Ortica Wine List Education Project. Entry 002: Anthill Farms Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

 

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The concept of the wine is a no-bullshit approach to making good, connected wine that expresses the land and weather of specific vineyard sites around the Northern California coast.anthill-ant-white

Anthill farms is the project of three winemakers, Anthony Filiberti, Webster Marquez and David Low, who all met while working together at Williams Selyem. After the end of the 2003 Vintage the three took a trip around the Willamette Valley, where the idea for Anthill Farms was born. The name derived from either friends watching them all work together making the wine or the image of the many tiny parcels of land all coming together linking product to place. Not really sure exactly, but this is what I have read.

p-2224-anthill-farms_1The concept of the wine is a no-bullshit approach to making good, connected wine that expresses the land and weather of specific vineyard sites around the Northern California coast. Having personal relationships with vineyards like Campbell Ranch, Demuth, Tina Marie, Peters and so on, these wines show remarkable personality with each iteration. The whole idea here is tamper free terroir. Their limited use of new oak shows that they are not just after pleasing the masses, they actually want to do the grape justice.  To be certain, the exemption of fining and filtering proves they really want the wine to show its true colors.

This particular bottle is the second vintage of its kind and is sourced sonoma-coastfrom two points in the vast Sonoma Coast appellation. The upper edge of the Petaluma Gap and the north end near the sea. The ripening conditions, given the coastal proximity leave the grapes on the vine until late October. With that you’re seeing the grapes really struggle to ripen,  giving the wine a tense, but welcoming quality. Popping with bitter blood orange and raspberry underneath an elegant floral bouquet. It sits on the palate long after you take your first sip, leading you down a rabbit hole of visceral and tactile sensations not soon forgotten.

Currently distributed in the Western United States by Revel Wine.

The Amaro Induction

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We’ve come a long way since the days of Jager-bombs, Peppermint Schnapps and Goldschläger. Remember when 99 Bananas actually seemed like a good idea?

Ok, well maybe that was never really the case but none the less, we are in the midst of an educated alcohol revolution.

From craft cocktails to craft beer, wine and spirits to bittersweet liqueurs, we are seeing vast improvements on quality and consumer awareness.

 Maybe not to anyone’s surprise it seems like the United States has been a little behind the palate for most of the gorgeous liquid offerings of the world.

Most still think Fireball is “hot-shit” for lack of a more appropriate term, but some have already begun to explore the vast offerings of quality indigenous beverages throughout the world.

So maybe you haven’t been introduced to the beautiful world of Amari yet , or  maybe you’ve read a blurb about them on Tasting Table online. Perhaps you’ve dabbled with one or two at Pizzeria Ortica in Costa Mesa, maybe you and your hipster friends still think its cool to bust out your Fernet coins at a bar (kinda cool actually), or maybe you’ve been drinking them with your Italian Grandmother since you started walking. 

Wherever you’re at I hope to serve as a catalyst for education and discovery in all things liquid, with of course as much focus on Amaro, and anything remotely resembling this “Italian liquid Gold”.

I am here for the beverage nerd in all of us.  

Cin Cin!

Joel Anthony Caruso 

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