Jupiter Wine Company 'Vibration' Sangiovese

Jupiter Wine Company 'Vibration' Sangiovese

Grapes — 100% Sangiovese (Grosso clone)

Region — Mendocino County, California

Tasting Notes — Bright, luminous ruby with an aromatic lift that announces itself immediately. Snappy, crunchy red and black cherry, lifted purple flowers, sweet earth, and a high-toned vibrancy that strolls pleasantly across both nose and palate. The palate is refreshing and layered — lithe tannins, bright acidity, a whisper of raw spice, and a moreishness that makes the next pour feel inevitable. This is Sangiovese that haunts you with its complexity and delights you with its refreshment — often at the same time.

The Wine — 100% Sangiovese Grosso clone from Fox Hill Vineyard in Mendocino County — grown from cuttings sourced directly from Biondi-Santi in Montalcino, the legendary estate widely credited with defining Brunello di Montalcino as we know it today. In the hands of Thomas DeBiase, that pedigree becomes something entirely California's own — lower in alcohol, higher in freshness, and made with the kind of physical, intimate winemaking that the original Montalcino producers would recognize immediately.

The name is not accidental. Sangiovese derives from the Latin Sanguis Jovis — the Blood of Jupiter. Mythology holds that a single Sangiovese vine grew from the soil where Jupiter's blood spilled, and from that vine, all other Italian grapes were born. Whether or not you believe it, the name fits the wine perfectly.

Farming — Organically farmed. Jupiter sources exclusively from growers whose practices align with their founding commitment: wines made from organically farmed fruit, with nothing added and nothing taken away.

Winemaking — At harvest, half the grapes are fully foot-tread and placed at the bottom of the fermentation vessel. The other half are left whole bunch and placed on top, beginning their fermentation later and slightly carbonically — a deliberate layering technique that slows the primary fermentation dramatically, allowing for cold extraction on the front end before the fermentation builds momentum. Once fermentation begins in earnest, the whole-bunch fruit is gently foot-tread, releasing sugar slowly and extending the extraction window further. The wine is pressed slightly early — before chewy tannin develops — and fermentation is completed off skins in fiberglass. Rested on all lees for 10 months. Bottled without fining or filtration, with a small disclosed addition of 20 parts sulfur at bottling.

The Producer — Jupiter Wine Company was born during a pandemic phone call. Michael Richardson, a 30-year hospitality veteran, got a call from winemaker Thomas DeBiase asking if he'd like to make wine, build affordable housing, and do something that actually meant something. Michael was there the next day. Thomas DeBiase left New Jersey for Sonoma County in 2006, worked across winemaking, restaurant programs, and hospitality, and found his footing at the celebrated Idlewild Wines in Mendocino before casting off corporate wine for good. The mission is as clear as it is rare: 100% of profits go directly to affordable housing solutions for the agricultural and hospitality workers who make wine country possible. Buying this bottle is a small act with a meaningful consequence — and it also happens to be a genuinely extraordinary glass of Sangiovese.

Drink It With — Pasta al pomodoro, wood-fired pizza, braised short ribs, aged Pecorino, or any table where the conversation is as good as the food.