Where's Linus?, Sauvignon Blanc 2024

100% Sauvignon Blanc

Mendocino, California, United States

Sunshine in a bottle. Take me to the tropical islands and pack some green mango salad and grilled chilli prawns along! Fruit-forward, acid-focused and beaming with slate-like minerality.

La Ribera Vineyard, Mendocino County (Off Old River Road, between Hopland and Ukiah). A CCOF Certified Organic Vineyard. The vineyard is bordered by the Russian River to the west, and smaller creeks to the north and south. The benefits of the surrounding waterways are twofold: the reliable water supply insures the vines against stress throughout the growing season, and during the summer, the Russian River functions as a moderating ‘heat sink’ for Mendocino County’s hot daytime temperatures, preserving the grape’s natural acidity. Due to warmer summers and cooler winters, La Ribera is typically one of the earliest vineyards in the southern Ukiah Valley to be picked.

The grapes were harvested by hand at night on August 22, 2024, and delivered to the winery for pressing first thing in the AM. The gently pressed fruit came in delightfully balanced for showcasing both bright, citrus tones and refined herbal elements but also with enough natural acidity to frame said flavors of the wine and set pH level that is suited for a fermentation with no additional additives (besides a touch of SO2 at pressing). The spontaneous fermentation progressed with moderate vigor for 15 days before coming to completion. At the end of primary fermentation, the wine underwent malolactic fermentation on its own. VEGAN.

Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Chris Christensen never thought winemaking was an actual career path for people who weren’t born into a winery or vineyard until he went on a wine tasting trip to Sonoma during his Junior year at Stanford. Although originally fueled – as Chris himself admits – by the idea that knowing a thing or two about wine might impress girls, Chris’ curiosity about wine quickly turned into a real passion.

As an African American vintner, Chris also works to promote diversity and inclusion in the wine industry through speaking engagements, podcasts, and mentorship opportunities for aspiring vintners and winery owners. His work has earned him much kudos, including a place in the Wine Enthusiast’s 40 Under 40 industry shakers in 2020. Praised for both his activism and self-taught yet skilled winemaking, Christensen is indisputably one of the figures to watch in the American wine industry, and we’re extremely happy that we can do so with a glass of his/our Where’s Linus? juicy wine in hand.