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Folk Machine | Charbono

Folk Machine | Charbono

A brambly wine on the brink of extinction

$27 - $27
$27
$27 - $27
$27

An incredibly unique wine from the south eastern corner of Napa. Wild, and brambly with an earthy, almost mossy backbone. Great acidity keeps things juicy and gives this wine punch. At only 12.1% alcohol, this wine is easy to sip on and enjoy on a weeknight.

In California, there are primarily three heritage grapes, Zinfandel, Valdiguié, and Charbono. Of those, Zin is pretty widely planted, but Valdiguié and Charbono are sparse and frankly endangered if we don’t drink them. The team at Folk Machine was looking for Charbono and in 2013 got their hands on a two-acre block. A great fit for the region - it’s slow ripening, even with the warm weather, and holds acid. Typical for the grape, this wine is very dark in color and heavy on the nose, but it doesn’t live up to this expectation (in a good way). It drinks very pretty, almost light. The tannins are soft and smooth given the way it looks and smells.

Delicious With

Try it with papaya chicken, roast pork with pineapple, grilled fish, or beef. All things BBQ play really well here. Also great with braised meats, pizza night, and steak.

Their Cred

The Hobo Wine Company is the brainchild of Kenny Likitprakong who grew up at the winery, Domain Saint George, where his father Somchai worked as general manager since 1972. He considered several career options, including medicine, film and professional skateboarding before a gig in San Francisco introduced him to wine. UC Davis subsequently beckoned, and Kenny started spending time with the professors and students studying organic farming practices.

Kenny found his first winemaking job in the Santa Cruz mountains in 1999 before starting Hobo Wine Company in 2002. The “Hobo” name refers to Kenny’s winemaking experiences traveling and working place to place. It applies now to the fact that Kenny does not own his own vineyards, but sources fruit from vineyard owners who he has longstanding relationships with around California, some of which he worked with before starting Hobo.

The Hobo winery has been based in Santa Rosa since 2013. You can look at a map and see the spread of his 42 vineyards. Kenny has cultivated relationships with 27 different farmers across 14+ AVAs. Nearly all of the vineyards are sustainably, organically, or biodynamically farmed. The winery itself is Certified Organic which will be represented on the labels beginning with the 2021 vintage.

The winery is committed to sustainable packaging including a high percentage of recycled glass (all domestic) and natural corks. On the back of his labels, it is noted that he is a member of 1% for the Planet, an organization started by the founders of Patagonia to facilitate donations to green organizations. He donates 1% of his gross sales to non-profits.

Kenny’s wines are well thought of in the wine industry community. Eric Asimov of the New York Times has written about five of Kenny’s wines just since 2017. Jon Bonne, a former writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, included Kenny in his landmark book, The New California Wine.

Winery   Folk Machine

Type   Charbono

Sustainability   Organic

Origin   Suisun Valley, North Coast, California

Alcohol   12.1%

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