collection ii.
fruit for this wine comes from 2 extremely hot vineyards (Shell Creek - Highlands District AVA and Margett - San Miguel AVA) that are made up of decomposed calcareous shale and sandstone. despite the extreme climate, this wine is bright, fresh, and extremely textured. we utilize a bit of skin contact as well as neutral barrel and concrete pyramid to preserve freshness and minerality in the wine.
this vintage also sees the addition of fiano (co-fermented with the vermentino). this grape hails from the Italian Coast at the base of Mt. Vesuvius. it is built for heat - thick skins, smaller berries - and helps to give this wine some nerve and backbone. as people who tend to drink more white than red, we’ve always been a bit disheartened by the fact that Paso is primarily a red wine region. we’re excited to showcase an alternative take on the region.
artwork by Jennelle Lynn. shop this specific print here
we decided to change up the blush considerably this year. nothing against the original version… just wanted to see what would come of a slightly different style. for those die hard fans of the OG, do not worry, it’s coming back in a big way for 2026.
the inspiration for this wine came in the way of a number of natural producers, particularly from the Languedoc in France, that utilize a large amount of white fruit in their red wines. we love the ambiguity in these wines.
fruit comes from 2 very hot and dry vineyards (Margett and Shell Creek). They are picked very early and about 3 days apart. the valdiguie is 100% whole cluster and vermentino is destemmed on top. maceration lasts around 6 days with light punchdowns to maintain the clusters on the bottom. pressed and finished in neutral barrel. aged for 5 months. bottled unfined and unfiltered. 70 cases produced.
artwork by Jennelle Lynn. shop this specific print here
the evolution of this wine is incredible. now consisting of 2023, 2024, and 2025. the inception was very much an exercise in aging and time compression. the wine has both oxidized and maderized characteristics, while maintaining freshness and texture. a true unicorn.
we have no real idea what the blend is. we take the base barrel and kind of just add/ take away the other elements until we get what we want. excited to see how this one ages in bottle. 42 cases produced
artwork by Jennelle Lynn. shop this specific print here
as if it was kismet, the vineyard manager of this fruit reached out to us after seeing our collection i. launch and reading about our ethos. the vineyard sits at the top of a mountain overlooking Lopez Lake. a few acres of head-trained and dry-farmed Syrah are planted on pure sand and diatomaceous earth. it looks like the moon. for us, this is a dream. the property backs up to thousands of acres of uninhabited Santa Lucia Range. wild sage and lupine grow between the vines while turkeys, coyotes, bears, and mountain lions roam free. it is perhaps the most raw vineyard we have worked with, and the wine speaks to this.
this wine is also the beginning of a new direction for us. while the crux of ídola certainly focuses on blends, single vineyard bottlings carry with them a specific energy.
artwork by Jennelle Lynn. shop this specific print here
2024 vibe du vin - $45
33% grenache, 18% carignan 13% petite verdot 13% vaccarese 12% zinfandel 11% validguie
maraschino. leather. jalapeño.
perhaps we go a little overzealous with this blend. really it was just curiosity in how all these varietals behave in the fermentation style that we like - lots of whole cluster, once a day punchdowns. we always knew the blend would come together in the end. as always, this wine is less about the varietals more about the place and style.
i heard a winemaker in an interview describe “terroir” as bullshit. it’s impossible to make a wine without intervention (this may sound hypocritical to our ethos lol). ultimately, it is the winemaker’s interpretation of the place that the grapes are grown. i love this notion. there is no right or wrong interpretation. we make a red wine from paso that is 12.8% abv while others push the limits at 17%+. great art is polarizing.
artwork by Jennelle Lynn. shop this specific print here