winery sources, the These days line options organically farmed, unfiltered wines.
I sampled just a few throughout the labels: The 2020 Muni You Received This, a dry riesling from Kick On Ranch Winery in Los Alamos that’s tremendous recent and vibrant as a result of Potter began choosing in levels when the grapes’ brix stage was simply 17 — very low for a nonetheless wine.
Potter sources for all three wine labels from a number of the county’s high vineyards, amongst them Bien Nacido Winery, the place he crafts a Potek chardonnay from a block planted in 1971, and Tiera Alta Winery.
Good Job Shiny Pink is a mix of crimson grapes sourced from throughout the Santa Ynez Valley. It’s vivid and savory with a lower-than-average ABV for reds, 13.7 p.c.
The These days Nault Rieslin is a co-fermented cinsault-riesling mix, one other refreshing selection. These days is Potter’s quickest rising model of the three, which whole 5,000 to six,000 circumstances; of that quantity, Muni is 4,000 and Potek simply 1,000, he mentioned.
The place to Style Municipal, These days and Potek Wines
» Municipal (Muni) Wine Santa Barbara, 22 Anacapa St. within the Funk Zone. Hours: 12 p.m. to eight p.m. Sunday by Thursday; 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
» Municipal (Muni) Wine, The Alamo Resort, 423 Bell St., Los Alamos. Hours: 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 12 p.m. to five p.m. Sunday.
» Muni, Potek and These days Wines at The Mill at 406 E. Haley St. #1. The tasting room has inside area and a shared courtyard with Third Window Brewing. Meals accessible from the Third Window Kitchen. Hours: 4 p.m. to eight p.m. Monday to Wednesday; 12 p.m. to eight p.m. Thursday by Sunday.
— Laurie Jervis tweets at @lauriejervis and will be reached by way of [email protected]. The opinions expressed are her personal.
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