Paper Planes Valdiguié Suisun Valley 2022

Laura and Kyle Gabriel first met at film school in Boston and shared the same passion for great food and exquisite wine. As a young couple in Los Angeles, they enjoyed making music and films by day and exploring different wine styles and local restaurants by night. They dreamt up a plan to start their own wine label at a dinner party with friends. With inspiration and a small crowd-funding campaign, they launched their label Paper Planes in 2014, and after that first harvest, the couple was hooked. They quit their day jobs, relocated from LA to Napa, and dove head-first into the wine business. Utilizing Laura's roots growing up in Napa Valley (her father is Larry Maguire of Far Niente), they connected with growers, winemakers, and sommeliers to help share their story and grow the exciting new brand. In the last decade, they've added multiple varietals to their portfolio and opened a tasting room co-op with fellow ACME favorite, Belong Wines. Laura focuses on the sales and marketing side of the business, while Kyle takes the lead on winemaking and viticulture. We're pleased to share their 2022 Valdiguié with our Pulse members.

Despite its relative obscurity, Valdiguié has grown in popularity in recent years thanks to proprietors like Kyle and Laura looking to embrace esoteric, lighter-bodied varietals. Before Cabernet was king, many northern California vineyards had Valdiguié plantings, yet at that time, they were referred to as Napa Gamay. It wasn't until the 1980s that a scientist discovered Napa Gamay was not Gamay but a relatively unknown varietal from southern France, Valdiguié. The vines where Paper Planes sources their Valdiguié are dry-farmed and head-trained. These techniques help to limit cluster production of this high-yielding grape, so the berries grown are more concentrated in flavor.

Kyle opted for native fermentation, with half the berry clusters remaining intact during fermentation. He manually pressed the wine into neutral French oak barrels for aging. After 10 months in oak, this wine has verve. Vibrantly perfumed with notes of blood orange, watermelon candies, and pomegranate juice. We crave the electricity that runs through the palate with the racy acidity and the backbone of chewy tannin, giving body and weight. Punchy flavors like tart cherry layer with deeper levels of spiced rhubarb and cola make for an exceptionally easy-drinking red wine.