Say When Weird Parties Red 2019

Weird Parties Red is a 67% Grenache Noir, 33% Pinot Noir blend from two distinct Central Coast vineyards. The Grenache comes from Martian Ranch in Los Alamos, a 20-acre Demeter Certified Biodynamic estate on Alisos Canyon Road farmed on shaley clay loam soils locally called 'moon dust,' with a microclimate that runs 10 degrees cooler than the Santa Ynez Valley and 10 degrees warmer than Santa Maria. The Pinot Noir is sourced from Spanish Springs Vineyard in Arroyo Grande, a SIP Certified Sustainable site located roughly 1.5 miles from the Pacific Ocean in San Luis Obispo County, with soils of marine shale, limestone, and sandstone.

The grapes were hand-harvested on September 19, 2019, then co-fermented with 21 days of semi-carbonic maceration using native yeast. The wine aged for 7 months in neutral French oak and was bottled unfined and unfiltered. No winemaking additions are confirmed beyond what the process implies; this is a low-intervention production from start to finish.

Winemaker Rachel Silkowski DeAscentiis operates out of a shared winery space in Lompoc, CA. She trained under Brian Loring at Loring Wine Company, where she worked as assistant winemaker before launching Say When with her husband Michel DeAscentiis in 2016. The Weird Parties label is Say When's designated experimental line, used to explore techniques outside their core varietal wines.