Hiyu Wine Farm Arcoiris 2020

Hiyu Wine Farm Arcoiris 2020

Hiyu Wine Farm
$120.00

Grape: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris
Vintage: 2020
Type: Red

This low-intervention red wine is a field blend of pinot noir and pinot gris grown on the steep slopes of the Columbia Gorge. Winemaker Nate Ready practices regenerative viticulture, cultivating the vines on complex silt loam and volcanic soils. The hand-harvested grapes are co-fermented whole-cluster using native vineyard wild yeasts in traditional neutral open tuns. It undergoes a natural maturation process, aging for over a year in old French oak barrels to integrate its structural elements.

It radiates a translucent ruby hue with copper reflections, opening with expressive aromas of wild strawberry, pomegranate, and orange peel. On the palate, the light-bodied frame is juicy and precise, balancing crunchy red fruits with a mineral tension. Soft, delicate tannins integrate with a clean wave of mountain acidity that keeps the mouthfeel light. Subtle notes of damp earth and fresh forest floor develop across the fluid core. It finishes dry, persistent, and clean.

Winery

Hiyu is a true mixed farm, with pigs, cows, chickens, ducks, and geese living among the vines at different times of the year and helping control the vegetation. Nate calls their vineyard management, deeply influenced by Masanobu Fukuoka, “the wild side of permaculture”. The property is divided into half-acre blocks, each planted as a field blend from a different place or moment in the grapevine's genetic history, with up to 150 different varieties and clones in total.

The name “Hiyu” comes from Chinook Jargon, where it denotes “abundance”, “plenty” or “big party”. Nate Ready worked as a sommelier at several fine establishments, including the lauded Thomas Keller’s French Laundry in Napa Valley. China Tresemer, the estate’s co-founder and agriculturalist, is also a talented illustrator who creates all the labels.

Manual harvest into small baskets, whole-cluster macerations, foot-treading and basket press, slow fermentation with indigenous yeasts only. Aged in old neutral oak barrels of various sizes. No fining or filtration, no sulfur at bottling.