Tendu Wine Company Cortese Clarksburg 2020

For Jill and Steve Matthiasson, winemaking is a natural extension of farming. The couple has worked for many years in the sustainable agriculture and local food movement. Steve has dreamt of farming his entire life. He became an obsessed gardener and cook while studying philosophy in college. In 1994, while in grad school for horticulture, he found a job in vineyards and orchards working for a small sustainable agriculture consulting firm. In 1999, he co-authored the California manual on sustainable vineyard practices. In 2002, he started consulting on vineyard practices in Napa, a passion he still explores today. Jill always felt the intersection of nature and culture was the most important thing. She studied botany at Penn, researched ancient farming techniques in Israel, and studied traditional methods for soil health in grad school at UC Davis. She pioneered “farmer to farmer” networking for sustainability in the early 90s while working for a family farming non-profit. She ran programs training farmers on direct sales, such as CSAs and farmers' markets, before local food had the momentum it now has. As the family grew, that passion translated into more local action, like teaching cooking from the garden classes in the local grade school and serving on the Napa Farmer’s Market board. In 2003, the couple started Matthiasson Wines based on these shared values. Their wines are classical expressions of different grape varieties, some well-known like Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, and some rare like Ribolla Gialla and Refosco. The wines are refreshing, complementary of food, and are always moderate in alcohol. 

Cortese (kor-TEH-zeh) is a grape native to Piemonte in northwest Italy and has been grown in this region since at least the middle of the 17th century. It is best known as the sole variety used in the production of Gavi, regarded as one of the finest white wines of Piedmont. This Cortese is from the Lost Slough Vineyard in Clarksburg. Fermentation took place with native yeasts in neutral oak barrels, and the wine was bottled unfiltered. This wine is light and bright with aromas of citrus fruits and roasted almonds, followed by flavors of green apple, melon, and white peach. The mineral edge gives this wine intrigue and would bring delight to any day spent under the sun!