New and Tribe Releases

2018 Winemaker’s Handprint
Cabernet Sauvignon
Sonoma County—California
14.9% Alcohol by Volume

We’re proud to announce the first addition to our Handprint series: the Handprint Cabernet Sauvignon. 

In 1992, when we first started making our Winemaker’s Handprint Merlot, merlot was a denigrated, under-rated varietal. We needed a way to let folks know that we stood by Merlot—that it was a Meeker Merlot. Firm, full-bodied, ready to age for decades. And from the very beginning, folks asked for more Handprints: Cabs, Zins, whatever their favorites were. 

My Dad always said no. Merlot needed and deserved that special attention. Since my Dad passed in 2021, I’ve looked for ways to build on his legacy while continuing to evolve the wines we make and the techniques we use to create them. Today, I’m proud to share a new facet of our unique approach to making Cab. 

We’ve always developing and refining our techniques to make Cab our way; with long aging potential and a classic structure-forward focus. We're excited with what we're calling our "late oak" technique and feel it’s time to give it a new showcase. 

Just like the Handprint Merlot, I handprint every bottle, one at a time. And with a left hand on the front, these bottles will look perfect side by side with a bottle of Handprint Merlot. From our hands to yours—these are Meeker wines we hope will grace your tables when you make core memories with your families and friends.

2022 Hone #3.3 "Hooky"
Paradise Canyon Farm
Mendocino, North Coast
12.9% Alcohol by Volume
 

When we first launched the Hone series we told you and everybody whow would listen that Hone was about experiments and new projects that we used to push ourselvesbeyond our knowledge and skill set. We also told you that Hone wines wouldn't be repeated, because we ideally just got comfotable outside our comfort zone.

What we probably should've anticipated is that we'd stumble on something exciting and want to do it again. And, then we'd want to use athe same label that everybody loved. So whoops.

That said, we haven't been static in our execution of carbonic fermentation. We're still pretty new at irt, and we're learning more about it and how to maximize itgs benefit and further its integration into our wines. So, this third bottling still represents a marked evolution in our execution. We're very much is the most "complete" version yet. It's not as distinctly carbonic-y as the first, but it ismore integrated and connected through the mid-palate.

Notes from our first vintage of Hooky:
Hooky was our first attempt at making wine similar to a French Beaujolais Nouveau, but with a Meeker twist of course! We used an Italian grape varietal, Dolcetto (which is certainly not French!) and put the grapes through a full carbonic maceration to prevent an otherwise tannic red grape from becoming a big, tannic red wine. The result is a light bodied red wine, with plenty of bright, juicy fruit and a crisp freshness on the palette. 

Note: This product is not available for purchase to South Dakota Customers.

2019 Snapshot Series:  Neon Stuff

50% Malbec, Bells Echo Vineyard, Mendocino
50% Cabernet Sauvignon, Scharf Family Vineyard, Dry Creek Valey
North Coast—California
14.9% Alcohol by volume
105 cases produced
Released February 2024

The "Neon Stuff" is a beautiful 50/50 blend of Malbec from the Bells Echo Vineyard and Cabernet Sauvignon from the Schard Family Vineyard. The name Neon Stuff came from an article that Lucas read where somebody used the term to perjoratively dismiss distracitons. In our tradition, though, disctractions are the root of growth and progress. Distractions are exciting when the balance. The Cab is the traditions and obligation, the Malbec is the new and exciting.

The Neon Stuff should be firing on all thrusters once it settles in from bottling. Enjoy April through whenever we land on Mars, maybe (or within the next 15-20 years).

Photo Information:
Craig Boliver's (@rhymeswithcraig) photo of a launch from Cape Canaveral. 

2022 Mazzoni Home Ranch Zinfandel
Alexander Valley
Sonoma County—California
14.8% Alcohol by Volume
220 cases produced

Mazzoni Home Ranch was orginally purchased by Giuseppe Mazzoni in 1899 and first planted in 1900. It is primarily Zinfandel but, like most vineyards from that era, has a menagerie of interplanted other stuff including Petite Sirah, Carignane, Golden Chasselas, and a handful of others. The Oltranti family acquired the ranch in the 1988 and expanded and replanted some of the vineyard. While we also made wine from some of vineyard. While we also made wine from some of the newer blocks in 2022 and 2023, this wine exclusively from the oldest block with vines dating back over 100 years.

We treated this fruit with respect that it deserves. Extra time on skins, a gentle press to barrel ans some extended lees contact. It's 100% of the lot and vineyard. We didn't blend anything into it, we wouldn't dare. We gave the fruit the work it needed to fully express the elegance and structure that vines of this age have earned. Drink this summer through 2040ish, with prime windows likely 2025-2029 and after 2034.

Note: This product is not available for purchase to South Dakota Customers.

2021 "Vexing Tyche" White Blend
Snapshot Series #07
North Coast—California

51.2% Grenche Blanc
20.9% Sauvignon Blanc
17.4% Viognier
10.5% Chenin Blanc

13.7% Alcohol by Volume
120 cases produced
Released 2023

In Greek Myth, Tyche is the Goddess of fortune. She is the arbiter of luck and controls the destiny of a community; a (capricious) protector that gifts prosperity and dispenses ill fortune. In 2021—after a string of wildfires, pandemic, and drought—we decided to take things into our own hands. Instead of playing it safe in a precarious moment, we went on a rampage of taking chances and pushing our boundaries. This blend is entirely compromised of those chances. Don't get me wrong—I'm not forsaking Tyche—but I'm not waiting around either. This wine is the liquid equivalent of "fine, I'll do it myself". And in making it, we made our own fate. - Lucas Meeker

Note: This product is not available for purchase to South Dakota Customers.