Wild Arc Farm Merlot North Fork of Long Island Northcliff Vineyard 2022

Todd and Crystal Cavallo left Brooklyn in the summer of 2016 to try their hand at building sustainable food systems in the Hudson Valley. The couple had limited experience in agriculture, mostly confined to growing tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and hops on city fire escapes, fending off the depredations of spiteful neighborhood squirrels. The fertile Hudson Valley has been a center of New York State's food production for hundreds of years, with a winemaking history to match. Having grown up in northern NYS, Todd and Crystal wanted to show that the granitic soils and Atlantic/Catskills-influenced microclimates of the Hudson Valley can produce world class wines. Beginning with ten acres, this small, biodynamic, permaculture-focused farm is making outstanding wines and ciders from locally sourced apples and grapes as their own vineyards finally begin to come of age. This merlot comes from Colin and Anna’s Vineyard, a fantastic sustainably farmed plot on the riverhead sandy loam soils of the North Fork of Long Island. It was hand harvested and whole-cluster macerated for five weeks with daily hand punch downs, then pressed directly to neutral French oak puncheon and aged for 10 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. Light and bright on the palate, it offers savory notes of red plum and blackberry with crushed herbs and well integrated tannins. Great lightly chilled with grilled sausage, peppers, and onions. Sustainably grown, low-intervention, vegan.