San Francisco Wine Trading Wine Tasting

2022 Glinavos Paleokerisio (500 ml) — $16.94 Lefteris Glinavos established his winery in 1978 after studying winemaking in Bordeaux and returning to his native Epirus in northwestern Greece. Based in Zitsa, the estate works with the region’s traditional grapes, grown in a mountainous landscape of limestone soils and cool growing conditions. Paleokerisio revives a local method of making wine that predates modern temperature-controlled cellars.The 2022 combines 97% Debina, a white grape, with 3% red Vlachiko. The destemmed grapes ferment on their skins in oak vats for twelve days. As temperatures fall, fermentation stops and the wine is racked through autumn and winter. A second fermentation takes place in a closed tank, producing its natural carbonation before bottling with some residual grape sugar.

2025 Tessier Electric Ladyland — $24.94 Kristie Tacey founded Tessier in 2009 after leaving a career in research science for winemaking. Working in Berkeley with organically farmed fruit from family-owned California vineyards, she brings an experimental approach to blending and skin fermentation. Electric Ladyland takes its name from Jimi Hendrix’s “Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland),” reflecting the connection between music and her work in the cellar.The 2025 blends 72% Albariño from Clements Hills near Lodi with 14% Sauvignon Blanc from Sonoma and 14% Gewürztraminer from Monterey. Each variety ferments separately with native yeasts: seven days on the skins for the Albariño and fourteen for the other two grapes. The wines spend three months on their lees in neutral French oak before blending and bottling without fining or filtration.

2023 Hiyu Lorelei — $74.94 Nate Ready and the Hiyu team use the Tzum wines to explore small vineyard parcels throughout the Columbia Gorge. Lorelei comes from Underwood Mountain, where vineyards rise above the Columbia River at the edge of the rainforest. Its name draws on the legend of the Lorelei on the Rhine, connecting this dramatic river landscape with the steep vineyards of Germany.The 2023 brings together Albariño and Gewürztraminer harvested during the first week of November. The late harvest reflects the unusually long growing season possible on this part of the mountain. Both varieties ferment together on their skins in a conical wooden vat for ten days before being pressed into barrel. Fermentation finishes there, followed by a little over a year of aging.

2024 Podere Pradarolo Ex Alba — $26.94 Alberto and Claudia’s Podere Pradarolo lies in the Ceno Valley, in the hills outside Parma in Emilia-Romagna. Their work combines organic farming with the preservation of older grape varieties and traditional cellar practices. Extended skin fermentation is central to the winery, with indigenous yeasts, no temperature control during fermentation, and no added sulfur.Ex Alba is made entirely from Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. The grapes remain with their skins for several weeks, allowing fermentation to proceed before the wine is separated from the solids. Fermentation and aging take place in stainless steel and concrete, and the wine is bottled without fining or filtration. It follows the estate’s practice of giving white grapes extended skin contact and time in the cellar.

2024 Florez Kind of Orange — $30.94 James Jelks founded Florez Wines in 2017 after studying winemaking at UC Davis and working harvests internationally. Raised around Santa Cruz, he returned to the area to build a small winery focused on organic farming, native fermentations, and minimal intervention. His work includes both vineyards he farms himself and fruit sourced from other growers.Kind of Orange is made entirely from Viognier grown inland in the Cienega Valley. The 2024 ferments with native yeasts and spends three weeks on its skins, with approximately a quarter of the fruit kept as whole clusters. After pressing, the wine ages for six months on its lees in neutral French oak. It is bottled without filtration or added sulfur.

2023 Domaine de l’Écu Alaya — $54.94 Based in Le Landreau in the Loire Valley, Domaine de l’Écu has a long history of organic and biodynamic farming. Fred and Claire Niger continue that work while exploring grapes and vineyards beyond the estate through their Temps des Copains wines. Amphora aging plays an important role in this part of their production.Alaya is made entirely from organically grown Pineau d’Aunis, a traditional red grape of the Loire. The fruit is harvested by hand and received in the cellar by gravity, without pumping. Fermentation takes place with indigenous yeasts, followed by twelve months in amphora. The wine is then bottled without fining or filtration, completing a cellar process built around gentle handling and extended aging in clay.