Tinto Amorio 'Monje Skin-Contact' 2023

Grower: Tinto Amorio
Region: Healdsburg, California, USA
Grape Varieties: 53% French Colombard, 32% Gerwurztraminer, 10% Zinfandel, 5% Albarino
Viticulture: Organic
Category: Skin-Contact, Orange
Size: 750ml

Founder Anish Patel endured a near-fatal car accident and decided to rethink his career path. While Patel at one point considered becoming a monk, half a year of introspection helped pushed him to take his talents to California, translating the learnings from his previous career into building a natural wine label in California. Seems like that was a good choice, because now the brand’s wines are a huge hit.

The brand prides itself on using organic grapes, utilizes minimal sulfites in the winemaking process (opting for 35 ppm—or less—as opposed to the 50+ ppm found in conventional wines), and keeping things vegan by eschewing animal byproduct-based fining agents. This winery only employs friends and family and donates 5% of its proceeds to California food banks.