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A Brief History of Natural Winemaking in America: Jared Brandt Pours & Discusses Library Wines
‘I’m interested in wines that are made from someone’s heart, wines that are a personal expression of the winemaker who is chasing their own desire—those are soulful wines.’
If you don’t have an open mind, you’re probably not open to Jared Brandt. A serial innovator, Jared is always turning his critical gaze not only back on himself, but on everything. Nothing is sacred, which means everything is possible.
Jared was born with a wicked palate—he can taste the sulfur in ‘0/0’ wines and he knows when grapes have fermented in plastic tea-bins. He was also born with an unusually large brain. Combine the two and point them at wine and...well, the outcome speaks for itself.
Brandt abruptly abandoned his career in tech when, in 2001, he had a Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc made by Eric Texier. He immediately (I mean within a week!) moved to France to work with him. Eric, a material scientist, mentored Jared and cultivated his instinct to make wines from the heart that express his character and bow to no-one. Jared returned home and started making wines that critics didn’t know what to do with. Skeptics mocked his early efforts, and his wines sold mainly outside the US.
!2% alcohol? Pet-Nat? High-acid chardonnay? This wasn’t even wine!
But Jared forged on, and gradually people responded to wines with no chemical additives, wines that had accurate and honest labeling, single vineyard wines that were expressive of ‘place’. Natural wine became a thing—even though Jared was hesitant to call himself a natural winemaker.
20 years later, Jared continues to evolve and question his own legacy.
Come join us this Thursday for a reboot, and update and a taste of a new beginning.
RSVP: https://forms.gle/Biif5EhY9AyaM7Ct7
The Details:
When: Thursday evenings from 5-8 pm
Guided Winemaker Tasting, 6-7 pm
Where: Donkey & Goat Winery, 1340 5th Street Berkeley
Cost: $15 for entry, includes splash of D&G wine and guided tasting of 3-4 wines
Event Links
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3231324-0
