On Wednesday, July 17th, at 11:00 AM, Contento Restaurant hosted an exclusive and intimate event that brought together a select group of wine connoisseurs. The occasion was a rare and privileged wine-tasting seminar featuring the enigmatic winemaker Nat Wong of Blade and Talon.
The event was the brainchild of Contento’s esteemed Sommelier, Yannick Benjamin. His admiration for Wong’s unique approach to winemaking is palpable. “Two years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting and tasting wines with Nat Wong in Monterey, California,” Benjamin emphasized. “Since that encounter, I have been deeply impressed by his remarkable work. Nat Wong is truly a renaissance man, and his insatiable curiosity is what I admire most about him.”
Wong’s journey into winemaking is as unconventional as the wines he produces. Inspired by a serendipitous encounter with a Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley, he established Blade and Talon, a winery reflecting his unique blend of love for knives, falconry, and the natural world. This intriguing blend of interests is evident in his approach to viticulture and winemaking, which combines ancient traditions with modern technology, promising a truly unique and fascinating wine-tasting experience.
The seminar offered attendees a rare opportunity to delve into Wong’s wines, including his unconventional use of grapes like Falanghina, Negrette, and Ruche, sourced from the San Benito AVA in California. The experience not only promised to broaden palates but also to challenge and expand preconceived notions about wine, offering an exciting and unique tasting experience.
In this regard, as an attendee, I was utterly in awe. It was as if I was tasting wines from the future. Nat Wong is a Renaissance man who seemed to understand how fast consumer palates are changing because of generational reasons. Moreover, he comprehends how, fundamentally, the heat seasons are coming to become the real new normal. He enjoys showcasing the “field wines,” as he calls them: natural and not funky, elegant but not super tannic, with body and structure, and very refreshing yet made to pair with different flavors and spices.
While we tasted the single varietal wines of Falanghina, Negrette, or Ruche and out-of-the-box blends such as Aglianico with Cabernet Pfeffer, I couldn’t help but pay particular attention to winemaking. Even though some of the grapes were new to me, nothing stood out more than others; it was a delicate and harmonious celebration on my palate. All these non-conventional wines are refreshing and excellent to pair with food.
Some of the wines that I enjoyed the most were Blade and Talon Falanghina 2022, Blade and Talon Rose Madder 2022, and Blade and Talon Negrette 2022.
Falanghina is an Italian white grape that grows primarily in the Italian Campania region. It produces medium-bodied wines with refreshing acidity and enticing aromas of citrus, peach, and floral notes. It is also used in blends and is rarely found as a single-varietal wine. However, Nat Wong has been experimenting with it in California to create unique and appealing single-varietal wines, each with its own distinct character and flavor profile.
The grapes were destemmed and crushed, and the juice allowed 5 days of skin contact before pressing. The wine was aged sur lie, with bâttonage, in neutral French oak—delicate aromas of herbs. Meyer lemon and stone-fruit flavors arise on the palate as that damp paper and clay minerality lingers into the finish.
Alcohol: 11.6%. Region: Central Coast, San Benito
Nat crafts this wine, the Blade and Talon Rose Madder 2022, using a unique method called fermentation by immersion. This method involves soaking the ingredients in a liquid to ferment them. When the ingredients are submerged in the liquid, tiny organisms on their surface interact with the liquid. Therefore, it turn sugars into alcohol, acids, or gases, creating a unique and flavorful wine.
An exotic blend of 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Cabernet Pfeffer, and 20% Aglianico is not your typical rosé shade. It has a dark, magenta shade with Mediterranean notes of pomegranate, rose petals, and a hint of earth on the nose. You can taste tangy cranberry and rich dark berries on a slightly rough texture with a zingy feeling in the wine.
Alcohol: 13.1%. Region: Central Coast, San Benito
As Yannick Benjamin said, “Nat Wong has an incredible story to share, and I guarantee this will be unlike any other wine seminar you have attended.”
The event at Contento was more than just a wine tasting. It was a celebration of visionaries, chillable red still wines, and unique grapes in an overlooked region.
Blade and Talon are imported and distributed by Levantara Imports at www.levantaraimports.com . Reach out to them to get to know more about Blade and Talon. Keep learning more about Nate Wong and his wines at bladeandtalon.com
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