A wine exclusively available at Bonde Fine Wine (in-store or online)

Often you ask me what my favorite wine is in the shop, and I usually answer, "They are all my favorites". But I must admit that like all children of wine regions, the wines and grape varieties of my land of origin still have a very special place in my heart. So, for me, a native from the Pyrénées-Orientales (also called the Pyrenean Piedmont), the Tannat, Petit and Grand Manseng grape varieties are without hesitation the standard bearers of wines close to my heart. Finding these grape varieties outside their production regions is a rare and perilous exercise, even more so when they must be North American. But, thanks to the talents and curiosity of our American winemakers, we have the opportunity to sometimes find these unique and exceptional wines in our country. Like this wine made from Petit Manseng, originally from Mosier Hills located east of Hood River on the south side of Oregon's Columbia Gorge, produced by Analemma Winery.

The Grape Variety
The term manseng would mean grape variety of the house. Mans or Manse is the master's house, as opposed to the bordalès, the sharecropper's house in the Occitan dialect.

Petit Manseng is a small-berry grape variety with a late bud break that can be affected by spring frosts, but which has the big advantage of being a grape that ripens late (October, November), which makes it very suitable for  Passerillage on vines (natural loss of water from the grapes by drying out), thanks in particular to its aerated bunches and a sunny late season and cool nights. and its sugar content (fructose). This grape variety, which excels in eroded soils made up of alluvium and limestone, typical of the Pyrenean Piedmont on the French and Spanish sides, is also found here in California (Sierra Foothills & Paso Robles), Virginia, Ohio, Georgia, but especially in the high gorges of the Columbia around Mosier where the soil, altitude, and climate is like that of its region of origin.

Steven Thompson - Winemaker of Analemma Wines

Steve discovers wine and its magic during bicycle trips across the different continents. Back in Washington, he obtained a diploma in oenology from the Community College of Walla Walla. At the end of his studies, he worked for and with Christophe Baron at Cayuse, where he learned and broadened his knowledge of biodynamic agriculture. It was in 2010 that Steve and his partner Kris Fade founded Analemma Wines in the Columbia Gorge in Mosier, Oregon. Deeply influenced by regenerative agriculture, Analemma today is not simply a vineyard, but a regenerative agricultural farm where the holistic approach covers the entire cycle of the 12 months of the year.

Analemma Petit Manseng 2021 
Mosier Hills, Columbia Gorge, OR

• Manual harvest on October 7, 2021.
• Demeter certified biodynamic wine.
• Gently pressed in whole bunches, fermentation in barrels, then 15 months of ageing in neutral oak barrels.
• 138 cases produced.