Chuchaqui's a Quechua word that means “legless guy,” used in Ecuador to refer to someone who is “perpetually hungover.” No more needs be said about how our buddies Ryan Stirm and Jehan Hakimian named their project, devoted to making natural wine from CA’s historic grape varieties. In this case? Negrette! Among the rarest of all CA varieties, it was originally brought to France from Cyprus by the Knights Templar. It's now only found in SW France and a couple of spots in California... including this organic plot they source from in the San Benito Valley. As Jehan says, “It’s natural wine the cool kids love but with the sensibility (i.e. structure, ripeness) of old school Cali."
