Swick Wines Piquette 1.0 2020

Piquette 1.0 is made from the pomace left behind after pressing the grapes for Swick's City Pop skin-contact white. The leftover skins of Verdelho (50%), Sauvignon Blanc (25%), and Semillon (25%), grown on sandy loam soils in Washington's Columbia Valley at around 1,600 feet elevation, were rehydrated with water to draw out residual sugars. That rehydrated pomace was pressed a second time and bottled at approximately zero Brix, with fermentation completing in the bottle in the same way a pétillant naturel is made. ABV lands at 8.7%, and total production was 80 cases.

Each of the three varieties was fermented separately with 14 days of skin maceration before being used for City Pop, meaning the pomace going into Piquette 1.0 had already given considerable color and phenolic extraction. What remains in the glass is pale, lightly fizzy, and driven by bright acidity and residual aromatic character from the Verdelho, Sauvignon Blanc, and Semillon skins.

Swick sources from organically and biodynamically farmed vineyards exclusively, and no conventional additives are used. This wine contains no added sulfur. Drink it cold and soon — piquette is not built for aging.