Take a Little Trip: East Bay Wineries with Organically Grown Wines

How many wineries does it take to become "wine country?" The East Bay's become a burgeoning winemaking scene. The Alameda home winemaking scene is pretty cool and in recent years, a few small professional negociant wineries have cropped up. (Negociant means they buy their grapes from vineyards; this was/is the traditional model in Burgundy for many years).

There are three wineries right here in the East Bay that now offer one or more organically grown wines - and of course, a "natural' wine bar you'll want to check out, too.

Berkeley:

1. Two Mile Wines in Berkeley (new!)
Two Mile specializes in organically grown Rhone varietals. They're opening a new tasting room in Berkeley.







Oakland (near Jack London):

Both the Oakland wineries are located near Jack London Square. Most of their wines are not organically grown, but they do have a few:

1. Dashe Cellars
Dashe has two organically grown wines: a Riesling and a Zin, both grown in Mendocino's McFadden Vineyard.

2. Urban Legend
Urban Legend's Lake County grown Sauvignon Blanc (called Carmen Miranda's Hat) is organically grown.

3. Wine Bar: Punchdown (downtown Oakland)

And while you're out and about, you might want to add a visit to Punchdown wine bar in downtown Oakland, which serves a number of organically grown wines from around the world. They are also the place to stock up on Natural Process Alliance's wine which is taking locavore wine to new levels.

(Note: Punchdown serves some wines that are made from certified organic grapes and many that are not; so ask for their help in making your selection. Most wine bars serve wine from "practicing organic" as well as certified organic sources. Personally I prefer for now to stick to the certified ones.)

East Bay Wine Country

So when visitors come to call, you'll be able to bring them to organic "wine country" right in the urban environs, should you wish. You could even bike or take public transportation. In fact, if you live in city, you could even visit the Oakland wineries by taking the ferry - how fun is that!

Bliss State: Batic Wines - Natural AND Organic

With Miha Batic and Batic's Rose

I don't usually blog about foreign wines, since my aim is to promote the local organic and biodynamic wines of California (and the Northwest) but that's certainly not to say I don't enjoy wines from other regions.

The burgeoning natural wine movement here is making some exceptional wines, sometimes using organically grown grapes (though they are often not certified). I hope to see them move more into certified sources as we the consumers do our part to move the growers, vintners and industry in that direction.

It was a great pleasure to taste the natural, organic wines from a very old  winery and vineyards in Slovenia, an important place in wine history, since the wines of Slovenia tell us a great deal about how wines from the past taste - in addition to being fantastic wines you will be sure to want to try. Batic was founded in 1594. The wines are mouthfilling, flavorful, and decidedly unlike anything from the U.S.

I'd say the patrons of Punchdown were fairly unanimous in falling in love with the wines of Batic (located in the Vipava Valley). Wednesday we also got extra tastes of the Pinot Gris and a blow-you-away red dessert wine Valentino.

I have already posted the list of wines in the tasting, but just so you know, the Batic flight will continue to be offered at Punchdown so if you haven't tried to taste the past in the present, there's still time.

Batic is distributed here by Blue Danube Wines. You can purchase the wines at Punchdown or online Blue Danube Wines.

Slovenian Wine Flight at Punchdown in Oakland - 5/25 (Wed.)

Last minute notice from Punchdown - rare opportunity to taste Slovenian wines, a region famous for its tradition of making natural wines:


"Please join us on Wednesday May 25^th from 6-9 PM as The Punchdown welcomes Miha Batič of Batič Winery from the Vipava Valley, Slovenia. Miha runs the Batič Winery (and farm), which places a special emphasis on natural production and maintaining traditions inherited from a winemaking legacy dating back to 1592! The Batič Winery is exemplary for creating pure, natural wines reflecting a sense of place!

The cost of the flight is $25 for members of the mailing list, Facebook fans, & Twitter followers (just tell me on flight night)!  $30 for everyone else - and consists of four two ounce tastes (possibly a surprise bonus as well!). All wines are available by the glass & retail while supply lasts. These are special prices for flight night only!

-2010 Rosé of Cabernet Sauvignon $12 per glass / $23 retail bottle

-2009 Rebula $12 per glass / $23 retail bottle

-2008 Cabernet Franc $14 per glass / $30 retail bottle

-2009 Zaria (55% Pinela, 20% Zelen, 10% Rebula, 8% Vitovska, 4% Klarnica) 

(“Zaria” translates to “dawn” as in a new dawn to an ancient wine culture. It is a true orange wine where all the varietals are co-fermented on the skins.) $18 per glass / $38 retail bottle

Come on down to The Punchdown this Wednesday, May 25^th for a chance to taste the wines of Batič Winery and meet the man behind them! Let’s take a little voyage to Slovenia ...  one sip at a time!"

I looked up the winery on Google and found this writeup online as well as these tasting notes.

More about the Vipava Valley.

Vipava Valley is in the southwest corner of Slovenia, close to the Adriatic.