Rheinhessen, Germany
Martin Wörner is based in Rheinhessen and farms organically on sandstone soils. Having staged with Tom Lubbe (of Matassa) and Steph and Eddie at Gut Oggau is s good sign your wines will not likely end up in the gross category. 2017 was Marto Wines’ first vintage. Fully invested in natural processes, grapes are hand-harvested. In the winery indigenous yeast and an ambient ferment are the order of the day, the wines undergo no fining or filtration, and no sulphur is added.
Alanna LaGamba is his partner in wine and life, she makes her own wines under her Vin de la Gamba label. We love the wines made by these young superstars and are excited to share their 2021 vintage with you!
Alanna notes that this year was very cold, cloudy, and challenging in the vineyard, with very few warm and/or sunny days. In previous years they would have harvested early to capture bright acidity and freshness, but this year it was the opposite and waiting for the fruit to fully ripen was super challenging. On top of that, there was a lot of rain during the harvest and again, very few sunny days. Harvest was finally completed on November 1, 2021.
~FRAUEN POWER ~
FRAUEN POWER! Alanna Lagamba’s signature German-style Lambrusco!
This is a super fun wine for a warm afternoon, or nibbles on cheese and charcutere. It’s essentially a fruity, light red with a rounded mouthfeel, yet minimal tannins.
Notes of blackcurrant, grape, cola, fizzy sweets and lime. Ideal to take to the park.
Frauen Power is the most important wine ever made.
FRAUEN POWER 6 x 750ml | SKU #113817 | $27.05
~FRAUENPOWER ROSE ~
As if the usual red Frauenpower was not enough, Alanna Lagamba has lifted the bar with her insanely good, splashy Rosé version!
A rosé version of FrauenPower with Dornfelder, Riesling and Siegerrebe, super refreshing. Watermelon, cream soda, herbs, vanilla ice cream kinda vibe.
FRAUENPOWER ROSE 6 x 750ml | SKU #460868 | $31.96
~AL DENTE ~
This crunchy co-ferment is a blend of 25% Pinot Gris and 75% Pinot Noir grapes that are hand-harvested early from vines grown on sandstone soils. The spontaneously fermenting juice macerates for two weeks before full fermentation and aging in huge old oak barrels for 10 months atop the lees. Unfined, unfiltered with no additional SO2. 12%
AL DENTE 6 x 750ml | SKU #113826 | $35.12
~CRAZY CRAZY~
The Marto Crazy Crazy is quince and pear driven orange Pét-nat that Martin calls the sparkling version of his Weiss. Made of a single vineyard co-planting of Huxel, Müller-Thurgau, and Würzer, it’s a spritzy, playful wine with boundless energy. Notes of apple, tart pears and quince, and orange blossom.
CRAZY CRAZY | 6 x 750ml | SKU #113820 | $27.08
~WEISS~
The same old Weiss we know and love, a skin-contact blend of Muller-Thurgau and Riesling and some other grapes added from the field. Light, fruity and easy to digest, the colour is a bit more orange this year due to longer maceration times (around 1 month), however due to the cold vintage, the tannins are quite light and delicate. With 2021 being a cooler vintage, the wine doesn’t show any VA at all, but has a beautiful natural acidity.
WEISS 6 x 750ml | SKU #69557 | $28.23
WEISS 6 x 1.5L | SKU #44441 | $63.39
~MANNA~
Second vintage, more refined, fruit explosion, red version of Weiss!
For Manna 2021, Portugieser and Scheurebe were harvested from the same vineyard, stamped underfoot as whole bunches and macerated together for around a week before pressing and ageing for one year in old oak barrels. A small amount of Pinot Noir grapes were macerated in whole bunches for a month and, a day before bottling, all the barrels were tasted before blending. A super fresh, herbal wine with low alcohol and great acidity.
MANNA 6 x 750ml | SKU #250236 | $29.38
~CUVEE ALANNA~
Another vintage, another variety! This time Cuvée Alanna takes the form of a Riesling– something very near and dear to Alanna’s heart. A single vineyard Riesling which was inspired by a visit in March 2021 to Yann Durrmann in Alsace, specifically his Grand Cru Kastelberg vineyard. Alanna is inspired by Rieslings from very sour soils, and I wanted to both express and experience this with this one particular vineyard they own (which had previously been harvested and blended into the Weiss).
This was the last vineyard they harvested, and they were fortunately blessed with absolutely perfect fruit. In the cellar though, the wine challenged them quite a bit and it took nearly the entire year to fully ferment. In the end, we have a beautiful expression of a sour soil Riesling with insanely high acidity. Alanna recommends keeping it in the cellar for a few years for optimal drinking enjoyment. Topped up barrels, and perfect fruit, the wine is insanely stable.