Thee and Thou Perfidia Red Blend 2017

Thee and Thou Perfidia Red Blend 2017

Clements Hills – Lodi, CA

14.2% ABV

Thee and Thou Perfidia is a mix of vineyards and farming. The Tempranillo and Garnacha come from Hunter’s Oak Vineyard, which is certified under Lodi Rules but still uses sprays (including glyphosate). The vines are all trellised with bi-lateral cordons. The Graciano comes from the CCOF Terra Alta Vineyard across the street and are also trained in bi-lateral cordons. The Zinfandel comes from the historic Suess Vineyard about a mile away from the other two, and is certified Lodi Rules but also uses sprays like Hunter’s Oak. It was planted in 1910, with freestanding head-trained vines.

All three vineyards were farmed under Markus Bokisch. Markus has been one of the primary growers involved in actually creating the Lodi AVAs and has been a key player in setting up the region’s Lodi Rules sustainable viticulture program, a comprehensive set of standards that helps farmers work more responsibly both in the vineyard and with their businesses and workers.

The vineyards are a similar mix of alluvial soils, mostly sandy clay loam of Redding/Yellowlark series. Lodi sits at the mouth of the San Joaquin Valley and gets pretty significant diurnal swings from the hot Valley pulling cold ocean air in through the SF Bay, which helps retain freshness and acidity in the grapes.

The grapes were picked and vinified separately starting in late August and continuing through mid- September. They were all fermented whole-cluster with full stem inclusion in the same manner – foot- stomped thoroughly in their pick bins and then transferred to fermentation bins where they were punched down 1-2 times per day until dry. The wines were pressed off and barreled down where they went through malolactic fermentation. After malolactic the wines were racked off and then blended together, and a small tartaric acid addition (approx. 1g/l) was made to correct high pH. None of the fermentations were inoculated.

Thee and Thou Perfidia was aged approximately 45 months in used French oak barrels, with a few rackings and sulfur additions when proper. The wine was fined during one of the rackings using a fungally-derived chitosan fining agent.

The name is a nod to that mix of grapes and to the extra manipulation I had to do in the winery; a tongue-in-cheek betrayal of my usual minimal intervention mindset.

The label hands are another play on that as well – the fantastical hands represent Titania & Oberon, the queen & king of the fairies. All the hands on my other labels are close friends and relationships, and it’s just bad juju to put two of your close friends’ hands on a label about betrayal. Titania & Oberon also run around on each other constantly (like just about every mythological ruling couple), and the whole thing just feels like a perfect fit thematically.

Plus the Midsummer Night’s Dream quote on the back label is also incredibly perfect:

“for aught that I could ever read,
could ever hear by tale or history,
the course of true love never did run smooth.”