2022 Saltbird Cellars Albariño-Petit Manseng

Tasting Notes
This experimental blend is refreshing and fruit-forward. Albariño lends a zippy citrus that cuts across the palate, along with stone fruit flavors like white peach and apricot, and a lingering salinity. Petit-Manseng offers candied lemon and marmalade, round, mellow notes of baked apple and pear, and a touch of stony minerality.  Pair with medium hard cheeses like manchego and feta, fresh dishes like tabbouleh and roasted fish with herbs and lemon, oysters, and ceviche.

Process
The fruit for this wine is made from grapes sourced from the Cornell Cooperative Vineyard in Riverhead managed by Alice Wise. The Albariño and Petit Manseng came in with very high sugars in mid-October. This is an extremely small lot of production made with minimal winemaker input. There was no temperature control, so when the temperature dropped mid-ferment in October the fermentation came to an early end with residual sugar.

Varietals: 60% Albariño, 40% Petit Manseng 

Artist: Nadira Vlaun, www.nadiravlaun.com