Neptunite

Neptunite is a rare gemstone found in a remote mine deep in the rugged mountains of San Benito County. It is found often alongside the also extremely rare Benitoite. Just like its red wine counterpart (Benitoite) the grapes that go into this rose wine are found alongside the rarer varieties that inhabit San Benito County. We utilize Chenin Blanc from the historic Gimelli Vineyard (aka El Gabilan) from plantings dating to 1997, Riesling from a 1964 planting at the Wirz vineyard and Zinfandel from a 1902 planting also at Wirz.

Origin: San Benito County, California
ABV: 12.5
USNW Classification: Natural
Varietal & Type: Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Zinfandel
Vintage: 2022

Tasting Notes

Vineyards

Gimelli Vineyard, Cienega Valley (Chenin Blanc) Wirz Vineyard, Cienega Valley (Riesling, Zinfandel)

About the Winemaker

Ryan Stirm got his start winemaking at Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo, but it was only after shifting his focus away from wrestling that he plunged into soil science and agriculture. After winemaking stints in California, Austria, and Australia, he was ready to start his own winemaking project. It wasn’t lab-grade, sterile wine that Ryan was after, however. He was most captivated by wines that reflected a sense of place. Working an internship at Saucelito Canyon winery taught him how to farm and appreciate much older vines, and that’s what the Stirm Wine Co. story revolves around. From the Stirm website regarding the Glenwood Vineyard: Although this is an appellation wine, this Pinot Noir comes from a single vineyard in the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Located at about 1000 ft. in elevation, this southeastern facing 2 acre block was planted in 1997, and has been farmed by us since 2016. It is dry- farmed, no-till, and organic, and is located in a canyon in the Glenwood area surrounded by second growth redwoods, bay trees, and coast live oaks. It is steep, about 30% slopes, and grown on clay loam soils weathered from Purisima Mudstone.

Shipping Details

US Natural Wine ships once a week, every Wednesday. All orders should be placed by Tuesday at 10am in order to be picked up from our distributors and out on Wednesday's delivery truck. Shipping cost is 30 bucks a box (up to 12 bottl