No. PF - 04

Hybrid Red

Wine (2021)

Hybrid Red Wine (OR) With Bow & Arrow (2021)

With Bow &

Arrow (OR)

Spring

Portland, OR

750 ML

Hybrid Red Wine
Bow & Arrow

Hybrid Red Wine

Willamette Valley, OR

WTF is a hybrid red grape? Rare to Oregon, Léon Millot is a cross between a disease resistant American grape and a fancy European grape. Well suited to withstand climate change, we partnered with Bow & Arrow to explore the magic of the hybrid.

Experience

Tastes like carrying a bag of peppercorn dust through a spring forest at twilight, while feeding chocolate blackberries to feral forest creatures.

  • Grape(s)

    Léon Millot

  • Place

    Portland ,OR

  • Producer

    Bow & Arrow

  • ABV (%)

    12.5

  • Contents (ML)

    750

  • Collab No.

    PF - 04
Process

WTF is a hybrid grape?

With Scott Frank from Bow & Arrow. Words by Brent Braun. Photography by Ryan Garber.

To really appreciate the importance of what Scott Frank has been doing for the last decade, you have to remember what things were like in 2010. Back then, the locus of meaning for Willamette Valley wine was Pinot Noir. The undisputed heavyweight champion of the Pinot Noir world was (and still is) Burgundy, France, but Oregon felt like it could lay solid claim to the number 2 spot. That’s no small feat for a region that first started planting in the 1960s. Oregon was gonna conquer the wine world on the back of one thin skinned, disease prone, expensive to farm grape. Pinot Noir was our ride or die. And everyone was drinking the koolaid.

  • (But) Scott Saw Another Story

    • Instead of looking to Burgundy, he looked north to the Loire Valley. The natural wine movement had taken hold there and it was fostering a new generation of talented, passionate winemakers. Oftentimes, just a young couple with nothing more than a small plot of land and an interest in making something of integrity. And the wines were for workers, for artists, for creatives. They were wines priced for everyday drinking. Wines meant to nourish. Wines meant to be shared with friends. 

    As a lifelong DJ, Scott was absolutely privy to the intrigue of the communal experience. A humble, oddball wine shared amongst friends becomes a special wine. Those kinds of wines were the great gift of Loire. Burgundy wines might have class, but Loire wines have soul.

    His first Bow & Arrow wine was made in 2010. Since then he’s been working tirelessly with small farmers to get Loire varieties planted here in the Willamette. Against all odds, he produces a lineup of wines every year representing the key Loire Varieties: Melon de Bourgogne, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Gamay Noir. The wines are absolutely delicious & they channel the Loire spirit more than any other producer in America. 

    Post Familiar and Bow & Arrow Wine Collaboration
    The Experiment

    In 2021, we began talks with Scott about a Post Familiar collaboration. Since his focus is on Loire varieties, we agreed to experiment with a grape that would never be found in the Loire. Something new to him. We were game for whatever. The weirder the better. Well, as fate would have it, Scott had just discovered a wonderful new vineyard source. While most of the vineyard was planted to grapes he wanted for Bow & Arrow, there was a half acre of a strange unknown hybrid grape called Léon Millot. 

    You’ve never heard of it. We’ve never heard of it. No one has ever heard of it. But we wanted it. The opportunity to explore a mysterious hybrid grape with a world class local natural winemaker was a dream scenario.

  • So WTF is a Hybrid grape (anyway)?

    • Hybrid grapes are a cross between a European grape variety and an American grape variety.  European varieties are the ones we all like to drink (Pinot, Cabernet, Chardonnay etc) They are totally delicious but since they did not evolve in America, they are constantly under disease pressure from American pests and American weather patterns.

    Post Familiar and Bow & Arrow Wine Collaboration
    Post Familiar and Bow & Arrow Wine Collaboration
    Post Familiar and Bow & Arrow Wine Collaboration
    Post Familiar and Bow & Arrow Wine Collaboration
    Post Familiar and Bow & Arrow Wine Collaboration
    Post Familiar and Bow & Arrow Wine Collaboration
    Post Familiar and Bow & Arrow Wine Collaboration
    Post Familiar and Bow & Arrow Wine Collaboration
    Post Familiar and Bow & Arrow Wine Collaboration

    You could argue that they don't really like their new home. This is why your typical grocery store wine is made from grapes that were carpet bombed with pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. Organically grown grapes are waaaaaaaay better, but even then, it often requires a tractor to drive through a vineyard spraying organic sprays. Tractors usually need diesel fuel to run. Overall, it’s pretty tricky to avoid either chemical and/or carbon inputs when it comes to farming European grapes in America.

    American grape varieties, on the other hand, are sturdy as hell and since they evolved here, they have almost no disease pressure. This is their land, their home. But, alas, they don't make tasty wine and they are often better as food. For example, the grandfather of our Leon Millot is primarily a jelly grape (yes, we made delicious natural wine from the descendant of a jelly grape.)

    Post Familiar Natural Wine “Hybrids are less susceptible to disease because they evolved here. You don't have to do anything to them.” - Scott Frank

    “Hybrids are less susceptible to disease because they evolved here. You don't have to do anything to them.”

    Scott Frank
    The future of Winemaking

    Hybrid grapes attempt to get the best of both worlds by crossing the two. They are delicious like the European grapes we all love, and they are disease resistant like our native American grapes.

    Our 2021 Hybrid Red Wine came from a half acre of Leon Millot that needed no chemical sprays. And because there were no chemical sprays, there were no tractors. So no diesel. Zero chemical inputs. Zero carbon inputs. So is this Hybrid Red a peek into the future of sustainable winemaking? We think so.

    • ABV (%)

      12.5

    • Contents (ML)

      750

    • Sulfur added (PPM)

      25

    Domestic Shipping

    Due to inclimate weather, orders will be held in our queue and shipped ASAP. This isn't ideal, but it's essential in protecting your wines from temperatures during transportation. Our fufillment partner closely monitors the weather and any available window to ship.