Photograph by HATSUE
Wines made with minimal intervention express their terroir (where they are grown), and because they’re created without any additives during the fermentation process, no two vintages are exactly the same. Warmer weather means it’s time for more light chillable reds, oranges, and rosés, so it’s your chance to indulge in some of the au naturel wines available around the Queen City.
Two Shepherds’s Wiley Carbonic Carignan
This wine is made through carbonic maceration—before they’re crushed, whole grapes are fermented in a carbon dioxide-rich environment. The end result is a fruitier wine with hints of black cherry and dark plum.
Available at Oakley Wines, 4011 Allston St., Oakley, (513) 914-5735, oakleywines.com
Valley Vineyards’s Honey Mead
While mead technically isn’t a wine (it’s made with fermented honey, not grapes), it’s too good to pass up. It’s sweeter than most with a delicate blend of honey and clover for a crème brûlée finish. Nectar of the gods, indeed.
Available at Valley Vineyards, 2276 US-22 &, OH-3, Morrow, (513) 899-2485, valleyvineyards.com
Laherte Freres’s Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs Champagne NV
From the world-famous Champagne region of France, this wine is a blast of summer. Notes of citrus, apple, and dried mango mix with preserved ginger for a full-bodied finish.
Available at Hart & Cru, 1206 Broadway St., Pendleton, (513) 725-7525, hartandcru.com
Fruitblood’s Venus Flytrap
This pet-nat—an abbreviation of the French phrase “pétillant naturel” (“naturally sparking”)—is summer in a glass with its papaya, strawberry, and melon flavors. This spring, Fruitblood announced statewide distribution in Ohio, which means you might be able to order it in local bars soon.
Available at fruitblood.com
Ruth Lewandowski’s Feints
A rosé wine from Mendocino, California, Feints is crammed with red berry flavors (raspberry, cranberry, cherry) due to its co-fermentation process—it’s made up of several red and white grape varieties. Berry nice.
Available at Iris Read, 733 E. McMillan St., Walnut Hills, (513) 493-2270, irisread.wine
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