< Tasting Notes

Back to School Wines
- September 2026

As we bid farewell to summer and enjoy the bracing freshness of autumn, allow me to offer 4 wines in the spirit of going back to school.

The first is easy, fun, exciting. Like the first day of class, meeting your teachers, and getting back together with friends. Before you have homework.

The rest… Well now we get into wines of complexity. Rich texts to dig into and study and analyze. But also to deeply savor. Which I absolutely hope that you do.

Enjoy and Salud!

(**NOTE - Links are embedded in each winemaker’s names to direct you to their respective websites. Know thy vintner!**)

LAS JARAS 'Slipper Sippers' Nouveau 2023 * North Coast, California
Joel Burt and Eric Wareheim founded Las Jaras to bring people together through expressive, joyous wines. Burt's path to winemaking was unconventional; he studied viticulture and winemaking at UC Davis while working globally in cellars from Mendocino to New Zealand, soaking up low-intervention methods and natural winemaking techniques. Wareheim, known to many as an actor-producer, brings genuine passion for creating wines that balance serious craftsmanship with pure drinking pleasure. Together they embrace organic farming, creative fermentation techniques, and a philosophy that wine should be fun, not precious. This is wine made by people who actually want to drink with friends on a Saturday afternoon, not impress wine snobs at a dinner party.

You ever notice how the first wine of the vintage gets all the hype in Beaujolais? The nouveau tradition is basically winemaking's version of back-to-school energy: fresh, excited, ready to party. Las Jaras adapted that Beaujolais nouveau tradition and made it distinctly Californian, which is to say they made it more fun. Slipper Sippers uses carbonic maceration, a technique that basically puts whole grapes in a CO2-filled tank and lets them ferment from the inside out. The result? A wine that's light, fruity, and built for immediate drinking—the kind of wine you grab on a Friday night when you can't be bothered with serious wine math. Hand-harvested from organically certified vineyards in Lodi and Mendocino, fermented with native yeasts, minimal sulfur. This is their first wine every year, released within weeks of harvest. There's a rush of energy in every pour—vibrant, playful, capturing that "first day of school but make it fun" energy.

NERD ALERT!! - Carbonic maceration is one of those winemaking techniques that sounds way more complicated than it actually is. Basically, whole clusters get sealed in a tank filled with CO2. The grapes ferment inside their own skins using their own natural enzymes; no yeast required initially; which creates wines that are incredibly aromatic and fruit-forward. This is why nouveau wines hit different. They're not trying to be serious or age-worthy; they're trying to be delicious right now. Also, a portion of Las Jaras' profits from Slipper Sippers benefits La Luz Center. So you're literally drinking a wine that gives back to the community. You deserve another glass.

Grape(s) - 80% Zinfandel, 20% Petite Sirah

Flavors - Blackberry, plum, violet, black pepper. Juicy raspberry notes with cocoa powder tannins. Bright, zesty, unfiltered and unfined. Chill it down and watch it disappear.

Serving - Picnic food. Charcuterie boards. Pizza night. That moment when you realize it's Friday at 5pm and nothing matters for the next 48 hours. Serve it slightly chilled (not ice cold), pop the cork without ceremony, and pour it into whatever glasses are clean. This is not a wine that demands respect; it demands enjoyment. Pair it with whatever you're already eating because honestly this wine just makes everything taste better.

Album Pairing - THE KNIFE - ‘Deep Cuts’ - 2003 * You know what pairs with a wine that's playful on the surface but has real bite underneath? An album that does exactly the same thing. The Knife emerged from Sweden with Deep Cuts, electronic pop that looks like it's just trying to have fun but is actually doing something darker and more sophisticated underneath. "Heartbeats" sounds like pure joy until you realize it's about loneliness. "Pocketful of Money" is a banger that's also kind of terrifying. Just like Slipper Sippers; it pours pink-red and juicy and you think "oh this is just a party wine" and then you notice the structure, the tannins, the real winemaking craft hiding underneath the fun. Both refuse to be just one simple thing. Both know that sophistication and joy aren't mutually exclusive. Both make you want to dance but also think. So gangster.

RITME CELLER Blanc 2023 * Priorat, Catalonia, Spain
Albert Jané is the mastermind behind multiple wine projects, but Ritme Celler represents his Priorat venture; the serious, introspective side of his winemaking identity. He farms organically across 20 hectares, 14 of them owned outright, all planted on degraded slate and schist soils (licorella) that have been shaping wine in this region for centuries. Jané's philosophy is straightforward: respect the terroir, respect the old vines, don't overcomplicate things. Only old vines (vieilles vignes) make the cut here; fruit sourced from six different villages throughout Priorat, each bringing its own character. He's been working entirely organically for over a decade, which in a region known for brutally difficult conditions is basically an act of stubborn commitment.

This is old-vine Garnacha Blanca from soils so difficult most winemakers would just give up. The grapes come from vines between 5 and 30 years old planted on that infamous licorella slate at altitudes between 300 and 650 meters. Hand-harvested, meticulously selected, cold macerated for 48 hours to extract maximum character without extraction getting aggressive. Thirty percent fermented in new French oak barrels, the rest in stainless steel, then aged on its lees for 11 months. This wine is textured, precise, and fresh. It’s the kind of white that demands your attention but refuses to shout about it. This is Priorat's best-kept secret. Everyone talks about the red wines and sleeps on whites like this that are honestly just as serious. This is a wine that knows exactly who it is and isn't interested in impressing anyone who doesn't get it.

NERD ALERT!! - Priorat's reputation is built on those brutally difficult slate soils and the intense reds that emerge from them. But here's the secret: those same conditions make incredible white wines. The slate reflects heat, the altitude provides freshness, the old vines have deep roots that understand this land in ways younger vines never will. Garnacha Blanca is basically the white version of Grenache; high alcohol potential, but when you're starting from this kind of terroir and working with 30-year-old vines, you get complexity instead of just booze.

Grape(s) - 100% Garnacha Blanca

Flavors - Pear skin, lemon pith, almond, toasted hazelnuts. Mediterranean forest floor, white flowers, dried herbs. Structured and mineral-driven with fine phenolics. Savory, slightly saline finish. Pale yellow with golden reflections. Built for aging but absolutely worth drinking now.

Serving - Creamy cheeses. White meat dishes with subtle sauces. Trout Almondine. Basically anything where you want a wine that's serious without being aggressive. This isn't casual drinking wine; this is the wine you open when you're paying attention. Serve it at room temperature to get the full mineral profile, or chill it slightly if you want the freshness to jump forward. This is the wine for the kind of dinner where conversation matters more than volume.

Album Pairing - RADIOHEAD – ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’ - 2016 * Thom Yorke made this album in a place of genuine vulnerability and grief, and it shows in every note. A Moon Shaped Pool is Radiohead at their most intimate. Stripped down. Sparse. Meditative. Piano, strings, his voice just... there. No hiding. This Garnacha Blanc is the same way. It refuses to hide behind oak or extraction or manipulation. Both demand patience. Both reward that patience with unexpected depth. Both are beautiful precisely because they don't announce themselves loudly. Yorke isn't trying to blow you away on this album. He's trying to sit quietly with you while he processes loss. This wine does something similar, inviting you to sit with the complexity of old slate soils and old vines and time. It's not showy. It's just honest.

CLOS LOINTAIN ‘Meditations’ 2023 * Côtes Catalanes, Roussillon, France
Todd and Carrie Alexander acquired two 60 to 80-year-old vineyards in the Roussillon region's Catalan foothills in 2022 after what they describe as a "chance encounter" that sent them down an unexpected path. These aren't new projects; the vines had been growing on these hillsides for decades before the Alexanders showed up. Clos Lointain (which translates to "Distant Enclosure" or "Faraway Vineyard") represents what happens when people with genuine passion acquire old vineyards and actually listen to what the land is trying to say. The vines are dry-farmed on schist and slate soils, the farming is organic, and the winemaking philosophy is essentially "get out of the way and let the terroir speak." They began making wine with the 2023 vintage and released their first bottles in August 2025. This is a brand new project from people who clearly know what they're doing.

Meditations is sourced from old vines at the La Coumo Estate Vineyard in the Catalan foothills; 60 to 80-year-old vines that have been working these schist soils for longer than most of us have been alive. Whole-cluster pressed, gently settled, fermented in neutral 500L barrels with native yeasts. The wine stayed on its lees for 14 months without stirring, developing texture while preserving that crucial freshness and clarity. Fermented with native yeasts, bottled unfined and unfiltered. This is a restrained, site-driven white built for food and for aging. Grenache Gris provides depth and weight, Macabeo adds lift and acidity. It's the kind of wine that, by the end of the bottle, you're wondering why you haven't been drinking this your whole life.

NERD ALERT!! - The whole-cluster pressing is a gentler approach than normal pressing; you're basically just letting gravity do the work, which means less extraction of harsh compounds and more of that delicate character. Fourteen months on lees without stirring (called "batonnage" when you do stir it, which they didn't) allows the wine to develop complexity naturally while staying fresh. This isn't someone trying to make a "big" wine; this is someone trying to make a wine that tastes like the specific place it comes from, in the specific year it was made, with the specific grapes that were available.

Grape(s) - 68% Grenache Gris, 32% Macabeo

Flavors - Ripe stone fruit with subtle tropical whispers. Honeyed apricot, dried white flowers, a touch of ginger spice. The palate is supple and textured; creamy yet bright. This wine unfolds slowly. By the second glass you're noticing things you missed the first time. It is truly a wine that rewards attention without demanding it.

Serving - This is the wine for when you want to slow down. Oysters, grilled fish, delicate seafood preparations. Fresh goat cheese. Herb-forward dishes. Basically anything where the wine becomes part of the meditation instead of just accompaniment. Just like the Ritme Celler Blanc above, you can serve it slightly cool to bring out the mineral character, or room temperature to get the full textural experience. This is a wine to pour and then sit with; not to finish quickly.

** AUDIOPHILE LP OF THE MONTH CLUB VINYL**

Album Pairing - THE POSTAL SERVICE – ‘Give Up’- 2003 * Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello made this album by sending music back and forth through the mail (hence the name, though they didn't actually use the US Postal Service, which is hilarious). The album is fundamentally introspective and meditative; Gibbard sitting with love, loss, climate anxiety, loneliness, existence itself. Songs like "Sleeping In" and "Such Great Heights" are quiet meditations on big stuff. The whole vibe is contemplative. This wine shares that exact quality. It's not showy. It's not trying to impress you. It's inviting you to sit down and think about something; maybe the old vines, maybe the slate soils, maybe just what it means to stay quiet and listen. Both make you slow down. Both make you pay attention. Both are better when you're not rushing through them. Both prove that restraint and vulnerability aren't weaknesses; they're strengths.

RES FORTES ‘Traveler’ 2019 * Côtes du Roussillon, France
Moritz Bak spent four years exploring the globe while making wine in some of the world's top wine regions. His passion for winemaking is rivaled only by his fondness for mountains; a combination that led him to Roussillon, where both elements collide. The Traveler is basically a wine made by someone who understands what it means to move through the world, learn from different places, and bring all that knowledge back into a single expression. This is a Syrah from a premium vineyard in the Côtes du Roussillon, made from 40 to 60-year-old vines on schist and slate soils. Bush-trained vines (meaning no trellising, just natural growth). Hand-harvested because Bak's clearly the kind of person who does things the way they actually matter.

Black fruit dominates—think dark plum, blackberry, dark cherry. This is the kind of wine that tastes like it remembers the journey it took to get into the bottle. Not flashy. Not trying to seduce you with oak. Just honest Syrah from old vines on difficult soils, made by someone who understands that wine is about expressing where it comes from, not what the winemaker thinks it should be. Aged in stainless steel tanks without barrel aging, which means this wine is all about the fruit and the terroir. 14.5% ABV, full-bodied, spicy, herbaceous. Built to age but absolutely worth drinking now if you're the impatient type (no judgment).

NERD ALERT!! - Syrah from Roussillon doesn't always get the respect it deserves because everyone's too busy talking about Grenache and Carignan from the same region. But the truth is Syrah thrives on these schist soils just like everything else does. The 40 to 60-year-old vines mean deep roots that actually understand this land in ways younger vines don't. Bush training (no trellising) means the vines have to work harder, which concentrates the fruit. Stainless steel aging means this wine is all terroir; zero oak influence. When you taste something this serious that doesn't announce itself with oak, you know you're dealing with real fruit and real soil character.

Grape(s) - 100% Syrah

Flavors - Black fruit, dark plum, blackberry, wild herbs, pepper. Full-bodied, spicy, herbaceous. Firm tannins. Long finish. The color tells you everything you need to know about the intensity hiding inside.

Serving - Grilled meats. Wild game. Mushroom dishes. Aged cheeses. Basically anything substantial that matches the wine's intensity. This isn't a wine for casual drinking; this is a wine for when you're actually paying attention to what you're eating and drinking. Serve it at room temperature to open up the aromatic profile. Decant it if you can. Give it time to breathe. This is a wine that rewards patience with unexpected depth.

Album Pairing - SHAKEY GRAVES – ‘Roll The Bones’ - 2011 * Shakey Graves (real name Shelley Colvin) made this raw, intimate debut album while literally figuring out who he was as an artist. Just him, his guitar, his voice; no overdubs, no hiding. The whole thing feels like someone on a personal journey, discovering themselves through the act of making music. Moritz Bak spent four years traveling the world making wine, learning from different places, different people, different techniques. Both are about journeys. Both are about discovery. Both are stripped down and honest; no pretense, just a person working through experience and ending up with something real. "Built to Last" feels like it could be the theme song for this wine. Both refuse to be rushed. Both are better after you've sat with them for a while. Both make you feel like you're getting to know someone real instead of merely consuming a product.

REMINDERS

• To celebrate our valued club members we offer 20% off all food ordered on the day you pick-up. 

• If you can not pick up on the pick up dates please contact mckay@barmiriam.com and we will hold your allotment offsite and can arrange for a future pick up.

• Email mckay@barmiriam.com to buy more single bottles or a case with special club pricing.

• Queen Anne Bottle Shop is open Tuesday-Saturday from 3:00pm — 8:00pm.

• Wine pairs best with friends. Tell your friends.