Iruai, Psychic Terroir - 2024
Fast Facts:
Winemaker(s): Chad & Michelle Westbrook Hinds
Region: Applegate Valley → Rogue Valley → Oregon → USA
Classification: Applegate Valley AVA
Varietal(s): Grenache, Muscat, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Gamay, Gewürztraminer
Terroir: Gravelly, granite-derived soils on old river terraces; hot, dry days and cold mountain nights
Serving Temp: 55-65°F
Michelle grew up in Etna (not the Sicilian one), a tiny old gold-mining town 3,000 feet up in California's Scott Valley, close to the border of Oregon. In 2019 she and Chad moved their winery from a co-op in Berkeley to a steel building on an alfalfa farm in Etna and renamed it Iruai ("ear-oo-eye"), the earliest recorded name for the valley. Michelle runs the vineyards and the business. Chad runs the cellar, and describes the place as a cross between Switzerland and Montana.
They set a new rule when they moved: to buy grapes only from vineyards within a 90-minute drive, which is a pretty short list up there, and the California side of it runs out fast. So, for this one, Chad drives over the Siskiyou Mountains into southern Oregon's Applegate Valley, where vines sit on gravelly old river terraces, the days run hot and dry, and the nights turn cold enough to keep the fruit fresh.
Psychic Terroir is a cover song, and that's Chad's own description. Years ago a mentor of his made a little field blend, red and white grapes all fermented together as whole bunches, stems and all. Chad says it tasted nothing like any one of those grapes, and the experience changed his life. Nobody makes that wine anymore, so he makes it from memory, chasing a feeling and letting the recipe morph from year to year. While the reds shift, the constant are a good dose of Muscat, that white grape that smells like roses. He always keeps the stems as well, which bring the peppery, leafy snap.
Why'd we pick it?
Chad thinks a wine should come with a soundtrack, much like we do! Every Iruai bottle gets its own playlist, picked for the vibe and posted on a corner of their website called Moondog FM, along with a movie and a tarot card. This one drew Fellini's 8½ and the Page of Cups. So make it a thing, queue up the playlist or the film, pull a card before you sip and let us know what you get! Only 500 cases made. Baller.
Field Notes
- Tastes like: Blackberry juice and rose petals, with a slight perfume aromatic smack from the white grapes. Tomato leaf and cracked pepper hit the finish and overall its light on its feet and happy to be chilled or room temp.
- Serve it: Half an hour in the fridge before you crack into it. Chad would tell you to "put a record on first!"
- Food Pairings: Chad's official pairing for this wine is "whatever's on the table," which is cute and honest. But if you want more, the tomato-leaf thing is real, so catch the last tomatoes of the year (which wildly are still popping off), slice them thick onto toast, with mayo, salt, and a lot of black pepper. Or crust up a flank steak with cracked peppercorns and slice it thin. Fries on the side would be excellent. Or try your hand at a legit mapo tofu with shiitakes standing in for the pork if you'd like, and throw in plenty of Sichuan peppercorn, over rice.
