Hiyu Wine Farm Moon Dog wine bottle
Hiyu Wine Farm Moon Dog 2022 – alternate view 2
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Hiyu Wine Farm Moon Dog 2022

Hiyu Wine Farm
$145.00

Grape: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris
Vintage: 2022
Type: Red

This red wine represents the fourth release of Moon Dog, skipping the un-readied 2020 and 2021 lots to focus on a classical profile. Winemaker Nate Ready co-ferments pinot noir and pinot gris from regeneratively farmed plots in the Columbia Gorge. The grapes undergo a three-week skin maceration as whole clusters before fermenting spontaneously with native vineyard yeasts. It is aged for over two full years in neutral French oak barrels to emulate traditional old-school Burgundy methods.

It pours a luminous ruby color with garnet highlights, releasing an intensely lifted nose of high-pitched spice, dried rose petals, and truffles. A medium-bodied, robust frame pairs concentrated red fruits with a serious, fine-grained tannin structure. The extended barrel aging provides a subtle structural weight that replaces simple fruity notes with deep complexity. A clean wave of natural acidity cuts through the volume, keeping the fluid mouthfeel completely refreshed. It finishes bone-dry.

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.