If there's better practitioners of the art of fresh, lifted, whole cluster Gamay in the United States than Mikey and Gina Giugni, we have yet to encounter them. This gorgeous wine comes from Topotero Vineyard, just one mile from the Pacific Ocean, within the town of Avila Beach, and is the product of a hands-off regimen. Perhaps the best thing we can say about this wine is to give it our highest praise, which is to say: buy two!
From Scar of the Sea: "The 5 acre Topotero vineyard sits just west of the Bassi Vineyard in Avila Beach. Surrounded by gardens, palm trees, apples and a seasonal creek, this little vineyard is one of our favorites. The vines were grafted to Gamay from Pinot Noir in 2019 for this bottling. The vineyard was farmed by Ben Taylor (now by Mikey & Gina) with organic practices and it is in its final year of transition to Demeter biodynamic certification. The wine was fermented with 50% whole-cluster for 10 days, then pressed in our wooden basket press. The wine was bottled after 10 months in barrel, without fining or filtration and with minimal sulfur used. 214 cases were produced." Organic and biodynamic practices.