Usually we start with some schtick. An ironic quip of some sort. A cheap joke. An easy pun. In this case, though, if you'll permit it, we just kinda wanna get sentimental for a sec about how cool it is to be a part of the genuine community that is Californian winemaking.
When Donkey & Goat's Tracey Rogers Brandt realized the extent of her devastating vineyard losses to the fires of '21, she broadcast to her fellow winemakers... and the response was immediate and wildly heartening. Far from thoughts and prayers, people lent actual hands... and organically farmed grapes. Among other gifts was an offer to grab Grüner Veltliner from Joel Burt at Las Jaras. Given the sizable reduction in red grapes, Tracey decided to use it in a red/white blend -- an "electric Kool-Aid elixir " as she describes it, and/or a "Cali-brusco" as we do (there's a light, natural effervescence here, and this all but cries out to be chilled and served with a pizza from Rose or State Flour).
Why "Cannonball?" Because as Tracey said, forced to invent a new cuvée under duress and on the fly, she felt as if she were a kid again, holding her breath off the high dive while tucking her body in and hoping to land a... you got it. (As she said, when you're doing something that's never been done before, sometimes you have to jump first!) The base is 2/3 old-vine Carignane from Testa Vineyard filled out with organically farmed Grüner Veltliner, Grenache Blanc, Vermentino and a splish of Chardonnay.
The result? As the name suggests, this is an exciting, high-energy wine! Notes of Bing cherry, cranberry and red raspberry fruit all bounce off the high dive, and a mineral core, creamy red fruit, and zingy acid finish this off with Louganis-like flair.
We're proud both to be able to put these wines in your club, and to be a part of the all-hands-on-deck CA wine community; in an epoch of unprecedented, cannonball-esque (sorry) disruptions and challenges, you're helping small producers like Berkeley's own Donkey & Goat continue to make beautiful, handmade things.
