C.O.E. + Artemis Botanical Wet Lunch 2020

Wet Lunch is a white-orange blend made under the Conspiracy of Equals (C.O.E.) label, a collaboration between Ian Thorsen-McCarthy of Artemis Botanical and fellow winemaker Esteechu Dunatte. The two were working in the same cellar when they each brought in fruit from the same grower on the same day. They pooled their lots and made one wine together. Colombard comes from Solano County; Muscat Ottonel and Orange Muscat from San Joaquin County.

In the cellar, the Colombard was directly pressed to preserve freshness and tension. The Muscats spent time on their skins, contributing floral intensity and texture. Artemis Botanical works exclusively with organically farmed fruit, ferments with native yeasts, and adds no sulfur at any stage.

The same fruit that went into Wet Lunch was later pressed again with water to make a piquette released under the First Flush label, making this the primary wine from that harvest. The C.O.E. label takes its name from the Conspiracy of Equals, the proto-socialist revolutionary movement led by Gracchus Babeuf in 18th-century France.