Friday, November 13th
5-8pm
6 wines for $25 ($15 club)
It comes as little surprise that Reuben Lange eventually found a home in the world of wine. From an early age, he imagined a future as a food critic or party planner, spent time dreaming up culinary creations in the kitchen, and looked for any opportunity to bring friends, family, and even strangers together over a meal. After formative years spent pursuing music and working as a cook, it was a conversation with close friend and mentor Jill Mott in early 2016 that ultimately drew him to winemaking. Over glasses of Luyt and Gravner, Mott offered a simple suggestion: give harvest a go, and see where it takes you.
As it turns out, it took him all over the world. Years spent learning and working across Minnesota, Vermont, California, Oregon, Washington, New Zealand, Australia, and France provided a broad foundation as Reuben built his own unique winemaking perspective. Eventually, he found himself back in Oregon, where his journey began and where he found a natural home for his own project, Amiti Wines, to take shape.
Amiti is rooted in two main ambitions. First, Reuben does everything possible to minimize the footprint of wine production and, ideally, leave the land in better condition than it was found. Both estate vineyards and purchased fruit adhere to organic or biodynamic farming principles, with an ongoing commitment to move beyond conventional practices. This means continually reassessing vineyard management, from nutritional sprays and the incorporation of native seeds into cover crops to the potential use of animals for under-vine management. An early fascination with hybrid grape varieties has become another defining part of Amiti. Long an enthusiastic advocate for their potential in Oregon, Reuben sees hybrids as an important part of the future of sustainable viticulture. With a history in Oregon dating back to at least the late nineteenth century, hybrid varieties offer compelling advantages, particularly their greater resilience to climate change and the mildew pressures common to the region. Their ability to reduce the need for vineyard interventions also presents an opportunity to significantly lower the environmental impact of grape growing.
We're thrilled to welcome Reuben to Solano alongside our friend Nadia Dmytriw of Floraison Selections to pour his full lineup of compelling wines, from classicly structured Champagne method bubbles, deeply textured white blends, and elegant Grenache, to more ambitious (and still wildly delicious!) bottlings, like his oxidative whites, a varietal Léon-Millot (an incredibly rare hybrid variety), and even his vermouth made with wild-foraged botanicals from the Columbia Gorge.