Emily Gordon Emily Gordon

Jet Wine Club - March Playlist

Jill has put together this lil playlist featuring some of her favorite songs from great female recording artists over the ages — from Kitty Wells to Eartha Kitt (we promise the continuing cat theme is accidental!! (; ), to lesser known more modern artists like Sharon Shannon, this playlist is inspired by the feelings we get while sipping on this months’ delicious wines.

Listen here!

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Emily Gordon Emily Gordon

The Last Supper and Saints

Welcome to our March Wine Club, focusing on Women and Wine. Our two wines for this month are made by women – one in California and one in Italy. Both are superb expressions of sainted terroir and grapes.

Where it begins…

Our first wine is a Tuscan red from the hills of Tenuta i Colli, Siena. The producer, Bindi Sergardi, places the origin of their wine-making estate at 1349 AD. At that time, Siena was the seat of the Republic of Siena, which dominated the Tuscan countryside through the 13th c. – especially in banking and commerce.  The 14th c proved a bit more difficult, and in 1348, Siena was heavily affected by the Bubonic Plague, and its rival – the Republic of Florence – gained in influence. Just before that (literally) fatal year, Catherine of Siena was born. Though a lay woman, she devoted her life to piety and politics. Catherine was a supporter of the pope in the eternal power-struggle between religious and secular rule and, though she lived in Siena, she was several times called to act as a peace liaison between the Republic of Florence and the popes. It may have been her influence that resulted in the relocation of the papal administration from Avignon to Rome in 1377. After her diplomatic mission and back in Siena, Catherine continued her life of spiritual writing and ascetic piety; ascetics generally did not consume wine (or meat) and it is unlikely that Catherine would have enjoyed those fruits of the Tuscan countryside. Rather, extreme fasting may have speeded her death. That ascetism and her “receiving the stigmata” paved the way for her sainthood. In 1461, “Saint” Catherine was canonized by Pope Pius II.

In the 2nd half of the 15th century - around the time that Catherine was canonized in Siena -  many in the Bindi Sergardi family were involved in politics and administration of the Republic of Siena. Unlike Catherine, that family favored independent institutions over papal control – putting them at odds with Rome. But, in addition to the popes, that independence was also challenged by emperor Charles V, who ultimately defeated the Republic in battle.  Achille Sergardi and his son, Niccolò, were strong supporters of the Republic until its end. The i Colli estate – from which our wine was produced - is said to have hosted the embassy of Charles V in peace negotiations.

Following four centuries of waxing and waning fortunes, the Republic was fully ceded to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany – ruled by the House of Medici in Florence. Florence already had a thriving arts scene in the 15th c., amid patronage of that same Medici family. Chief among the artists that called Florence home was Leonardo da Vinci. There he influenced numerous other artists, such as Michaelangelo and Raphael. It is also where he painted his most famous work, The Mona Lisa, a portrait of a Florentine woman.  He didn’t aways live in Florence, however, and he painted another famous piece, The Last Supper, in the final years of the 15th century while working on commission in Milan. His “supper” is not true to the Passover feast to which the painting refers, but rather consists of foods that he and his contemporaries may have feasted upon. One case in point is the eel dish that he depicted . Eels are found in lakes throughout Italy, but were certainly found in the Orbetello lagoon, which was part of the Repubic of Siena. They were also famously fished in the nearby Lake Bolsena, from which the gluttonous consumption of “eels drowned in vernaccia” landed Pope Martin V into the Purgatory of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy (Purgatorio Canto XXIV). Dante was born in Florence in the 13th c. and, like Catherine, served as an ambassador for that Republic in support of papal power. He was sent to San Gimignano, home to some of the finest vernaccia wines. The red tinge of the wine in da Vinci’s depicted feast indicates that it was not vernaccia. It looks rather like a rosé.

Plautilla Nelli’s Last Supper

Though da Vinci’s The Last Supper is one of the most recognized, it was not the only- nor the earliest- rendering of that biblical topic. Countless others exist, including one by pop artist Andy Warhol. The first-known rendition is found in an illustrated manuscript dating to the 6th century AD, the Codex Purpureus Rossanensis. The many versions share the common feature of Jesus and the Apostles gathered at a table set for a feast. From there, though, other details are often modified – in particular the meal, itself. Plautilla Nelli was a nun and self-taught artist; she was the first woman to paint the scene, in 1568. Her 7 meter long (23 foot) canvas work included foods typical to her own dining. There are no eels here, and relative to da Vinci’s, her red wine is decidedly darker and, by appearance, unfiltered. She completed the work while living in Florence at the Dominican convent of Santa Caterina di Siena (Saint Catherine of Siena), where meals would have included items she depicted, such as roast lamb, heads of lettuce, fava beans, and red wine (more here). Nelli’s other works also had biblical and religious themes, including her painting, Saint Catherine Receives the Stigmata.

…Where it ends

Our second wine comes from the Land of Saints, from California’s Central Coast. That wine region runs from Santa Barbara, past Santa Cruz, and on to San Francisco. Starting in the 18th c., the Spanish established 15 missions between Santa Barbara and San Francisco, as they colonized the coast and forcibly converted its people to Catholicism. Junipero Serra, a Franciscan from Spain, was heavily involved in the missions, establishing several of them and serving as president of the group of missions. He forcibly carried out his duties of conversion and economic growth of the mission lands at the expense of the rights and properties of the land’s native occupants. Among the agricultural products introduced to the mission’s gardens were “mission” grapes – descendants of Spain’s Listan Prieto grapes), as wine was necessary to perform Catholic religious rites.

At the time of the Spanish missionizing, there was no wine industry and there were no saints from the California region. The namesake for the mission of Santa Barbara was a 3rd c girl born in either Greece or Lebanon. There is still no saint from California, though Junipero Serra – born in Spain – was controversially beatified in 1988. There may yet be a Saint from California, however. Cora Evans converted to Catholicism from the Mormon faith in 1935, and later moved to the Santa Cruz mountains. She was said to be a mystic and to have had visions of Jesus and the virgin Mary. Evans is also said to have “received the stigmata”, further paving the way for her potential beatification. Her sainthood case received approval from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which allows the effort to continue. Unlike Catherine of Siena, Evans was not an ascete.

Cora Evans moved from southern California to the Santa Cruz area in 1956, just a year before she died. A few year prior to that, Santa Cruz got a few new residents – made of wax. Katherine Stubergh was a famous wax artist from a family of wax artists. She and her daughter, also named Katherine, were commissioned to create a life-sized replica of The Last Supper. The 7.7 meter (25 foot) long work took 8 months to complete. It was purchased for $20,000 from Harry Liston, who commissioned the work. There seems to be some confusion in the records about the piece(es?) as a second one may exist in Texas. The Santa Cruz model now is on permanent display in the cemetery of the Santa Cruz Memorial, a family-owned and operated funeral home. The table is set with glasses and carafes, but seemingly no real wine.

Stubergh wax Last Supper - https://www.blipfoto.com/entry/2299363318621537148

Back to the Wine

Bindi Sergardi Achille IGT Toscana Rosso

Photo credit: https://www.lastbottlewines.com/product/detail/LB7358.html

The wine is an homage to Achille Sergardi, noted member of the Bindi Sergardi family of the 16th century, Republic of Siena. The wine comes from the i Colli estate that hosted the embassy from Charles V, as noted above. Now, some 500 years later, we can enjoy wines from this estate, produced by the 24th generation of that same family.  Alessandra Casini Bindi Sergardi manages the property. She is also winemaker, along with Federico Cerelli & Stefano Di Blasi.

The Achille is composed of 90% Sangiovese and 10% Merlot grapes; they are young (10-15 year vines) and grown in limestone soils.  The grapes were co-fermented in stainless steel with wild yeast. The wine stays on the skins for 15-days, then spends 3 months in barrique. It is filtered and fined for that beautiful, ruby color.

The result is an intense, bright, and beautiful Toscana Rosso. The palate has ample cherry from the Sangiovese, some blackberry and currant, and a pleasant roundness from the merlot.

This wine screams for porchetta (preferably stuffed with offal), or an herbed-cheese ravioli.

Land of Saints Rosé, Santa Barbara County

Photo Credit: https://vinovoresilverlake.com/products/land-of-saints-rose

Where is the land of saints? The name is a deliberate play on the mission-derived city names of the Central Coast, but it is also Cornwall, England – known as the Land of Saints and the birthplace of one of the producer’s triumvirate of owners. Angela and Jason (of Cornwall) Osborne, and Manuel Cuevas, are collaborative winemakers and owners.

This rosé contains 50% Grenache and 50% Mourvedre grown in soils formed of decomposed granite, gneiss, and clay. The grapes are fermented separately before blending. The blended wine spends11 weeks on the lees, and are then bottled on a new moon.

This is one for the acid lovers! Great acid, fruit and savory notes. Rhubarb in the mouth makes this one sing, and also makes me think of my mother. I’m pretty sure I would drink this with her chicken ala king on homemade biscuits…

That’s it for this month — don’t forget to listen to the playlist (you can find the link in the next blog post) while you drink your wines, and stay tuned for more spring and garden updates!

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Emily Gordon Emily Gordon

Jet Wine Club Feb - Playlists

Valentine’s Day is all about love, whether romantic or not. And love, just like Pinot Noir, can take many different forms depending on a variety of factors. Part of what makes Pinot Noir such a great grape is its versatility, and its subtle way of making everything better– whether you’re sitting down for a fancy, multiple course meal at your favorite restaurant with a new date, or you’re at home on the couch, watching reality TV and eating leftovers to quell your heartbreak, Pinot Noir pairs great with both meals (and with both vibes). From happy-go-lucky upbeat punk songs, to slower and more melancholy indie pop, love songs and Pinot Noir are alike in that they run the gamut in terms of what we think is possible for both music and wine. Enjoy this playlist of a few “love” songs while you enjoy this month’s wines!

A Punk & Pinot Noir Valentines Day

Jill has also made a playlist that includes a tango, a polka, and two songs about cats 😊

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Emily Gordon Emily Gordon

Feb Wine Club - Love is in the Air: Pinot Noir and Cats

It is February and we’ll soon know whether Phil sees his shadow, or if Spring will come early. February is also all about love – whether for Val-, Pal-, or Gal- entine’s celebrations.

Pinot Noir

For some, Pinot Noir is a language of love. The wine has loyal – in some cases obsessive – adherents. Why? It is a grape that is difficult to grow and that produces very different wines depending on its soil and microclimate – not to mention the hand of the winemaker. Pinot Noir was the first (wine) love of Nick Baitzel - former Jet GM and current Sojourn COO. It is its versatility and diversity – the fact that “it really takes the concept of terroir to the extreme” – that Nick appreciates. He continues, “(b)ecause it can differ so vastly, it is great to drink year-round.  You can drink a heavier, more tannic, oak-aged Burgundy or Willamette Valley Pinot in the winter-time.” Those of you who know Nick will be unsurprised to learn that he’ll “put a chill on it” in the warmer months.

The love extends to its flavors and characteristics in the glass. Well-made Pinot Noir has a great acid-balance and a lighter-bodied mouth feel that makes it a great drink across a whole meal. It can be referred to as “sensuous” for its silky structure and wonderful, earthy aromatics.  They often have a beautiful, jewel-tone coloring that shimmers in the glass. Finally, it can be very age-worthy with flavors that change over time.

Its diversity means that it suggests different things to different people, of course. When I ask my husband, he agrees with its sensual nature; he likes the “funk”. It generally makes me think of winter in the mountains – pine needles, little red berries, cloves, and wood smoke.

Arguably, Burgundy is the most famous producer of fine Pinot Noir. But, the grape is grown around the world, including this month’s wines’ countries: Germany and Argentina. Between the two, its more usual home is in Germany; it isn’t often planted in Argentina.

So, how does this relate to cats?

Argentina has some of the world’s highest vineyards, placed on the slopes of what are some of the world’s tallest mountains. Tupungato, at nearly 21,560 feet, holds the highest-elevation winery in Argentina at 4500 ft. That winery is Zorzal, from which this month’s Argentine wine comes. Like many high mountains, Tupungato shows diversity of flora and fauna from its neighbors. For instance, the tuco-tuco (Ctenomys) is a rodent common to South America that readily speciates; Tuco-tucos of Tupungato have their own ancestral branch (clade).  As can be expected where rodents are common, there are also cats.  The Southern Pampas Cat, Leopardus pajeros, is found around Tupungato’s eastern slopes (and so is Zorzal!). They eat, among other things, tuco-tuco.

Leopardus pajeros

At 22,837 ft, the neighboring peak of Aconcagua is even taller than Tupungato. Mountains – especially those so close to the clouds – were viewed as sacred places by the Inca, whose 1st millennium AD empire at times included these mountains. On Aconcagua, a sacred burial of a 7-year old boy was found, dating to ca 1500 AD.  The boy had been sacrificed and interred high up on the mountain with Incan textiles, statuettes, and other goods. Sacrifice and burial of “pure” children was a part of Incan rites, and the sacred shrines were typically placed at high altitude. Such vestiges of Incan culture are found along the ancient Inca roads that connected the vast empire, some still visible from Mendoza to Ecuador. At the center of this network of roads was the Incan capital of Cusco, a city said to be built in the effigy of a recumbent puma. 

Image: https://americanindian.si.edu/inkaroad/img/inkauniverse/cusco/cusco-test-bkgrd.jpg

While that requires a little squinting, this image of a cat decidedly does not.

Image: AFP/Peruvian Ministry of Culture, from the Jakarta Post

Preceding the Inca Empire by more than a millennium, the Nazca culture predominated in Peru. The famous “Nazca Lines” in the Nazca desert include images of trees and flowers, fish, birds, mammals – and a human. This cat dates from early in the Nazca period, ca 200-100 BC. The images were not “drawn” as lines, as such, but rather formed by removing rocks, soil, and vegetation to create contrast. The images are large – the largest spans 1200 feet. The cat was a tenth of that size, about 120 feet.

This cat does not resemble a puma, so much as it resembles a house cat. Domesticated cats (Felis domesticus) were not known here at that time, but it does also resemble the Southern Pampas Cat, or its relative the ocelot.

While “domestic” cats first appear about 10000 years ago in the Middle East, they were not widely spread through Europe until roughly the same time the Nazca cat was created. They spread with people, plants, animals, and boats – including by Phoenician, Greek, and Roman traders. Cats helped expand Romans across Europe; the military brought cats to their garrisons to protect their food supply from pests, and trader kept them on ships. The Romans had garrisons along the Rhein, just east of Deidesheim – from where our German wine comes.

Their legacy in the region is cemented at the Katzinett - Katzenmuseum Ludwigshafen - Cat Museum in nearby Ludwigshafen. Though closed until Spring 2024, it warms my kitty-loving heart! Kitties in miniature! Kitties with hats! Basically, cats and more cats. No less purr-fect is the katze Kindergarten just south in Karlsruhe.

Image: Photos of Katzinett - Katzenmuseum Atlas Obscura, Presse.

Karlsruhe. DE, Ludwigshafen - Cat Museum, Trip Advisor

Overall, Germans have clearly taken to the little beasts. Currently, the World Cat Federation – an international association of cat clubs – is based in Germany though only 2 cat breeds originate in Germany: the German Longhair and the German Rex. Neither of these resemble Nazca-line cat images.


Are There Wines?

Yes, we do have wines. This month, as noted, we are featuring Pinot Noir.

Von Winning Pinot Noir Rosé 2020, Pfalz

Von Winning was established in the late 19th century in Deidesheim, in Germany’s Pfalz region. The vineyards are organically farmed, with sandstone, limestone, loess, and clay soils.

Their “winning” strategy is to “not do the wrong thing at the wrong time”. On that note, this is the right time for this wine; do not be afraid of a little age on rosé – especially one made with a grape that often ages well.

This rose is dry and acidic, with mineral and chalky texture. It is clean and bright with watermelon, rose petal, and white pepper notes. The mouth also has some herbs and Pinot Noir’s characteristic earthiness.

Zorzal Pinot Noir 2023, Tupungato

The Zorzal winery is the highest in Argentina, at 4500 ft. It was founded in 2007 by brothers Gerardo, Matias, and Juan Pablo Michelini. The soils on the slopes of Tupungato are sandy and chalky. Farming is organic.

Hand-harvested grapes undergo partial whole-cluster pressing, and fermentation is spontaneous.

The resulting wine feels rich and luscious in the mouth, with ample acidity for food. This is a “forest floor” Pinot Noir, with the addition of raspberry and currant, and notes of smokey game.

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Emily Gordon Emily Gordon

Jet Wine Club Jan - South Africa Playlist

Listen to these songs while you enjoy this month’s wines!

Enjoy these songs while you enjoy your wines!

Click here to listen now. Playlist by Jill Weber, owner & founder.

Jet was first introduced to the iconic South African singer, Brenda Fassie, by one of our first regulars, Andrew (We are not forgetting about you, Marc, who gave us our first Jet marriage and Jet baby!).  “Weekend Special” now has a special place in our hearts. Spoek Mathambo, who hails from Soweto, is simply one of my favorite artists. From the politically-charged Mashini Wam to the Amapiano beats of “I Found You”, his music is soul catching. Finally, South African Jazz is a genre unto itself, and this classic tune from Sankomota hits all the right notes.

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Emily Gordon Emily Gordon

Wine Club - South Africa Month

Stellenbosch wine country (author’s image).

By Jill Weber, owner & founder of Jet Wine Bar

Happy New Year! I want to thank you for your continued support – Jet would not be able to survive and thrive without our best customers… members of our Wine Club!

Our goal for this year is to make our Wine Club your destination for both wine AND community. You already get great wine, discounts, and early-bird notifications. Now we want to add more information, education, and entertainment. Be on the lookout for special events involving YOU.

Now — onto 2024!

January in Philly is cold, but down in the Southern hemisphere, it is summer in our first destination of the year – South Africa. January is when grapes begin to be harvested, and when festivals commence.

Wine production in south Africa began relatively late – not until the mid-17th century with Dutch colonization. The ensuing pattern of land being dispossessed from local herders and afforded to colonial agriculturalists (and vintners) —and worked by enslaved people from across Africa and Asia — fomented the vast disparities in wealth and power. These came to characterize South Africa, and later became ingrained during Apartheid rule.

The South African wine industry is now emerging from its colonial beginnings and apartheid wrongs, through a series of initiatives that support local communities in the ownership of their land and products of their labor. Encouraging and investing in Black growers, producers, and owners has resulted in a more diverse and equitable wine landscape.

While the wine industry is pretty young, human history in South Africa is quite old.

Stellenbosch wine country (author’s image).

Archaeology Corner

South Africa is justly famous for its fossil remains of early hominins (our bipedal ancestors).  Sterkfontein – near Johannesburg – is a UNESCO World Heritage site dubbed “Cradle of Humankind” for the extensive remains of, particularly, Australopithecus sp. These date back millions of years, and are of an age similar to those found in Tanzania and Ethiopia (of “Lucy” fame). Closer to Stellenbosch, the home of this month’s wines, the hominin remains are a lot younger, though equally interesting – more on that in a second!

Much of the archaeology near Cape Town (and Stellenbosch) derives from the “Stone Age” – specifically the “Middle Stone Age,” beginning roughly 300,000 years ago. At that time, low-density populations of hunters and gatherers camped in ephemeral settings, opportunistically making use of the land’s plant and animal wild-bounty. The bulk of what they left behind are durable stone tools. Both the finished products and the waste of manufacture are readily identifiable, and the steady availability of the raw material makes them expendable (resulting in many left behind and thrown away). Among those stone tools were microliths (very small, shaped pieces) and blades that could be hafted to spears or bows, or used in unison for multi-bladed implements— believed to be innovations for hunting. 

Fossilized bone “rocks” are the form our information takes about those very old hominins. Bones become fossils as the organic materials within them get replaced by minerals, creating rocks. How else are living creatures preserved in rock? Foot, hoof, and paw prints are captured and – through similar processes of fossilization – eternalized. From such captured footprints, we know that elephant ancestors (proboscideans) travelled across the southern Cape during this Middle Stone Age.(https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2021.32 )


We also know which hominins may have been using those stone tools and possibly stalking those elephants – anatomically modern humans. Such early modern humans are known from other Middle Stone Age contexts in South Africa (notably Florisbad). Near to Cape Town in the Garden Route National Park, the oldest-known fossilized footprints of Homo sapiens have been found, dating to around 150,000 years ago! (https://www.sci.news/archaeology/oldest-homo-sapiens-footprint-south-africa-11952.html)

153,000 year old print (with chalk outline). Photo credit: Charles Helm

What correspondence the indigenous San and later-arriving Khoe peoples – both encountered by the colonizing Dutch – held to those very early occupants is unclear, though these groups show early genetic divergence from them, and thus more direct relationship. (https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/37/10/2944/5874945)

As noted, modern winemaking bears no relationship whatsoever to the early human history of South Africa; grapes were not native to the area and thus not even present until much later. Therefore the wine we are discussing today represents just a drop-in-the-bucket of human history and culture of South Africa. 

So what about the wines?

Both of this month’s wines were produced from grapes grown in Stellenbosch, which is due East (and inland) of Cape Town. Soils here are among the oldest in the world. The climate is hot and dry, but the tempering force of the South Atlantic Ocean offers some relief. Rolling hills abound, along with some steeper, mountain slopes. The most commonly planted grapes are Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Lovely Creatures Cabernet Sauvignon, Western Cape

Winemaker Stephanie Wild crafted this wine from grapes mostly sourced from the slopes of Simonsberg Mountain (in the north of the region), from soils that are mostly sandstone and clay. The grapes were hand harvested. While they were fully destemmed, the skins remained with the fermenting juice for 10 days before being aged for 14 months in oak barrels of which 10% were new. The resulting wine reads decidedly purple. It has a lovely violet hue, and hints of purple fruits like plum and blackberry, a touch of ripe date and tobacco, and a lovely eucalyptus and savory herb finish. 

The name “Lovely Creatures” is a reference to the numerous biota that contribute to a heathy vineyard, and whose presence indicates that health.  The surrounding fynbos – ecologically diverse shrubland in the Cape region – contributes to the regions overall vitality, as well as adding floral and savory notes to the wine.

Craven Pinot Gris 

Jeanine and Mick Craven are the wife & husband team behind Craven wines. Grapes were sourced from an east-facing slope in the Newlands vineyard (western Stellenbosch), which has the distinctive koffieklip soils. These are rich in iron and, as they deteriorate into gravel, promote great drainage for the vines.

Hand harvested grapes were pressed and given 6 days of skin contact. Further fermentation and  5 months of aging were done in concrete. The wine has notes of rose petal, cherry, light citrus and fynbos savory herbs. The wine has a bit of tannin from the skin contact.

Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio are the same grape. The different names often reflect the region in which the grapes are grown, or style of the resulting wine; Pinot Gris generally drinks fuller and rounder than the more austere Pinot Grigio. But, like any grape, the specific soils, microclimate, and hand of the winemaker are what make the wine distinctive. Pinot Gris/Grigio of any type is great for skin-contact techniques due to the coloring present in its skins. 








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