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Herrera Alvarado "Natural" Blanco 00

$27.00

Winemaker: Carolina Alvarado and Arturo Herrera

Appellation: Marga Marga, Chile

Grape Varieties: Sauvignon Blanc

is made from their own-rooted Sauvignon Blanc grown on clay in the Marga Marga Valley. Grapes are hand-harvested in mid-March, destemmed by hand with a Zaranda (the local name for a destemmer), and given 5 days of skin maceration during fermentation in concrete tanks without temperature control. After fermentation is completed, the wine is pressed into old barrels to rest for 3 years before bottling without fining, filtration, or SO2 addition.

For Carolina Alvarado and Arturo Herrera, wine is the connection between nature and people. Founded in 2003, Herrera-Alvarado is considered the founder of the now-budding natural wine movement in Chile. Local peasant farmers, or Huasos, have always made wine for home consumption without any additives. After studying agriculture, Carolina and Arturo because very taken with these types of living wines and decided to devote themselves to making wine in this style. Winemaking in the Marga Marga valley, where their cellar is located, dates back to the 14th century.

Through word of mouth, Carolina and Arturo learned from the many wine characters in the valley how to make wine in that old style. Perhaps the most unique part of traditional winemaking that they have adapted into their cellar is the use of cow leather for fermentation. Carolina and Arturo built their cellar themselves in the adobe style out of clay from their own vineyards. There is no electricity; everything is done by hand.