2019 Sezession

Flavor Notes
This understated wine is a refreshing twist on the hallmarks of a standard sparkling. Mosaiced aromas of pear, celery seed, and cardamom bring levity to a lees influenced palate of freshly baked almond brioche. 

Vinification
2019 was one of the coolest growing seasons in the decade and it only made sense to lean into sparkling wine with our Grüner. Harvested October 11th, 2019 from Grishaw Vineyard on Old Mission Peninsula, the grapes were gently whole cluster pressed into a stainless steel tank where they fermented and aged on their gross lees with no further additions. On June 12th, 2020, the cuvée went to neighboring winery, 2 Lads, for tirage—a small amount of sugar and yeast were added to kickstart second fermentation in the traditional method. The wine aged on its bottle lees for three years. On August 8th, 2023, Sezession was sent to neighboring winery, Bonobo, to be riddled and disgorged. No dosage was added; bottles were topped with more Sezession before crown capping.

Food Pairings
Savory notes in the wine play well with vibrantly spiced recipes like masoor dal or tikka masala. Wiener Schnitzel is a classic Austrian pairing for Grüner Veltliner, as bright notes in the wine will cut through the heavier dish.

Cellaring
After three years of bottle aging, Sezession is ready to enjoy now upon release (September 2023), but will continue to cellar well for several more years.

Sezession refers to a series of movements from the turn of the 20th century when European avant-garde artists such as Gustav Klimt broke with the conservative past, favoring Art Nouveau over more traditional styles. The motto of the Sezessionist movement is featured on the Sezession building in Vienna, Austria, as well as on our Sezession label: "To every age its art, to every art its freedom" (German: Der Zeit ihre Kunst. Der Kunst ihre Freiheit). In the spirit of the Sezession movement, Winemaker Sean O’Keefe utilized the Austrian Grüner Veltliner grape for this wine as a non-traditional sparkling variety. Our first vintage of Sezession was in 2013 and quickly became a favorite—we are excited to see its return for the 2019 vintage.