Cruse Wine Co. Valdiguie' Nouveau 2018
Product details
| Management number | 253563711 | Release Date | 2026/10/24 | List Price | CA$9.60 | Model Number | 253563711 | ||
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Valdiguié is a red grape from southwestern France that spent most of the 20th century being misidentified in California as "Napa Gamay." DNA analysis in 1980 confirmed it is not Gamay at all, though it shares the same broad style: low alcohol, high acidity, and a tendency to produce deeply colored, fruit-forward reds at relatively light body weights. Cruse sources this fruit from Suisun Valley, a small AVA in Solano County nested within the larger North Coast AVA, where warm days and cooling afternoon marine breezes off San Pablo Bay allow the grape to retain its naturally sharp acidity.
The 2018 Nouveau is made via carbonic maceration, the same technique used in Beaujolais Nouveau production, in which whole intact grape clusters ferment inside a CO2-rich environment. Fermentation begins inside each unbroken berry before any crushing takes place. The result is a wine that is extremely low in tannin, lively in texture, and loaded with primary red-fruit character: fresh raspberry, cranberry, and wild strawberry, with a faint peppery note typical of the variety.
Michael Cruse operates out of a warehouse facility in Petaluma, Sonoma County, where he ferments with native yeasts and bottles without fining or filtration. The Nouveau is designed to be drunk young and cold, much like its Beaujolais counterpart, rather than cellared. At 12.5% ABV, it sits comfortably on the light end of the red wine spectrum.
Grapes are sourced from organically farmed sites. The wine is unfiltered and unfined, made with minimal additions.
Bestseller ranking
Red Wine
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