“Voodoo Child” is one of the finest examples of the expertise, authenticity, and purity that goes into each Wenzel wine. It comes from a small parcel of organically farmed Pinot Gris that 12th-generation winemaker Michael Wenzel gently hand harvests and transports back to the winery where, instead of immediately pressing out the juice, the grapes stay in brief contact with their skins—the reason this wine flaunts such a gorgeous rust hue. Fermentation occurs with ambient yeasts and without the addition of sulfur. Upon completion, the wine is transferred into neutral oak barrels for a short period. It is then bottled unfined and unfiltered with a microscopic dose of sulfur. 

Even though we’ve already explained the wine’s mesmerizing color, I must reiterate that this is unlike any orange wine you’ve ever had. It has a slightly hazy (unfined/unfiltered), vivid rust-red core that is bound to redefine your perception of Pinot Gris. Secondly, like the Jura wines of Jean-François Ganevat, there are zero traces of imperfection. The wine is breathtakingly fresh without any funk or fuzziness. It’s crunchy, savory, buoyant, and vibrantly perfumed. Therefore, I recommend you wrangle all of your geeky wine friends and slowly explore this bottle from start to finish. 

After a brief 15-minute decant—don’t be afraid to splash it around—serve in all-purpose stems around 50-55 degrees and get ready for the fireworks. The nose reveals wild raspberry, green strawberry, grape stem, rhubarb, melon rind, blood orange, crushed stone, and a hint of herbaceousness. The medium-bodied palate is tantalizingly refreshing with crisp, crunchy layers of taut berry fruit and a fine backbone of pulverized minerals. This is among the purest wines you can find! Enjoy now and over the next three years. Cheers!