Hiyu Wine Farm Smockshop Band White Wine 2022

Hiyu Wine Farm Smockshop Band White Wine 2022

Hiyu Wine Farm
$48.00

Grape: Chardonnay Pinot Gris
Vintage: 2022
Type: White

This dry white wine is an artisanal field blend combining Chardonnay and Pinot Gris from regeneratively farmed vineyards in the Columbia Gorge. Winemaker Nate Ready implements a low-intervention approach in the vineyard and cellar, skipping modern chemical corrections or commercial yeast selections. The hand-picked grapes are pressed directly into seasoned French oak barrels for a completely spontaneous fermentation driven by native wild yeasts. The wine matures on its fine lees without filtration to encourage natural structural harmony.

It pours a pale straw-yellow color, releasing clear aromatics of green orchard fruit, lemon flesh, and white flowers. On the palate, a sleek, medium-bodied frame balances crisp fruit flavors with an underlying stony mineral core. A lively wave of natural acidity cuts through the waxy texture, maintaining great freshness. Subtle notes of raw almond and a distinct salinity add depth across the clean mouthfeel. It finishes dry, leaving a persistent mineral trace.

Hiyu is a true mixed farm with pigs, cows, chickens, ducks and geese living among the vines during different parts of the year and helping to control the vegetation. Nate calls their vineyard management, which has been deeply influenced by Masanobu Fukuoka, “the wild side of permaculture”.

The property is divided into half-acre blocks, each planted to a field blend from a different place or moment in the genetic history of the grapevine, 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 used to work as a sommelier in various 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.