The “mavericks” are called such because they specialize in natural wines, often made from obscure grapes grown by vintners who are passionate about place and careful stewards of the land. When these winemakers/growers find small plantings of unusual grapes, sometimes from a hidden, old, neglected patch, instead of pulling them up and planting more familiar and easy-to-sell grapes, they instead cultivate them. While cabernet doesn't fall into the “obscure” category, that “not at all typical” also characterizes a “maverick” wine.
If you can't find “The Perfect Red,” Chris makes another atypical cab — the Massa Cab, which at 12.5% alcohol is a definite cab maverick. And he makes many wines from much more obscure grapes like valdigui é , arneis and negromara.
Some growers are also dedicated to “heritage” grapes, which for our immediate area include valdigui é , zinfandel and charbono. Such growers sometimes plant new vineyards with them as well as reclaiming old ones. Kenny Likitprakong of Hobo/Camp/Folk Machine, who has for years made delicious valdigui é from obscure vineyards, has more recently found such a new planting (by Brian Babcock in Suisun Valley) of charbono, which he says is “a great fit for the area.
” The grape ripens slowly, even in very warm weather and retains acid as it develops flavor. The 2022 Folk Machine Charbono is made with 20% whole cluster grapes and fermented without inoculated yeast. It's a dark, aromatic red that fo.