Grape Republic Bianco Yamagata White 2021

Grape Republic Bianco Yamagata White 2021

Grape Republic
$45.00

Grape: Delaware, Niagara Grapes
Vintage: 2021
Type: White

This natural white wine is an un-oaked blend of Delaware and Niagara grapes sourced from small farmers in Yamagata. The winemaking team follows a strict hands-off philosophy, using a gentle whole-bunch press followed by a spontaneous native yeast fermentation. Vinification takes place entirely in neutral stainless steel tanks and buried clay amphorae to preserve primary fruit aromatics. The wine undergoes a short maturation process on its fine lees before bottling completely unfined, unfiltered, and un-sulfured.

It displays a pale straw hue with green highlights, releasing clean aromas of green apple, fresh pear, and delicate white blossoms. A light-to-medium frame balances crisp orchard fruit flavors with an underlying zesty mineral core. A lively wave of natural acidity cuts through the center of the wine, providing excellent lift and refreshing energy. The short lees aging lends a subtle structural cushion that rounds out the mouthfeel nicely. It finishes completely dry.

Grape Republic is a young natural-wine project in Nanyo City, Yamagata, founded in 2017 with a mission that is as agricultural as it is cultural. Working in a region of broad temperature swings, low humidity and increasingly abandoned farmland, the team farms organically and focuses on grapes that can speak clearly in Japan's climate, especially Delaware along with varieties such as Niagara, Steuben, Merlot and Muscat Bailey A. In the cellar the style is deliberately hands-off: wild yeasts, no unnecessary additives and a strong use of amphora, producing bright, textural wines that feel more like a direct conversation with Yamagata than an imitation of Europe.