All forms of art have their differences in the multitude of ways they are produced. Painting ranges from the chaotic explosion of Pollock, to the almost uncanny realism of Vermeer. Music ranges from the dizzying technicality of Chick Corea to the straightforward rockin’ of Led Zeppelin. It is even better to find this when both ends of the spectrum can be found from one artist, musician, or chef, and thus it is the same in the viticultural space. Examples of this are prevalent around the world. Think of the difference of the Dolcetto from Cantina del Pino, to their stunning Barbarescos; the simple Passetoutgrains from Bitouzet-Prieur to their opulent Meursaults. In a similar way, the same philosophy is espoused by Andrew Jones of Field Recordings. He does single varietal, single vineyard wines that are extremely varietally correct, and he has blends that encompass more grapes than the average person can rattle off the top of their head. Today we have the latter for you, an orange wine that is a showcase of blending prowess.

Andrew always has his eyes peeled, keeping an eagle-eyed lookout for vineyards with untapped potential. As a day-to-day nursery fieldman planning and planting vineyards for farmers up and down California, he sometimes gets a small plot of fruit to work with. Since the grapes can range from Pinot Noir, to Riesling, to Xarel-lo, it takes raw experience and an affinity for vines to be able to continuously make great wine from these sites at unpretentious price points, which makes seeing the Field Recordings wines on a restaurant or wine bar list a true pleasure for the wallet AND palate!

The 2023 SKINS is a crisp, fresh orange wine that pairs well with duck sausage, roasted peach and ricotta, or just hanging out and enjoying the summer heat. The fruit is all destemmed and fermented on the skins (bet you figured that out from the name, huh) from 23 to 46 days depending on the grape, resulting in an aromatically delicate, yet substantial and composed wine. The wine consists of the following plethora of varietals: 34% Chenin Blanc, 18% Pinot Gris, 12% Colombard, 9% Xarel-lo, 8% Verdelho, 6% Vermentino, 3% Trousseau Gris, 3% Semillon, 3% Gewurztraminer, 2% Riesling, and 2% Malvasia Bianca. To be able to use all of these grapes while remaining shows true blending prowess; a combination of Pollock and Vermeer or Chick Corea and Led Zeppelin one might say!

Field Recordings Central Coast Skins 2023 - $22.99
Fresh apricot, marzipan, white peach, Haitian orange, and honeysuckle. A fresh, crisp orange wine with plenty of substance. 11.9% alcohol and 4 months in neutral French oak.