Organic Wines Uncorked: Close Out Deal of the Week: Martian Ranch and Vineyards Case Sale

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Close Out Deal of the Week: Martian Ranch and Vineyards Case Sale - $90/Case

Some of the best deals come from case close-out sales. How can that be?

Wineries just want to clear it all out.

Martian Ranch, a favorite of mine, making what you might call "naturalista" wines, is offering Grenache Blanc (2012 and 2013) along with a 2012 Mourvedre (it NEEDS to be aged this long at least, in general) and Grenache (2012).

These 2012 wines were made with minimal intervention and on native yeasts with loving care by Mike Roth, a Chronicle "Winemaker to Watch" in 2015. The 2013s were made by Greg Tatomer, a winemaker known for his great finesse.

You could be down at Bi-Rite market in the Mission paying $24 a bottle for the current Martian Ranch releases. Or you could call up the winery and order these in.

Shipping from Martian has been $20 (in state) in the past...making these a very good deal indeed.

And they have cool corks, to boot.

2 comments:

UnknownJuly 27, 2016 at 10:16 PM
I can't find a phone number. How do I order Close Out Deal of the Week: Martian Ranch and Vineyards Case Sale - $90/Case?
ReplyDelete
Replies
Pam StrayerAugust 4, 2016 at 8:35 AM
You can go to their web site: http://www.martianvineyard.com
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Wines We Cover

We publish information about wines grown from certified organic or Biodynamic vineyards that are generally made with sulfites (which are usually added in small amounts to preserve the wine).

That includes these certification types:

ORGANIC WINE CERTIFICATIONS

• Made with Organic Grapes

Vineyards: certified organic

Vinification: less than 100 ppm of sulfites (i.e. a normal range)

Winery: certified organic facility

Labeling: front or back label

• Ingredients: Organic Grapes

Vineyards: certified organic

Vinification: up to 350 ppm of sulfites (same as for any non organic wine)

Labeling: back label only

BIODYNAMIC® CERTIFICATIONS

• Biodynamic Wine

Vineyards: certified biodynamic

Yeasts: native

Vinification: less than 100 ppm of sulfites; no additives of any kind

Winery: certified biodynamic facility

Labeling: front or back label; Demeter logo may appear

• Made with Biodynamic Grapes

Vineyards: certified biodynamic

Yeasts: native or organic

Vinification: less than 100 ppm of sulfites; limited number of additives permitted

Winery: certified biodynamic facility

Labeling: front or back

Note: unlike organically grown wines, for which there is a category called "Ingredients: Organic Grapes," wines sourced from biodynamic grapes may not make any biodynamic claim on the bottle label. Bottle labeling is reserved for Demeter certified wines only.

SULFITES IN CONTEXT

According to U.C. Davis, the average among all wines in the U.S. (as well as globally) is 80 ppm.

WHAT THE USDA CALLS ORGANIC WINES

Unlike any other nation, the U.S. oddly imposes a no sulfite restriction on wines in order for them to be called Organic Wine. These wines are also called NSA or NAS wines (which stands for "No Sulfites Added" or "No Added Sulfites.")

From the above description, one can see that there are in fact three types of organically grown wines:

1. Organic Wine (less than 15% of all organically grown wine)

2. Made with Organic Grapes

3. Ingredients: Organic Grapes

The vast majority of wines from organic grapes are labeled Made with Organic Grapes, Ingredients: Organic Grapes or are blended with nonorganic grapes and unlabeled.

Fine winemakers do not generally make wine without sulfites and a number of large wine retailers like BevMo do not sell wine in the category of "USDA Organic Wine."

With rare exceptions, this blog does not cover what the USDA calls "Organic Wine."

We are hopeful that the USDA will revise the categorization of organically grown wines and make NSA or NAS wines a category of their own.

This would put the U.S. in accord with the rest of the world, where "Organic Wine" means a wine from certified grapes made within limits on sulfites (generally under 100-150 ppm).

Organic Wines Uncorked

Pages

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Close Out Deal of the Week: Martian Ranch and Vineyards Case Sale - $90/Case

2 comments:

Organic Resources