The Other Right 'Shapeshifter'

Shapeshifter could be the exactly perfect way to describe what farmers are doing all over the globe as we encounter more and more extreme weather due to climate change. More fires, more late spring freezes (after bud break!) and more hot days are becoming increasingly common and in the wine growing/ making world this can be catastrophic. If a farmer loses an entire crop of corn, prices may go up but the farmer replants and tries again next year. If a farmer loses an entire vineyard or even just a few vines, prices may go up and the farmer may replant BUT it will be 3-5 years minimum before the farmer will have a harvest capable of making wine. 

So what does this all mean in relation to my current crush? Well, the fires in Adelaide Hills were so bad in 2019 that many farmers - the wine growing kind for the purposes of this story - were forced to either not make wine at all or improvise (aka shift). Get it?! Alex normally makes a full-on skin contact Viognier from these grapes but this year, it was not possible to allow much skin contact. Smoke had permeated the skins to the point of what is referred to as “smoke taint” so the decision was made to let the juice run free and ‘shift’ the notion of making a skin-contact Viognier. And viola! Shapeshifter was born. Little skin-contact to avoid smoke taint but just enough to keep it interesting!

So, if you’ve been reading my wine crushes for long, you know that I love an underdog story - I love the unknown, underappreciated grapes! And absolutely love supporting people who stand by their principles even in the face of adversity!  It would have been easier for Alex & Galit to abandon principles and choose to use any manner of lab yeasts or chemical additives to “fix” the smoke taint. Thankfully, they decided to stand with the principle of minimal intervention and made this delicious, lemon-custard and apricot-y minerality-vibe Viognier —- cuz, if you haven’t guessed by now - I have a HUGE CRUSH on this wine!! Viognier gets a bad rap and is underutilized (imo) but in the right place/hands/moment, it can be so fun. This one is so crunchy, delicious mineral, fruit driven that I wanna drink it when I miss the sun or at the beach in the sun or really just anytime I need to feel happy. 

Only 100-bottles were made this vintage so get it while you can!