Swick Wines City Pop Pet Nat 2019

City Pop is a six-grape pét-nat that crosses state lines: Viognier comes from sandy loam soils in Washington's Columbia Valley at around 1,600 feet elevation in the Yakima area, while Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Auxerrois, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir are sourced from Willamette Valley sites at 600 to 1,000 feet, grown on a mix of sandy loam, volcanic soils, and marine sediment.

Winemaker Joe Swick handled each variety separately. Viognier and Pinot Noir were direct pressed and fermented with native yeast. Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Auxerrois, and Pinot Gris each received 14 days of skin maceration, with ferments worked by foot once or twice daily and no temperature control. The wine was bottled before fermentation finished to trap the bubbles, then disgorged before release. A small addition of sulfur at disgorgement is the only additive. No filtration.

The result sits between a pét-nat and an orange wine: the skin-contact whites give it a lightly tannic, textured body and an amber-rose hue, while the direct-press Pinot Noir and Viognier keep it fresh and floral. Expect violet, red berry, and tangerine notes alongside a leesy, slightly savory finish.

City Pop takes its name from a Japanese music genre that emerged in the late 1970s and 1980s. The wine drinks best cold, ideally within a year or two of release.