Niche Niche explores Californian Terroir

The Menu…

Halibut, Spot Prawn Ceviche with Pickled Jalapeño & Tostada

Matt Taylor Wines, Komorebi Vineyard  Chardonnay 2017

With winemaking experience at Joseph Swan Vineyards, Domaine Dujac, and other wineries located around the world - plus, responsibility as vineyard manager and head winemaker at Araujo Estate Wines, Matt Taylor is one of the leading winemakers in California. Located about 5 miles from the Pacific Ocean along the West Sonoma Coast, Matt Taylor and his wife Makaela have planted two parcels - one to Loire varieties and one to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. This area is near and dear to Matt, as he was born and raised just outside of the nearby town of Occidental. Matt uses his extensive knowledge of viticulture to farm these plots biodynamically as well as without any irritation. 

The Komorebi vineyard is 6.25ha of sandy loam - it sits in very close proximity to many sequoia trees. This inspired the name for the vineyard as “Komorebi'' means “sunlight filtered through the leaves of trees” in Japanese. With the close location to the Pacific, the vineyard experiences cooler temperatures from morning fog and ocean breezes. This, combined with a long growing season helps create the wine’s high acid and freshness with a low alcohol and depth of fruit.

The vines are dry-farmed organically and biodynamically on soils that have never seen chemicals.The chardonnay undergoes 100% whole cluster fermentation, longer élevage in larger casks, and extended bottle-aging. Fermentation occurs with native yeasts in a concrete egg and sits 4 months sur lie. The wine is then racked to 600L demi-muids.

The Grape: 100% Chardonnay

The Region: Sonoma Coast

The Wine: Chardonnay from a coastal Sonoma plot biodynamically farm and dry-farmed by California viticulture specialist Matt Taylor. Fermented in concrete egg and sur lie for 4 months.

Charred Ramp & Ricotta Pasta, Poached Egg, Morel Mushroom

Ridge Vineyards, Grenache Blanc 2018

Ridge Vineyards in a storied estate based around the historic Monte Bello vineyard and single vineyard sites. The vineyard itself dates back to 1885 when Dr. Osea Perrone purchased 180 acres along Monte Bello Ridge to plant vines and build a winery. The first vintage of Monte Bello was then made in 1892. From there, Dr. William Short purchased the vineyard adjacent and planted cabernet sauvignon - this land was then purchased from him in 1959 by three Stanford researchers who, in 1962, founded Ridge Vineyards bottled the first Monte Bello cabernet. Two years later, the first zinfandel, another speciality of Ridge, is bottled. Paul Draper then joined in 1969 - his experience in vineyard management and focus on very traditional methods perfectly complemented the minimal intervention style Ridge was already using. Draper helped to build the winery to gain international reputation. One event that helped with this was the Judgement of Paris in 1976. Ridge entered their Monte Bello and placed fifth - another positive bump in reputation for the winery.

Outside of Sonoma, Ridge continues to focus on single vineyards - the grenache blanc bottling comes from a vineyard in Adelaida District, located west of Paso Robles amongst the hills. With limestone soils and a close proximity to the Pacific, white Rhone varieties grow well. This bottling is 75% Grenache Blanc, 15% Picpoul, 10% Roussanne. 44% is fermented in stainless steel tank with 56% fermented in barrel. The wine is then aged in a variety of vessels: 12% new american oak, 10% 4yr old american oak, 78% 5yr old american oak, and 10% in new french oak for 8 months.

The Grapes: 75% Grenache Blanc, 15% Picpoul, 10% Roussanne

The Region: Adelaida Hills

The Wine: A white Rhone variety blend mainly featuring Grenache Blanc, this wine is textured with fabulous minerality and ripe fruit. Fermented in both barrel and stainless, the wine is then aged in a large variety of oak barrels with varying newness.

Roasted Leg of Lamb, Fregola Sarda, English Peas, Spiced Carrots, Herb Pesto

Heitz Cellar, Grignolino 2016

Family owned since 1961, Heitz Cellar has an important history in Napa Valley. Joe Heitz began making wine the 1950s and purchased his first vineyard in 1961 - an 8ha vineyard in St. Helena where the winery is still located. Joe Heitz then acquired Martha’s Vineyard and was the first to bottle a single vineyard designated cabernet sauvignon in Napa Valley in 1966 - this secured the Heitz Cellar name as a top winery in California, the US, and the world.

This bottling is made from 100% Grignolino, an Italian variety from the Piedmont region in northern Italy. The Grignolino grape has large berries with many seeds, very thin skin, and a light color. Heitz Cellar is the only producer of a 100% varietal Grignolino in the US. The grapes are fermented and aged 6 to 9 months in 100% stainless steel tanks after harvesting.

The Grape: 100% Grignolino

The Region: Napa Valley

The Wine: 100% Grignolino fermented in stainless and aged 6-9 months before bottling. Bright and fresh red fruit with a balanced acidity.

Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble with Citrus Whipped Cream

Las Jaras Wines, Sparkling Carignan 2018

Joel Burt, winemaker in Sonoma and Napa since the early 2000s, and Eric Wareheim, comedian from the duo Tim & Eric, are the winemakers behind Las Jaras Wines. Founded in 2014, the goal of the project is “to make delicious wine that has tons of energy and balance. We want them to be vibrant, delicate, and supple all at the same time while also being food friendly and easy for anyone to enjoy” - the project makes a large variety of wines that all subscribe to this style. 

This bottling is 97% Carignan and 3% Zinfandel from Zaina Vineyard located in the southern Ukiah Valley in Mendocino County. The vineyard is a certified sustainable, no-till vineyard. No irrigation is used in the vineyard and the soils are dominantly a gravely loam. The grapes are hand-picked and whole-cluster pressed in a stainless steel tank - with slightly temperature control during fermentation, the wine was able to be stabilized around 2.5 brix. The wine was then left to sit for a few weeks before racking the wine and adding a Champagne yeast culture. After that, the wine  was left in bottle for 15 months before disgorgement - after disgorgement the bottles were simply topped up with no sugar or sulfur addition and corked. A very small production wine, Las Jaras only made 632 cases

The Grapes: 97% Carignan, 3% Zinfandel

The Region: Ukiah Valley, Mendocino County

The Wine: A sparkling, light rose from Carignan and Zinfandel made in the Las Jaras “methode untraditionelle” style - all stainless steel with 15 months before disgorgement