Walter's World, Edition No. 23 (June 2026)

June's theme started taking shape months ago as Chris and I talked about how to celebrate diversity without limiting our selections to producers who choose to share their gender identity. It's something I wrestle with because we love to celebrate diversity and representation in wine, and we also want to be careful to point out that we love these producers all year, not just when it's Women's Month, AAPI Month, or PRIDE.

So we started thinking about the other ways diversity shows up in wine. Sometimes it's the people behind the bottle. Sometimes it's a unique clone, a hybrid variety, an unconventional planting, or a producer working outside the traditions of their region. The wine world is more interesting—and more delicious—because of the people willing to explore, experiment, preserve, and occasionally break the rules.

From hybrid white wine in Virginia to ancient vines in Rioja, native grapes in the Canary Islands, and a husband-and-wife team making wine from old vineyards on Tenerife, this month's selections celebrate different voices, different vines, and the many paths that can lead to something delicious.

Cheers!
the Walter's team

 

I | Common Wealth Crush ‘Joy School’
2024 | Harrisonburg, Virginia | Chardonel

Virginia has only been making serious wine since the 1970s but has quickly become one of the most exciting regions in the US as they’ve adopted varieties other states haven’t – Petit Manseng, Vermentino, Cabernet Franc, and a handful of hybrids that perform well in its humid climate. It's the latter category that fits our mission this month to expose you to a corner of the wine world that is becoming increasingly attractive, as these wines often punch well above their entry fee. What exactly is a hybrid, you may ask?
Well, most of the wines we know and love are from the European species Vitis vinifera, traditionally thought to make the highest quality wines in the world. Other continents, however, have their own native species that produce mixed results, and, paired with the lack of historical cultural significance, the wines have never really been embraced. They do offer advantages in terms of dealing with excessive moisture, staving off mold and rot with ease, and generally being more cold hardy, so the idea is to cross them with Vitis vinifera for the quality attribute while gaining resilience from the native species. In this case Chardonnay (originally from Burgundy) is hybridized with Seyvel (itself a hybrid already) to create something familiar but also new at the same time. 

Common Wealth is a crush facility, something akin to a think-tank for wine, and their main mission is to make wine more accessible for everyday consumption. I think they’ve done a killer job here and, if you are a fan, we also have this same wine in cute bomber bottles in the shop right now – they are perfect for picnics down at the beach!

 

II | Tierra Fundida ‘Wanderer’
2024 | Tacoronte-Acentejo, Canary Islands, Spain | Listán Negro

Okay, here we go on our Canary Island shit again, but I just can’t help myself. What blows my mind about this region is that each wine has such a distinct character even though the ones we’ve featured have been made from the same variety. It goes to show that each island and the areas within them make such unique impressions that you end up with a kaleidoscope of Listán Negro expressions. This one is made from a husband and wife team who had previously worked in larger wineries but wanted to make something that embodied Tenerife. They dubbed it “Tierra Fundida” which translates to “molten earth,” describing the origins of these volcanic mountains that have risen out of the Atlantic. 

Starting in their garage, they sourced fruit from old vineyards that, in a lot of cases, also presented an opportunity to flex their farming rehabilitation skills through biodynamic practices. They want not only their viticulture to be completely sustainable but also their lifestyle – they grow all their own food, including raising animals for their own consumption. This particular cuvée, “Wanderer,” is named after the Cat Power album of the same name since music is always pumping in the winery for inspiration. The fruit is sourced from the Tacorente region, on the north side of the island, from a vineyard at 600 meters of elevation, bringing perfumed aromatics of violets and wild strawberry. One of these beautiful summer nights put on some Cat Power, throw your favorite things on the grill, and drink this while watching the sunset and feeling the breeze across your face. While we don’t live in the Canaries, we live in one of the most magical places in the world and a glass of this wine is just the cherry on top. 

III | Sierra de Toloño ‘Nahikun’ Rioja Blanco
2024 | Rioja Alavesa, La Rioja, Spain | Malvasia, Viura blend

We’ve been pouring Sandra’s red Rioja by the glass at the shop, and it’s been a big hit with our regulars. She's one of a growing collection of producers that have been prioritizing freshness and regionality over the traditional extended-aging approach. While there isn’t anything wrong with that more savory style – in fact, some of the greatest wines of the region like López de Heredia or La Rioja Alta embody this to perfection – we are appreciating the fresher style in the current season and will save those aged beauties for the fall. 

The Nahikun Blanco comes from some of Sandra's oldest vines, scattered around five micro plots near her village of Villabuena de Álava. She revived those vines, planted on shallow, rocky soils, not only with Malvasia and Viura, but also with Rojal, and Calagrano, some of the forgotten white varieties in the region. 

I’ll just go ahead and say it: this wine is just as good as top-tier white Burgundy, and it should command a price as high as this month’s entire subscription. We had to plead with our distributor to source more of this so we had enough to make sure you four-bottle folks got some, and we won’t see it again until next year. It’s currently an infant and will reward those with patience to tuck it away in the cellar for 2-5 years. 

IV | Erste+Neue Kalterersee Classico Superiore
2024 | Südtirol, Alto Adige, Italy | Schiava

The next time you are having a tough day just search for images of this wine-growing region on Google and you’ll instantly start to feel restored. Better yet, search for images after pouring yourself a glass of this wine first. It drinks best with a little bit of a chill too. The grape is Schiava and the region is Lago di Caldaro in the Dolomites of the Italian Alps. This is the very definition of alpine wine – fresh and crunchy red fruits with sweet herbs, hibiscus, and red licorice. It’s not complicated… just juicy, clean, and refreshing. Think of it as Capri Sun for adults. You can find this variety in Germany too, where it's known as Trollinger, but tends to make a less aromatic style than you’d find here in northern Italy. Lake Caldaro contributes to the ripeness here by moderating the temperature and preventing temperature drops at night in this higher elevation region. That added heat creates a really nice texture and gets rid of any resinous green tones this variety can have in cooler climates. 

BUBBLE CLUB

I | Champagne Wirth-Michel ‘Origines' Extra Brut
NV | Coteaux d'Épernay, Champagne, France | Meunier, Chardonnay

Antonin Michel has recently taken on a lot of responsibility. His mother, owner of the Wirth-Michel Champagne house, passed the estate on to him, and following the passing of his grandfather José, Antonin has taken the helm.

José was a legend. He was part of the prestigious Club Trésors and a champion of the Meunier variety. Meunier was long thought to be suitable only for contributing fruit and perfume to a blend, lacking the concentration and structure needed for long-lived wines. José and a handful of others thought differently, debunking that myth by making wines based on, or entirely composed of, the variety and collecting massive amounts of praise for the results. These days there are many, many producers that have embraced Meunier – even icons such as Krug. 

Antonin makes this example in a fresh style, utilizing old vineyards from three different villages, and keeps the lees aging to a moderate timeline. This is the perfect style for the weather: vibrant and minerally, but not without complexity. Enjoy his wines now because, given the pedigree behind them, they're only going to get more expensive.

 

II | Chalmers ‘Col Fondo’ Pét Nat Rosé
2024 | Victoria, Australia | Aglianico

Jess introduced me to this little oddity not long after we opened, and it won me over with its indulgent “guilty pleasure” character. It definitely has residual sugar, but is still super balanced, with the bubbles acting as a counter to that sweetness. The story behind this producer is really cool too, and they’ve done a lot to help the Australian wine industry.

The Chalmers family started as fruit and vegetable growers in the 1980s and then stumbled into grapevines at the behest of a customer needing some vines grafted. This blossomed into a full-time business by the mid-1990s, and they soon became heavily involved in sourcing new vine material from abroad to supply wineries nationwide. Over time, their focus honed in on Italian varieties as demand increased, both from winemakers wanting to experiment and because many of these varieties are well suited to the new conditions brought on by climate change.

This pét nat is made from Aglianico, a native grape from Basilicata, a region in the arch of the boot of Italy. It normally makes tannic and powerful red wines, but here it has been made into an everyday quaffer. This is porch sipping at its best—no food required, but it would be tasty with some snacks like charcuterie or fresh cheeses.