Donkey & Goat Winery is owned and operated by Jared and Tracey Brandt in Berkeley, California. These urban winemakers product “natural wines” - the extension of natural farming philosophies (sustainable, natural & biodynamic farming) into the cellar.
D&G wines are made from sustainably-farmed vineyards in Sierra Nevada, Mendocino and Napa. In the cellar, nothing is removed and nothing is added (save minimal effective sulphur, only when needed), including cultured yeast - they rely on the flora present in their winery, which has sustained the natural yeast strains that survive their unique Bay Area microclimate.
Adding Sulphur is a contentious issue in the natural wine world and the Brandts have crafted wines with zero added sulphur in the past. But in general they use minimum effective sulphur, levels that fall within the predominant guideline for natural wines in Europe, where the natural wine movement preceded ours by some years. They also avoid the traditional methods of clarifying wine (hot and/or cold stabilization), choosing fullness of flavor over crystal clear wines. They also avoid fining on all wines, and filtration on most of them.
On the back label of this wine you'll find the ingredient list - "Hand-harvested grapes and sulphur". The Brandts have made wines in this manner since they began in 2004 and will continue to do so until they stop, a date not yet determined, and one which I hope is a long ways off. The world is a better place with D&G Wines in it.
