About PQ
On a monthlong stay in Sonoma during a pandemic road trip, an opportunistic stop at a local winery turned into a light bulb moment. The last wine served was a one-off from the tap line. Light, funky, a little tart and a little fizzy. As a longtime sour beer guy, I found a favorite. At first, I thought I was just buzzed from the previous 5 wines. But a repeat visit (and subsequently guzzled growler) cemented it — I found my lane. Why aren’t more people making and drinking this?
I turned the idea around in my head for 2 years before getting some help (see below) and deciding to go for it. Being from Western New York, I knew I had a great starting place in the excellent wines of the Finger Lakes. From there, it’s all trial and error. And it always will be.
But the truth is that I’m just another boring dude lucky enough to do this as a side project. What’s much more important is the incredible community of people that work in this space and how generous they’ve been with their time, knowledge and experience. Please continue reading below to learn more about these fantastic people and their projects.
thank you
It started at Pax Wines, where Lance set me up with the first piquette and then brainstormed the idea with me. Not sure where you are, Lance, but I still stand ready to help fire up your Pisco business whenever you’re ready. The Pax space is a collaborative one, with several winemakers sharing knowledge, space and equipment. Read more about their model here.
I haven’t met Pax himself, but his collaborator Rosalind Reynolds was nice enough to take time out of a busy harvest season to walk me through, you know, how to make a piquette? She also makes her own very distinct and approachable wines: Emme wines.
The Pax wine club folks also put me in touch with Patrick Cappiello, another Pax collaborator and fellow Western New Yorker. A star sommelier among other wide-ranging talents, he’s also the winemaker at Monte Rio Cellars. Be sure to try his wines (and piquettes!). Thanks to Patrick for the great guidance and expertise.
When I finally decided to go for it, I had great guidance from Jeremy Wilson, Hawaii sommelier and former Oregon winery guy. He suggested riesling and helped me understand the deal with pomace.
I owe a huge debt to Paul Longo, NYC restaurateur and owner of excellent orange wine producer Fallen Grape. I’d never met Paul in person but on the first phone call he was so incredibly supportive and enthusiastic about the idea. I credit him with pushing me past my fears and into actually getting started. And to do that for someone you’ve never met? Incredibly generous. Paul, some day I will take you up on the offer to come out to CA and make a piquette. Dinner and drinks on me.
My north star throughout this process has always been Todd and Crystal at Wild Arc Farm. Their consistently delicious piquettes are what I gave out to people to help them understand what I was trying to do. Their dedication to native grapes, co-ferments and thoughtful farming and winemaking practices serve as a model to emulate. I’m grateful to Todd for all the guidance he’s provided. They’re also just really nice people, always up for a chat at a fair or in their driveway during a wine pickup.
It was through Wild Arc that I found ABV Ferments, a collective of producers dedicated to sustainable, ancestral and consciously-produced drinks made from things other than the vitis vinifera grape. I’ve learned so much from this open and supportive group. Shout out to Calvin Griffin for the DM consults and all the other producers for the inspiration.
Trying to figure out where to actually make piquette was a huge problem, so I’m forever grateful to Anders and Mayda at Groundwork Market Garden for giving me a home. GWMG is a community-focused urban farm in Buffalo’s historically neglected East Side. They do an annual free plant giveaway for local residents, a subsidized CSA and a weekly farmer’s market in an area where there aren’t many fresh options. I’m very lucky to have found a home with such great people.
I’m similarly lucky to have such cool neighbors in the building! With a cidery and a brewery next door, I think it’s fair to call us Buffalo’s booziest building. Big thanks to Katie Campos of Beau Fleuve Cider / The Cider Project for lending me equipment, a sympathetic ear, and a place for our (hopefully annual) holiday boozemakers party. Shout out also to Eli Sipos and Dan Colleran of Ed’s No Name Beer for help during the licensing process, helping me make connections and generally for being super supportive and curious about my project. I’m really excited to build something up with this crew.
But honestly, no piquette gets made without pomace, so in that vein I’m thankful to John Monnier and his team at Ravines. John was so game to help me, even going as far to help me zip my totes on the forklift when I came to pick up the pomace. A really nice guy. Funny enough, he and his team love Pax wines! Expect a couple more this year, guys.
Shout out also to Zack Klug of New Kitty Wine for moral support and stopping by for a drink and a chat.
All of these folks played a huge role in the creation of pq, but nothing at all would have happened without my wife, Lina, whose own light bulb went off at the same time as mine and has been unwavering in her support of this harebrained scheme ever since. I’m also hugely grateful to my Dad, who’s really the assistant winemaker at this point. In addition to his help with pressing and bottling, he took measurements for me while I was away and made emergency runs to the wine shop when equipment broke. I also have to thank my brother Jordan and my mom for their help. Shouts out also to Ryan McNamee, who helped me pilot the truck on pickup day and kept spirits high during the slog of press day.