Ladies Choice Wine Club

Ladies Choice Wine Club

This wine club is dedicated to all the ladies out there who like their red wines, light, low alcohol and delicious. A red-only wine club, think Mencía, Gamay, Pinot Noir, easy, enjoyable, and a bit weird: Grolleau, Ruche, Schioppettino, Poulsard etc..

This wine club and the name were inspired by Alejandro’s wife Melissa Keller, thank her or blame her.

Ladies Choice Vol. 17

This month, our Ladies Choice Club features two natural wines. Both Damien Guadagnolo and Iria Otero represent the cutting edge of low-intervention winemaking in Europe.

Damien Guadagnolo is a former European professional boxing champion who retired from the ring to focus on winemaking. He spent seven years farming and making wine alongside Jura’s natural wine icon, Jean-François Ganevat, before launching his own estate. He manages roughly 2.8 hectares of biodynamic vineyards in southern Jura, working with clay, limestone, and marl soils. His winemaking style is strictly zero-additive, natural winemaking (sans soufre) using native yeast fermentations, whole-cluster maceration for reds, and neutral oak aging. He produces pure, energetic expressions of Poulsard, Trousseau, Gamay, Chardonnay, and Savagnin.

Iria Otero has a PhD in Enology from the University of La Rioja and has accumulated 12 years of experience at top Spanish estates, including Dominio do Bibei in Ribeira Sacra. She launched her independent project in 2015, focusing on small-batch production across Galicia's Ribeiro and Rías Baixas regions. She farms organically on granite and sandy soils without herbicides or insecticides, often restoring old, abandoned native vineyards. Her winemaking style emphasizes texture, minerality, and maritime salinity over sheer fruit power. And most importantly: her use of indigenous Galician grapes, including Albariño, Treixadura, Godello, Brancellao, and Caíño Longo.

Iria Otero A Seara Castes Tintas 2022 $24.00

This low-intervention red wine is an artisanal blend of native varieties sousón, caíño tinto, and brancellao from the Ribeiro region of Spain. Winemaker Iria Otero sources the fruit from small, sustainably managed plots rooted in complex granitic soils. The hand harvested grapes undergo a spontaneous native fermentation driven by wild vineyard yeasts in neutral stainless steel vats and the aged in neutral oak for maximum freshness.

It displays a bright ruby hue, releasing a lively bouquet of fresh cherry, wild strawberry, and floral spice. On the palate, the light-to-medium body is silky and fluid, focusing on an energetic, high-toned fruit presentation. Notes of crushed rock and damp earth add a savory depth across mid-palate volume. A zesty thread of natural acidity cuts through the texture, keeping the mouthfeel thoroughly refreshed and versatile. It finishes clean and dry, benefiting from a slight chill.

Damien Guadagnolo Gamay 2022 $ 46

This small-batch red wine showcases a pure expression of gamay from steep, wind whipped granite slopes in Saint-Amour. Winemaker Damien Guadagnolo utilizes a low intervention approach, featuring traditional semi- carbonic maceration with whole bunches inside neutral concrete vats. Hand- harvested fruit is handled gently to avoid extracting harsh seed tannins during a warm growing season. Aged on fine lees in old wood barrels before an unfiltered bottling, it presents a transparent look at granitic terroir.

It shows a bright, translucent purple color, releasing clean aromas of wild blackberry, damp violet petals, and cracked black pepper. On the palate, a crunch of wild blueberry and tart cranberry fruit is cradled by fine, chalky tannins. A vertical line of energetic acidity carries the mid-palate, keeping the fluid mouthfeel refreshed. Subtle notes of potting soil and crushed granite add savory depth across the core. It finishes clean, dry, and persistent, leaving a light trace of wild thyme.

Enjoy ladies,