FEATURED IN THIS SET:

Luis Seabra, Douro Valley, Portugal

Born into a coffee-farming family in Angola, today, Luis is a beacon of the “New Portugal” winemaking renaissance. For 20+ years, he has been at the forefront of a cultural shift in Portuguese winemaking, championing a movement of young, independent winemakers reclaiming historical vineyards. His career includes groundbreaking work at port wine house Niepoort, where in 2004, he launched a revolutionary dry wine program, challenging centuries of fortified wine tradition. In 2013, he founded his own winery, dedicated to proving that fresh, elegant, terroir-driven still wines can thrive in a region dominated by large, internationally-owned producers.

• 2022 Luis Seabra, Xisto Ilimitado Branco, Douro, Portugal (60% Rabigato, 15% Gouveio, 15% Codega, 10% Viosinho)—This wine hails from 30–45-year-old vines planted at 500-600 m in the Cima Corgo sub-region of the Douro Valley, where extreme day-night temperature shifts provide grapes with a long and slow ripening season. The result is a fresh, rich, and mineral-laden wine that showcases the beautiful mica schist (“xisto”) of the Douro. The wine is a medium concentration of straw with a complex nose of ripe and bosc pear, melon, apple, preserved lemon, and flinty wet stone. On the palate, it is dry with medium-body, medium+ acidity and is simultaneously rich, round, angular, powerful, and lifted.

• 2020 Luis Seabra, Xisto Ilimitado Tinto, Douro, Portugal (30% Touriga Franca, 20% Tinta Amarela, 20% Tinta Roriz, 10% Rufete, 10% Tinta Barroca, 5% Malvasia Petra, 5% Donzelinho Tinto)—This wine is a “kitchen sink” field blend from two high-elevation sites on opposite sides of the Douro River. It is a medium+ concentration of ruby with notes of ripe dark cherry, blueberry, raspberry, black pepper, smoked meat, and damp earth. It’s dry, medium-bodied, and finely textured, with a beautiful lift from the vibrant acidity.

ILLAHE, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Pauline and Lowell Ford began the ILLAHE Estate in 2006. ILLAHE (Ill-Uh-Hee) is a local Chinook word meaning “earth,” “place,” or “soil.” The focus has always been on handcrafted pinot noir and whites, with a vision of sustainability and longevity at the heart of everything they do. They work by hand on small lots with age-old techniques and materials. The estate is LIVE certified, which means Low Input Viticulture and Enology. It is one of Oregon’s few horse-powered vineyards utilizing a team of Percheron draft and Norwegian Fjord horses to mow and deliver grapes to the winery at harvest. This small family winery makes wines as naturally as possible, harnessing solar power and rainwater collection to craft wines without additives or filtering and allowing the true essence of the fruit and vineyard to shine.

• 2023 ILLAHE, Pinot Gris, Willamette, Valley, Oregon (100% Pinot Gris)—Their Pinot Gris is delightful! It is vinified in large, neutral oak casks, which gives it an Alsatian-style opulent richness and abundant aromatics. It’s pale yellow-green and aromatic, with notes of crisp apple, spiced Bartlett pear, apricot, verbena, and ginger tea. The palate is dry with a medium body, medium acidity, and a rich and creamy texture on the finish.

• 2022 ILLAHE, Grenache, Wahluke Slope, Washington State (100% Grenache)—The grapes for this delicious Grenache were grown in Washington’s Wahluke Slope, aptly named for its Native American roots, meaning "watering place." Winemaker Nathan Litke approaches this grenache with the same care and technique he uses for his acclaimed Pinot Noir—a light touch. This wine has a medium concentration of ruby. It is abundantly aromatic, with notes of ripe and juicy red, purple, and blue fruits, orange zest, juniper berries, fresh herbs, and hints of black peppercorn. It’s dry and medium-bodied with light, smooth tannins, and a fruit-forward finish.

2021 Feudo Montoni, Sicily, Italy

This estate has produced top-quality wines from native Sicilian grapes on its historic grounds since 1469. Rosario Sireci purchased it in the late 1800s upon discovering a wealth of ancient vines, and it is now in the very capable hands of the 3rd generation. The family is dedicated to producing refined expressions of this long-cultivated terroir with organic farming of indigenous grape varieties, hand-harvested, artisanal cellar practices, and renewable energy sources.

• 2022 Feudo Montoni, Grillo, Timpa, Sicily, Italy (100% Grillo)—For a few vintages now, we have aged this wine in our cellars so it could develop fully into its prime. Now is the time! It is so fab! Timpa is the name of the vineyard, which means “strong slope” in Sicilian. The vineyard climbs to a 70° slope of 700 meters above sea level. If all that was not impressive enough, the 30-year-old vines are grafted by hand onto wild plants! The wine is pale straw with green tones. It is clear and bright with notes of concentrated white peach, apricot, lemon, fresh wild herbs, and abundant minerality. It’s dry, medium+ bodied, with medium+ acidity and complexity that builds with a long mineral finish.

• 2021 Feudo Montoni, Lagnusa, Nero d'Avola, Sicily, Italy (100% Nero D’Avola)—Lagnusa is the single cru of 35-year-old vines at 600 meters above sea level. The wine is medium-plus ruby in color, slightly hazy, and beautifully complex with notes of ripe and savory dark cherries, red plum, crushed berries, wet soil, and stones, with hints of cinnamon, clove, dried tobacco, roses, and violets. The palate is dry with medium+ body, medium, and fine tannins, and medium+ graceful acidity.