Stolpman Love You Bunches Sangiovese

The story of our new Carbonic Sangiovese label goes back to August of 2016, when our friends Emily and Patton Penhallegon served the 2015 vintage at their beautiful wedding in Flathead Lake, Montana. Our mutual friend, Italian Wine Importer extraordinaire, Joanie Karapetian posted a photo of the Carbonic Sangiovese bottle. Under the bottle shot, framed by the Montana backdrop, she wrote “nothing says ‘I love you, will you marry me?’ like Carbonic Sangiovese.”

A comment popped up below it from Frenchman Bon Vivant Remy Charest, “nothing says I love you, bunches – like Carbonic fermentation.”
To make Carbonic Sangiovese, La Cuadrilla must lovingly, gently harvest whole bunches. The winery team then softly cradles them into a tank without popping the skins. Then we part for up to three long weeks, waiting for the sugar locked within those adored grapes to ferment and blossom into the light red wine we obsess over all summer.
Reading the post, still slightly dazed from the festivities of the night before, I knew that cute little pun had to be the new label for the wine. Carbonic Sangiovese is way too fun to have a serious label!

The Process
In my head, I saw a post-it note on the fridge, “Love You Bunches” – casually scribbled and totally personal. But to try and write it seemed forced to artist Kari Crist and I, so we hosted a contest at a wine club pickup party: the customer that scrawled “Love You Bunches” in the most magical style would win a free case.
Club members took the contest seriously, and some beautiful calligraphy emerged. Confident we would find the right one, we popped a bottle of Tequila and enjoyed the sunset under the oak tree. At some point during the after-party, Ruben walked over and wrote his own version – and maybe because we love Ruben so much, it was the unanimous vote for the label.

The Wine
Bursting with vibrant energy, the Carbonic Sangiovese is a light-hearted wine meant to drink cold. Firm, crunchy cherries, red grapefruit with loads of acid and a popping tannin structure that makes the wine extremely food friendly.