A fantastic white blend

Balena 2018

Six bottles — $119 ($109 club) Shipped

43% Pinot Grigio, 43% Grenache Blanc, 14% Viognier

Bale­na is a del­i­cate, aro­mat­ic blend of Pinot Gri­gio, Viog­nier, and Grenache Blanc. Bale­na is Ital­ian for whale, and this blend is a nod to our organ­i­cal­ly grown Whale Rock Vine­yard. Made in an Ital­ian Pinot Gri­gio style, Bale­na is crisp, fruity, lean, and refresh­ing. The Oak­en­shield Wines are cre­at­ed to cel­e­brate the spir­it of the good life to be enjoyed with friends and fam­i­ly, both past and present.

Notes from our winemaker

What I love about cre­at­ing blends is the abil­i­ty to make a bet­ter or more com­plex wine than hav­ing the indi­vid­ual wines on their own with har­mo­ny and bal­ance being the pri­ma­ry goal. Pinot Gri­gio pro­vides the acid­i­ty and struc­tur­al base for this blend. The Grenache Blanc is aged in neu­tral pun­cheons to add com­plex­i­ty and is blend­ed in to lift the aro­mat­ics adding trop­i­cal fruit aro­mas and fla­vors. Viog­nier is added for tex­ture, cre­at­ing a lush middle.

Tom Myers, Winemaker