Methode Sauvage Iruai California Alps 2018

The California Alps is a multi-site white blend made under the Methode Sauvage label by Chad Hinds, who later rebranded the project as Iruai. The 2018 vintage draws from high-elevation vineyards spanning the Shasta-Cascade region down through El Dorado and Calaveras County, with Savagnin fruit sourced from the Trinity Lakes AVA in Siskiyou County, where Hinds discovered an organic planting at Alpen Cellars and bought fruit before the grower pulled the vines.

The blend is 40% Chardonnay, 30% Savagnin, and 30% Bergeron, the Savoie synonym for Roussanne. Savagnin is the primary white grape of the Jura, where it produces vin jaune and oxidative blends defined by cut acidity and nutty depth. Bergeron, known in the Chignin-Bergeron cru of the Savoie, brings aromatic lift and stony texture to the blend. Chardonnay anchors the wine with weight and fruit. The result is a continental-feeling white with an alpine profile that does not exist elsewhere in California.

Winemaking is natural throughout: no fining, no filtration, and no added sulfur dioxide. The short, intense growing season at high elevation drives the tension between ripe fruit and high acidity that defines the style. The continental climate around Mount Shasta, including wide diurnal swings, preserves freshness and pushes aromatic complexity in directions that lower-elevation California whites rarely reach.

The California Alps white is explicitly modeled on the white wines of the Jura and Savoie, specifically in its use of alpine grape varieties in cold, high-elevation sites. It is not a replica but a California interpretation shaped by volcanic soils, mountain prairie terroir, and a winemaker with a deliberate point of view about where California wine can go.