wednesday, march 11 , 2020. the washington post eZ ee e7
endless WestEndless West’s moscato d’asti-inspired wine, Gemello, and its
synthetic sake, Kazoku. The brand also makes a whiskey.
It was bound to
happen sooner or
later. Someone
has made wine in
a laboratory.
Well, not wine,
exactly. It’s a
“molecular
exclusive” made
from “neutral
spirits with
carbonation, natural flavors,
caramel color and beta carotene
for color.” But I’ll call it wine, for
simplicity’s sake. It’s 6 percent
alcohol, and it’s supposed to
taste like moscato.
It’s called Gemello, Italian for
“twin,” and it’s made by Endless
West, a San Francisco company
launched in 2015 by Alec Lee,
Mardonn Chua and Josh
Decolongon, three dudes with a
“why not” attitude to life. They
previously released a molecular
whiskey called Glyph, and along
with Gemello, they’ve
introduced “the world’s first
riceless sake,” c alled Kazoku.
According to the company’s
news release, Gemello “is lightly
effervescent, with notes of
orange blossom, mango, and
hints of peach, and is
reminiscent of sparkling white
wines made from the muscat
grape found in the northwestern
regions of Italy. Unlike
traditional wines, Gemello
contains no grapes and is made
entirely from flavor and aroma
molecules sourced more
efficiently from plants, fruits
and yeasts, like ethyl butanoate
found in peaches.”
Yeah, love me some ethyl
butanoate dripping down my
chin on a hot August day.
Is your mind racing? Mine is,
mostly with questions. I haven’t
tasted Gemello yet, but why
moscato? E&J Gallo Winery
makes a tasty moscato by the
boatload and sells it for $6 a
bottle under the Barefoot label.
(Gemello is priced at $11 to $15.)
If we can analyze wine to the
point where we identify the
various molecules that make it
taste and smell the way it does
and then extract said molecules
from plants to produce a “twin,”
why not replicate Louis
Roederer Cristal Champagne
($250 at Total Wine & More), or
a burgundy from Domaine de la
Romanée-Conti ($don’t ask)?
I’d take a DRC copy for $15
any day.
Endless West touts the
environmental benefits of its
production methods. Producing
Gemello requires much less
water and land, and produces
less CO2 than traditional
winemaking, says company
spokeswoman Lea Solimine. It
can also be made without
sulfites and the pesticide
residues that come from
traditional viticulture, she says.
Think of the ramifications.
Esther Mobley, the San
Francisco Chronicle’s wine
journalist, noted in her email
newsletter that Endless West’s
technology may have an
“archival” use in the age of
climate change.
“Warming temperatures and
erratic weather patterns are
already altering the way that
California wine tastes — and,
more troubling, are already
threatening its viability in the
future,” Mobley wrote. “Could a
lab-produced alternative, which
requires very little land and
water and a fraction of the time
and labor needed for real wine
production, be a solution?”
In other words, could we
replicate the flavor of Napa
cabernet sauvignon today (or
even 10, 20 years ago?) to
preserve it against the ravages of
climate change?
Solimine objects to the word
“synthetic” t o describe Gemello
and its sister products. “Our use
of pure molecules from plants
(you can also think of them as
natural flavor and aroma
tinctures or extracts) means that
we do not synthesize, engineer,
or artificially create or augment
any ingredient or compound
that we use in our wines and
spirits,” s he said in an email.
“When we say ‘pure molecules or
compounds,’ these are factually
molecules and compounds that
occur naturally in nature
without the need to change
them.”
She’s lucky “Frankenwine” has
already been used to describe
highly extracted, monstrous
wines manipulated to the
extreme with various additives.
Still, count me as an intrigued
skeptic. We may need this
technology in a post-apocalyptic
world, when agriculture is
difficult if not impossible, and I
can see it being useful in space
travel. But in a time when we are
turning away from processed
foods with added “natural
colors” and “caramel color,” the
natural cred for this product
escapes me.
Wine’s very appeal is that it is
not easily copied in a petri dish
or test tube. The same vineyard,
farmed by the same hands in
exactly the same way, can
produce dramatically different
wines from one year to the next.
Cabernet sauvignon from here
does not taste like cabernet from
there. The care and choices a
vintner makes every day in the
vineyard, the attention she pays
in the winery, are all reflected in
the glass we enjoy at dinner. A
wine from last year’s vintage will
not taste the same five years
from now as it does today. Wine
is a time capsule, and like our
memories of years gone by, it
evolves. How do we capture that
in a lab?
A significant number of wine
drinkers don’t want such
mystery — they only want
pleasant-tasting alcohol at a
cheap price. If this technology
can deliver inexpensive, clean-
tasting alcoholic non-grape juice
to compete with the inexorable
plonk that floods the market,
without the pesticide use or the
sulfites heavily used in faulty
inexpensive wines, so much the
better.
As for me? I’d still be
interested in a $15 DRC twin,
even without the mystery.[email protected]mcintyre blogs at dmwineline.com.
on twitter: @dmwine.Wine from a lab comes
with skeptical notes, but
is there also opportunity?
Wine
Dave
McIntyre
exceptional
excellent Very goodspring is peering around the door,
and so, appropriately, our greatest
value is a light, refreshing white
wine to welcome warmer weather
with aplomb. it’s the essay 2019, a
south african blend of chenin
blanc, viognier and roussanne,
delicious solo or with food. We also
have two reds, from spain and
Portugal, that will make excellent
partners to your first spring forays
to the grill. Finally, two wines from
susana Balbo, one of argentina’s
most celebrated winemakers,
round out this week’s shopping list.
— D.M.GReat VaLUe
essay 2019
South Africa, $12
i raved about the 2018 version of
this delightful blend, and the newer
vintage is reminding me of how
consistently good the wine can be.
south africa is justly famous for its
chenin blanc, which makes up
78 percent of the blend. the addition
of viognier (13 percent) and
roussanne (9 percent) contribute
body and floral notes to the mix. this
is a food-friendly white, but i’m
tempted to pair it with a sunny patio
and some good conversation.
alcohol by volume: 13.5 percent.
imported by international Wine imports,
distributed by elite: available in the district
at chat’s liquors, new h Wine & spirits,
magruder’s, Paul’s of chevy chase,
rodman’s, Wardman Wines, Yes! organic
markets (various locations). available in
maryland at antietam spirits in Boonsboro;
Bin 201 Wine sellers and eastport liquors
in annapolis; Bin 604 Wine sellers; canton
crossing Wine + spirits, cheese galore &
more, chuck’s trading Post, Quarry Wine &
spirits and Wine source in Baltimore; the
Breadery in catonsville; college square
liquors in Westminster; crescent Beer &
Wine in Bowie; edgewater liquors in
edgewater; Foundry row Wine & spirits in
owings mills; kenilworth Wine & spirits in
towson; magothy Wine & spirits in severna
Park; maple Beer & Wine in Bethesda; new
market Beer & Wine in new market; one
eleven main in Bel air; snider’s super Foods
in silver spring; spin the Bottle Wine co. in
Fr ederick. available in Virginia at the Brew
shop and Pentagon city Wine merchant in
arlington, department of Beer and Wine inalexandria, once Upon a Vine in richmond,
streets market in Ballston, Whole Foods
market (alexandria, Fairlakes, short Pump,
springfield, ty sons), Wine Warehouse in
charlottesville.Ben marco malbec 2017
Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina,
$18
here’s a sturdy (in a good way)
wine, to stand up to hearty beef
dishes, such as late-winter stews
or early-spring grills. malbec’s
flavors of blueberries are here,
along with a mouthwatering herbal
spicy note. this wine is made by
noted argentine winemaker
susana Balbo. aBV: 13.9 percent.
imported by Folio, distributed by m. touton
selection: available in the district at
Bloomingdale liquor, the Bottle shop,
central liquors, connecticut avenue Wine &
liquor, Fr eedom market, imperial Wine &
spirits, macarthur Beverages, modern
liquors, riggs Wines, riverside liquors,
Wine specialist. available in maryland at 7
summers liquors in Upper marlboro,
Bethesda co-op in cabin John, Bin 201
Wine sellers in annapolis, downtown crown
Wine and Beer in gaithersburg, grosvenor
market in rockville, hop n grape in north
Bethesda, Jason’s Wine & spirits and Pine
orchard liquors in ellicott city, kings
contrivance liquor shop in columbia,
laurel Beer, Wine and spirits in laurel,
Queens chapel liquors in hyattsville, Plaza
liquors in Pasadena, rodman’s in White
Flint, shawan liquors in cockeysville,
staples corner liquors in gambrills.tobia Graciano 2015
Rioja, Spain, $22
With bright, juicy cherry fruit and a
hint of clove and pepper, here’s a
delightful, light-bodied red ideal forsipping with your before-dinner
nosh or a weekend lunch. or you
could pair it with your memories of
a road trip through spain. aBV:
14 percent.
imported by tri-Vin, distributed by dmV:
available in the district at Paul’s of chevy
chase, rodman’s. available in maryland at
leonardtown Wine & spirit in leonardtown,
liquor locker in hagerstown, town center
market in riverdale Park, Waugh chapel
Wine & spirits in gambrills.GReat VaLUe
susana Balbo crios torrontés
2018
Argentina, $13
another bottle from Balbo, this one
is a dry, restrained expression of
the flowery torrontés grape. crisp,
refreshing acidity makes the wine
invigorating. enjoy this by itself or
with antipasti, such as ham and/or
salami. aBV: 14 percent.
imported by Folio, distributed by m. touton
selection: available in the district at calvert
Woodley, central liquors, connecticut
avenue Wine & liquor, Fr eedom market,
macarthur Beverages, riverside liquors,
Wine specialist. available in maryland at
Bethesda co-op in cabin John; Bin 201
Wine sellers and Festival Wine & spirits in
annapolis; california Wine & spirits in
california; chesapeake market & deli in
rose haven; choice Wine & Beer, country
Boy market and elbe’s Beer & Wine in
Wheaton; dawson’s market and grosvenor
market in rockville; Fr anklins restaurant,
Brewery and general store and Yes!
organic market in hyattsville; harbour
liquors in curtis Bay, hop n grape in north
Bethesda; lance’s Beer & Wine in
Bethesda; Pasadena market Wine & spirits
in Pasadena; roland Park Wines & liquors
and Wine source in Baltimore.GReat VaLUe
Patamar Red Blend Reserva
2015
Lisboa, Portugal, $12
Bright, juicy, well-structured and
affordable red wine — let’s get this
party started. drink this with
sausages, pasta with red sauce,
burgers — you get the idea. go get
th is. aBV: 13 percent.
imported by tri-Vin, distributed by dmV:
available in the district at morris miller
Wine & liquor, Paul’s of chevy chase, riggs
liquors, rodman’s. available in maryland at
Beer, Wine & co. in Bethesda; Bethesda co-
op in cabin John; cambridge Farmers
market in cambridge; country Boy market
in Wheaton; district east, Fr ederick Wine
house and riverside liquors in Frederick;
eastport liquors in annapolis;
Finewine.com in gaithersburg; Fishpaws
marketplace in arnold; Foundry row Wine &
spirits in owings mills; glenwood Wine &
spirits in glenwood; house of liquors in
Westminster; landover liquor in cheverly;
magothy Wine & spirits in severna Park;
Pigtown liquors and Wine source in
Baltimore; Port of call liquors in solomons;
snider’s super Foods in silver spring; the
Vine on main in sykesville; the Winery in
chester; town & country Wine liquor etc. in
easton; town center market in riverdale
Park; town center Wine & spirits in
hyattsville; Wheaton Winery in Wheaton;
Winchester liquors in grasonville.availability information is based on
distributor records. Wines might not
be in stock at every listed store and
might be sold at additional stores.
Prices are approximate. check
Winesearcher.com to verify
availability, or ask a favorite wine
store to order through a distributor.Recommendationstom mccorkle For the Washington Post
From left, Tobia Graciano 2015, Susana Balbo Crios Torrontés 2018, Patamar Red Blend Reserva 201 5,
Essay 2019, Ben Marco Malbec 201 7.Regular $12.99 SIGN UP RECEIVE TO
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