October 2024
- Posted on
Fall flavors!
Welcome to the latest installment of the Streetcar Monthly Pass. If you’ve already purchased a pass, thank you! If you haven’t, here's where you should go. Below you’ll find some information about each of this month’s six Monthly Pass selections. On to the wines!
2023 Coelheiros Branco
varieties: arinto, anto vaz
appellation: Alentejo
farming: organic
Tapada de Coelheiros is located in Arraiolos, a village in Portugal best known for its famous hand woven tapestries. An hour and a half drive east from Lisbon, the vast estate includes walnut and olive groves, protected pine and oak forests, and nine vineyards divided into 38 plots. They’re certified organic and continue to push their farming practices further by following biodynamic and regenerative principles in “a future-driven model that regenerates today what is needed tomorrow.” The Coelheiros style is one of tension and finesse, as clearly exhibited in this white as in the estate’s red wines. The wine is a blend of two notable indigenous grape varieties: arinto brings acidity and freshness while antão vaz adds stone fruit. Partially aged in barrel (30%) with the rest in stainless steel and left to rest on the lees, it’s the kind of white wine that can easily take you from apps to the main course. Note the label design, a visual tasting note in the form of a cross stitched tapestry.
2022 Tiberio Pecorino
variety: pecorino
appellation: Colline Pescaresi (Abruzzo), Italy
farming: sustainable
Almost 25 years ago, Riccardo Tiberio made his leap into winemaking after purchasing a rare plot of 60-year-old trebbiano abruzzese vines; an opportunity he couldn't pass up. Much of what sells as "trebbiano" in Abruzzo is trebbiano toscano, bombino bianco or other similar looking varieties and not the rare, indigenous Abruzzese varietal, which can produce wines of greater depth and complexity. Just a year later, he would plant vines of another neglected native grape: pecorino. Pecorino is a finicky grape that fell into obscurity due to its low yields, but made a comeback in the 1990's thanks to trailblazing winemakers who recognized its potential. The altitude and microclimate of Abruzzo is where Pecorino thrives, but you'll also find it in Umbria, Liguria, Tuscany and the Marche. After several successful harvests, Riccardo handed the reins over to his son Antonio (agronomist) and daughter Cristiana (chemist, oenologist) and they continue to produce exemplary Abruzzese wines, including this 2022 vintage of their Pecorino. Full bodied and mineral, with notes of green apple, lime and sage and a thirst quenching long finish, this is a good wine to pair with some kale sauce pasta and the other kind of pecorino grated on top.
2022 Mr. Brightside Gamay Noir
variety: gamay
appellation: Arroyo Seco
farming: organic
Tim Fulnecky is the "Mr." behind Mr. Brightside wines, a micro-winery he operates out of the bustling Tin City industrial hub in Paso Robles, California. He got his start in 2015 as a cellar hand to Andrew Jones of Field Recordings Wines (another Tin City resident and Streetcar fave) who encouraged him to start making his own wine. Inspired by the great wines of Beaujolais, Tim launched Mr. Brightside in 2020, working exclusively with gamay grapes sourced from organic vineyards in the Arroyo Seco AVA. His "Gamay Noir" definitely puts a Central Coast stamp on one of our favorite French grapes. Bright and balanced with flavors of cherry & raspberry and ending with a smooth and slightly earthy/savory finish, this is the wine to open for roast chicken night (or sausages, or grilled salmon, or hold til Thanksgiving!). Serve lightly chilled.
2021 Kara Tara Pinot Noir
variety: pinot noir
appellation: Western Cape, South Africa
Kara Tara is a joint venture between José Condé of Stark-Condé and rising star winemaker Rüdger Van Wyk. Van Wyk named the project after a river that runs through the small town where he grew up. His approach is straight-forward: craft pinot noir and chardonnay that demonstrates the beauty of his home land. The grapes for this wine are hand-picked from vineyards in Elgin, the Overberg and Stellenbosch. The grapes from Elgin add a balancing component of fresh, zesty acidity. The Overberg vineyard has Tafelberg Sandstone, whose stony soils contribute a flinty minerality. The Stellenbosch vineyard is in close proximity to the ocean. Its cooling winds add a saline quality to the final wine. The grapes were hand-picked into small lug-boxes for transport to the winery. Half of the grapes were put into open-top fermenters and given hand punch-downs and the other half in closed tanks done with regular pump-overs. About 20% of the wine was whole-cluster fermented. After primary fermentation, the wine was basket-pressed and racked for malolactic fermentation and subsequent French oak barrel maturation (10% new). And voila! A lovely pinot noir to pair with just about anything.
2018 Fattoria Ambra Carmignano
varieties: sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon
appellation: Carmignano (Tuscany), Italy
farming: organic
Fattoria Ambra is an estate of 20 hectares spread over four of the most important crus of Carmignano. Giuseppe ‘Beppe’ Rigoli runs it, his family having owned it since the 19th century. Wine-making in the area goes back to antiquity, but it was Beppe’s father who revived it on the estate and planted new vineyards. Unfortunately, the wine was being sold in bulk at a loss, and his father was about to sell the property before he passed away in 1983. Beppe was determined to try and make a go of it, and he bottled the first vintage, 1983, by hand. Beppe and his wife Susan are both trained agronomists, and Beppe is a consulting enologist as well. Renowned since the 13th century for the quality of its wine, Carmignano is arguably one of the oldest protected appellations in the world, as Cosimo III de Medici established it by decree in 1716. Cabernet sauvignon was already being grown here, having been introduced by merchants during the reign of Catherine de Medici a couple centuries earlier. This wine comes entirely from the cru Santa Cristina in Pilli, where limestone (albarese) soils keep this sangiovese-dominant blend from becoming too heavy. Pair with steak, pasta all'amatriciana, or cicerchie with mushrooms.
Paltrinieri "Radice"
variety: lambrusco di sorbara
appellation: Lambrusco di Sorbara
farming: organic
Cantina Paltrinieri lies north of Modena in the center of the Sorbara DOC. Alberto Paltrinieri and his wife Barbara run the estate founded by Alberto’s grandfather in 1926. In contrast to the familiar dark, deep grape-y juice most associate with the style, wines made from their local lambrusco di sorbara variety are delicate in color with bright acidity, minerality, and floral notes. However, lambrusco di sorbara is unable to flower in the vineyard and needs to be planted alongside the darker colored, more intense lambrusco salamino grape in order to pollinate. Traditionally this mixing in the vineyards led to mixing in the cellar. Under Alberto’s lead, Paltrinieri began to experiment and became the first producer to separate the two grapes in the cellar and produce 100% sorbara wines. It works great as an aperitif, with salty fried snacks, as a pizza wine, or brunch companion. Chill it and enjoy this oh-so-lovely dry, pink-hued sparkling "red" without too much fuss.