2023 Harvest Updates
Hi all!
With our inaugural Harvest coming to a close, we wanted to take some time to reflect and share some more information regarding the direction of our project.
Starting a company is a scary thing. Being so young in this industry doesn’t do much to help the nerves either. It’s easy to look at the big guys and wonder how we will ever compete, or why we would even try. Things get existential. Often. We’ll compare ourselves to what others are sharing on social media and feel like we aren’t doing enough or doing the right things… But then, we open a bottle that snaps us back to reality. A killer wine made by a producer who is on their own journey and not giving a f*ck about what everyone else is doing. These are the wines that ground us, inspire us, energize us. Not just on a stylistic level, but emotionally and spiritually as well. Those moments remind us of what we value in this life - things like living close to the foods we eat and the activities we cherish, being surrounded by nature and the sense of awe and humility that brings - those sorts of things. And ídola is on a mission to capture all of this in a bottle.
Wine has always been an art form in our eyes, one that can stir emotion and foster togetherness. But it’s the label for most that sets the first impression. Naturally, we wanted the labels made with the same intention as our wines. We are beyond excited and very honored to be collaborating with a local artist who shares our creative philosophy.
We first met Jennelle at SLOcally Made, a local art pop-up, last year and fell in love with her work. We came home with a few prints and gave each one a special place in the house. One evening, while sharing one of those inspirational bottles of wine, we found ourselves drawn to one of Jennelle’s landscapes as we were dreaming up what ídola could be. We were entranced by its ability to clearly communicate a sense of peace. “What if this was our label?”
The following week, Pooja met Jennelle for coffee and came back brimming with excitement. Jennelle’s approach to painting felt harmonious with our brand, a very intuition-driven process that translates whatever energy she is feeling into the piece she is working on. She shared with us how she came to painting and how her first release was at the pop-up. As she was creating those pieces, she was meditating on the word “peace”. The fact that we felt that through her art without any prior context speaks to her innate ability to create moving pieces. Check out her website and Instagram to see what we mean. You might be able to get a sneak peak of our labels, too. More to come in the future.
IG: @jennelle_lynn_art
https://www.jennellelynnart.com
This all being said, ídola wine co. is truly the culmination of our experiences in wine. Though it is our “interpretation” of the California wine scene, its existence is only possible because of those that came before us. Our focus is less about varietals or style or giving customers what they want, and more about the subjective. It’s emotion. It’s feeling. It’s touchy feely BS. Below is our outline for collection i. which will be available early 2025.
2023 White Blend
Clos Sainte Magdeleine, Chateau Simone, Deperu Holler, Sadie Family Wines
We drink far more white than red wine. There’s something so ethereal and pure in a white wine. No mistakes can be masked. Though we love Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, there’s something incredibly special about Mediterranean white wine varietals (vermentino, grenache blanc, picpoul). There’s a texture that is hard to replicate, and it wasn’t until we were in Provence on our honeymoon that things really started to click for me. Hot sunny days, cooler nights, ocean influence, and limestone - these are all matches made in heaven to create a wine that is energetic and yet serious.
2023 Red Blend
Commando G, Faury, Pedro Parra, Slamdance Kooperative
Fresh. Though “a bold red wine” is often the benchmark for many producers, people more often than not forget that wine should be energetic, particularly on the red side of things. I’m not so much interested in the dark brooding reds of the Paso Robles of yesteryear, but more in the finessed winemaking that some might call “old world”. This wine is built for the sunshine of California, but can easily be put on any dinner table. One thing we often struggle with is pairing reds with vegetarian dishes, but once again, the Mediterranean varietals (grenache, cinsault, syrah, primitivo) go with just about everything.
2024 Rosé
Tempier, PYCM, Clos Sainte Magdeleine, Clos Cibonne, TOP
Ah rosé. Arguably the least serious of wines and yet the most enjoyable. We drink rosé year round. It pairs with just about everything at any time of the day. The difficulty is getting people to see it as a serious wine drinker’s wine. I think certain producers do a great job of finding that balance, but certainly others are looking for cash flow. This wine is sun kissed cheeks, sandy toes, veggies on the grill.
2023 Shiloh Ridge Zinfandel
Denner, Scar of the Sea, L.A. River Wine Company, Hiyu Wine Farm
New age zinfandel. People often forget that Zinfandel is a Mediterranean variety (first from Croatia, then Italy). Our focus here is on agriculture as a complete ecosystem. This is one of two (albeit very small ~1 acre) vineyards we are farming. It is a head-trained, dry farmed, no-till vineyard we have had the pleasure to look after for almost a year now. Neglected and tired, we are trying to breathe new life into it through regenerative farming principles (yes, lots of nerdy buzz words here). The other is to come in the following release. It is the wine that represents our distant goals in life, working alongside nature as a system to create a beautiful product.
N.V. Solera Orange
Lady of the Sunshine, COS, Gravner, Ganevat, Giornata
This is by far our most Avant-Garde wine. Having come from working as a somm, it was always boggling to me how people would say “I only like a Cabernet” or “white wine isn’t real wine”. Great! I give you a skin macerated white varietal (basically a white grape made like a red wine) that blends vintages (that means no talk of 2021 being a “good year” and 2022 being a “bad year), varietals (not just 1 grape), regions (terroir who?), etc. It’s punk rock. It’s a middle finger. It’s delicious.
