NEW AT THE BYWARD WINE MARKET:

We just got some exciting new products in the shop including an outstanding new Whisky from Tawse Winery in Niagara and the Benjamin Bridge Piquette for your delicious natural wine chugging pleasure. The Piquette really is the easiest drinking thing in the entire shop, oh my goodness. We also have a few new DRINK GOOD WINE mixed cases featuring South Africa:

SOUTH AFRICA 101
SAVAGE WINE + BLANKbottle MIXER

If you’re in Ottawa you can order these for local delivery from the shop or for in-store pickup! And most of these wines are available for individual delivery by the case to anywhere in Ontario. Just send us a note and we’ll flip you the pricing info!

And now for the main event:

The De Martino family has been making wine in Chile since the 1930’s, and they have long been at the fore of Chilean viticulture. From having worked in almost all of Chile's viticultural D.O.’s, they were also the first to label and export a 100% varietal labelled Carmenere wine from Chile, and they were the first Wine Spectator 100 point wine from Chile as well. As such they were a very big deal through the 90’s and 2000’s with their robust style that helped define top Chilean wine to the rest of the world.

But when the next generation of De Martinos began taking over, they started looking more to the past as their future. While they’ve always been organic, the focus shifted from powerful American style big wines with new oak to raw natural wines of the past. Since 2011 all their wines have been wild yeast fermented and aged in neutral (or mostly neutral) oak. This shift came to a head when they began their Itata project. They wanted to make the most natural, old-school, Chilean wine possible. So they went back to the craddle of Chile’s viticulture, the Itata Valley, when Spanish explorers first planted vines outside of the city now known as Concepcion in the 1500’s. While the original vines they brought were Pais (aka the Mission grape), Cinsault arrived very shortly after as another early Chilean varietal.

The inspiration for this Itata project was to try make wine as similar as possible to the original wines made in Chile. Old school and all natural. They grow everything organically, dry-farming with no irrigation, plowing by horse, hand harvest, whole-bunch fermentation with wild yeast in original amphorae (the ancient clay pots used for wine making as far back as Greek and Roman times). And these aren’t reproductions that many wineries use these days, they salvaged dozens of antique pieces from across the country for authentic fermentation. Then no filtration or sulphates added. Just the raw real deal, the same as way back in the day, as close as they can tell. They call these amphorae wines their ‘Viejas Tinajas’ series, which translates directly to ‘old jars’. A fitting title for literally what they are. The label really tells it all: a picture of an old amphorae and the horse-drawn plow of the De Martino label. Check out more on this project on their website by clicking here.

The result is an almost unbelievably pure wine. Something with such pretty cherry and cranberry fruit but a really nice undercurrent of earthy notes like wet sticks, stems, or forest floor. A perfectly autumn nuance to balance a perfumed, floral and fruity wine.

They also have a 2nd series of wines from Itata called ‘Gallardia’ which is essentially the exact same wine but the only difference is stainless steel tank fermentation and just a tiny touch of sulphates at bottling. But we’re talking like only 40 ppm, so well within fully natural wine standards, but with just a bit more freshness and stability. There is a Cinsault, Cinsault Rosé, and the ‘Old Vine White’ which is 70% Muscatel and 30% Corinto. These wines have an incredibly easy drinkability to them as well as a clean precision. Huge all natural values for under $30!

DE MARTINO, ‘VIEJAS TINAJAS’ CINSAULT 2016 | $44.99 x6
Organic, dry farmed, hand harvested, horse plowed, wild yeast fermented, amphorae aged, unfiltered, no added suphates, but most importantly…delicious! Notes of crushed strawberries, cranberries, cherries (pits and all) + wet sticks and leaves. We only have 1 or 2 sixpacks of this left in stock, but we have a bunch of stock available by the bottle at the Byward Wine Market for $50 each if interested in trying it out!

DE MARTINO, ‘GALLARDIA’ CINSAULT 2019 | $27.99 x12
It was produced with fruit from a 35-year-old ungrafted, dry-farmed vineyard in Guarilihue in the commune of Coelemu. It fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and will be bottled unoaked. Beautiful juicy red cherries, violets, and bit of earth. Also available at the Byward Wine Market by the bottle for $31

DE MARTINO, ‘GALLARDIA’ CINSAULT ROSÉ 2019 | $27.99 x12
Same stainless steel and organic production as the above Gallardia Cinsault, but as rosé. Shows strawberry, subtle spice, wild red currant is tightened with pink grapefruit acidity and lined with a light cloud of fine lees. Super refreshing, richer, bone dry all natural rosé. Also available at the Byward Wine Market by the bottle for $31

DE MARTINO, ‘GALLARDIA’ OLD VINE WHITE 2019 | $27.99 x12
Same organic, dry-farmed, sustainable, horse drawn viticulture as the rest, but done in stainless steel. 70% Moscatel, 30% Corinto. Classic floral Muscat and jasmine aromas plus some lifted notes of lychee and lemon blossom. Lots of perceived lush sweetness on the nose but bone dry with slightly oily texture and gorgeous acidity. Also available at the Byward Wine Market by the bottle for $31

Just a reminder that the order deadline for Friday case delivery is Wednesday at noon. Reach out if you have any questions, and check out the archive of past FEATURES if you’re interested in other recommendations. Lastly, please feel free to forward this to anyone in Ontario who may be interested in home wine delivery and follow us on instagram for daily wine content at @capitalwine.ottawa!