melting popsicles | still red wine

leon millot

through two degrees of separation, i was introduced to an eccentric tinkerer who planted a small vineyard entirely to the hybrid leon millot back in 2000; a variety i believe holds a promising future to true sustainable farming in our region. given the lack of a playbook in the industry for hybrids, i couldn’t say i knew how to work with it. does it want to be a still red wine, like it is offered here? would it be better as a rosé? perhaps it should be fermented off-dry? i took this challenge on with a tremendous sense of glee, and embraced the unknown. upon tasting this cuvée, some colleagues said they could have been fooled into thinking it was cabernet franc, others a merlot or gamay. whatever it reminds you of, it is sure to be a “delicious and well layered sandwich of flavors.” if you were to ask the vineyard owner, he would probably tell you, “it’s pretty darn tasty”, as he hands you a bottle of his home batch along with a melting popsicle made from the same fruit. “the perfect way to wind down a hot and grueling day of harvesting.”

2024 - made for matthew rorick

2025 - made for ben hovland, junha hovland and kat hovland