Skinner Native Red El Dorado California 750ml

The 2018 Native is a flirty, mouthwatering expression of El Dorado. Spellbinding aromas of raspberry and roses make this wine as delightful to sniff as it is to guzzle. Lushly vivacious across the palate, plump and bright, the Native can be your food’s best friend, or simply a way to jazz up a Wednesday evening.

We wanted to make something unique to Skinner, and we wanted it to be a wine we could share with the world. An approachable blend that incorporated all of our “strange” legacy fruit married with varieties that are more common, but nevertheless El Dorado through and through – radiant and wild.  We wanted to make a wine that, perhaps, cannot be made anywhere else.  And so was born our Native red, a tribute to our original brand name, J. Skinner Native Wines dating back to 1861.

"Native is made entirely by co-fermentation dominated by our Legacy block from our estate (namely, Trousseau, Petite Bouschet, Mission and Carignan). We handle our native fermentations with the remontage technique (versus the more commonly punch down); gentler on the berries, but aggressively more aerobic for the juice, encouraging high CO2 production which both protects and bolsters our aromatic profile. Gently pressed, settled, and sent to barrel for 10 months. Racked and returned in the spring, and bottled just before harvest."