2019 Troon Vineyard Piquette!

Kubli Bench,
Applegate Valley,
Rogue Valley,
Southern Oregon,
Oregon

10.5% alcohol

Biodynamic, Demeter, organic, vegan friendly

Piquette (pronounced pih-ket) wine is truly the epitome of reduce, reuse, and recycle!

#1, REDUCE: freshly picked wine grapes are pressed for traditional wines.

#2, REUSE: all the pomace– pulp, seeds, stems, and skins– everything left after pressing, is tossed into a bin.

#3, RECYCLE: depending on the winery, the pomace becomes fertilizer, compost, animal feed, or a distilled spirit if a local distillery wants it.

However, at Troon Vineyard, they added water to their pomace and fermentation began again! Troon used pomace from their Vermentino, Marsanne, Primitivo, Sauvignon blanc, and Tannat pressings. After everything soaked, or macerated, for a time, it was bottle-fermented, resulting in Piquette!, a spritzy, lower alcohol, wine-like beverage.

An old tradition, piquette was developed many years ago by wineries looking for a cheap, low-alcohol beverage for their workers and farm-hands. It’s very exciting to see wineries in the US embracing this méthod ancestrale technique to make handcrafted bubbly wine. (If you want to learn more about how bubbles are made, be sure to click on the link at the bottom of this post.)

Color:

Pale copper orange

Bouquet:

This fizzy wine has a lot of different, unique aromatics! I smelled fruity notes of strawberries, dried peaches, and golden raisins, along with floral aromas of orange blossoms and a meadow of wildflowers. Minerally fresh rain played with spicy, grated ginger, making the Troon Piquette! one of the most interesting wines I’ve ever had the pleasure of smelling. That variety of aromatics must the result of all those different grape varietals coming together into one wine!

Palate:

The Piquette! flavors are just as interesting as the smells too. I tasted those strawberries and golden raisins from the bouquet, along with bing cherries. A second sip revealed notes of salinity and camomile tea. The bubbles are soft and gentle, culminating in a slightly smoky finish.

Food pairing suggestions:

Since this wine is so low in alcohol, it’s great for picnics in the park, Thanksgiving meal prep, swimming at the lake or pool… you get the idea! If you do drink with a meal, make it one with milder flavors so you can really enjoy the nuances this Piquette! has to offer 😁

SRP $25

Troon Vineyard