Variety: 60% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Albariño, 5% Fiano
Location: California
Alcohol: 12%
Production: 475 cases

Vermentino thrives along the Mediterranean coast and islands of Italy and France, where it can be found in any number of styles. This interpretation recalls the more structured iterations hailing from the sun-drenched limestone crags of Patrimono in Corsica, mixing brighter notes of blood orange, quince, and lemon verbena with a honeyed almond, marzipan richness, all held in focus by refreshing salinity and intense acidity. Enjoy now or keep for later.

The Sauvignon Blanc was harvested in early August 2022 and after fermentation was pressed to age in a mix of new and used acacia barrels. The Verdelho, Albariño and Fiano were harvested together a few weeks later; Verdelho was fermented on its own on skins, and the Albariño and Fiano were co-fermented on their skins, then everything was pressed off to neutral French oak barrels. After a few trials, the different lots were blended and a small amount of sulfur was added before everything was racked to neutral Barrels to rest for a few months prior to bottling in late March.

This bottling was named after a story from John W. Campbell Jr. called “Who Goes There?” that was later made into John Carpenter’s 1982 masterpiece “The Thing,” about a group of scientists that settle into the long Antarctic winter with some pull-top beers, a bunch of whiskey and a strange dog that turned up at their camp chased by a helicopter that later crashed on the ice. Turns out the dog is a shape-shifting alien lifeform capable of consuming all of humanity should it escape Antarctica! Both of these adaptations reveal the anxiety and doubt that lurks just beneath the surface of nearly all human endeavors. This wine was made in the spirit of conquering anxiety and charging ahead into the darkness of the unknown.