Kleinlerer Wines 'Skin Contact' Chenin Blanc, Clarksburg, California (2023 or 2024)
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Sagie Kleinlerer founded Kleinlerer Wines as a side project while serving as Managing Director at Covenant Winery in Berkeley — one of America's most celebrated kosher wineries. Though he cut his teeth in wine law, sommelier studies, and winery management, it was earning his WSET Level 4 Diploma that sent him to the cellar. He purchased a barrel of Chenin Blanc during the pandemic, fermented it on skins, and released 19 cases to friends in early 2020. The response was immediate. He has been building a tiny, handcrafted portfolio ever since — two barrels per vintage, unfined, unfiltered, made by hand with minimal intervention. His Skin Contact Chenin Blanc from an organically farmed Clarksburg vineyard is the wine that launched the label and remains its defining expression.
- WINEMAKER: Sagie Kleinlerer
- FARMING: Organically farmed.
- VARIETY: 100% Chenin Blanc
- TERROIR: Clarksburg sits in the Sacramento River Delta, where warm Central Valley days are cooled dramatically each afternoon by Delta breezes from the San Francisco Bay — one of California's most reliable diurnal swings. Sandy loam soils along the river floor produce Chenin Blanc of naturally high acidity that holds up especially well to extended skin maceration. The region has been California's foremost Chenin Blanc appellation for decades.
- VINIFICATION: Native yeast fermentation on skins in neutral French oak barrels with daily hand punchdowns. Extended maceration of approximately 36 days, producing a deeply textural, orange wine style.
- AGING: 10 months in neutral oak barrels. Unfined, unfiltered, minimal sulfur. Two barrels produced per vintage.
- TASTING NOTES: Amber-golden in color. Aromas of white grapefruit, pineapple, dried herbs, and orange blossom honey. The palate is rich and grippy — dried apricot, nectarine, lime zest, and chalky mineral — with a dry, tannic finish that makes this wine a natural partner for food. Intensity and complexity well beyond its modest production scale.
- FOOD PAIRINGS: Fatty fish, charcuterie, aged hard cheese, roast pork, spiced Middle Eastern dishes.
Kleinlerer Wines 'Skin Contact' Chenin Blanc, Clarksburg, California (2023 or 2024)
Sagie Kleinlerer founded Kleinlerer Wines as a side project while serving as Managing Director at Covenant Winery in Berkeley — one of America's most celebrated kosher wineries. Though he cut his teeth in wine law, sommelier studies, and winery management, it was earning his WSET Level 4 Diploma that sent him to the cellar. He purchased a barrel of Chenin Blanc during the pandemic, fermented it on skins, and released 19 cases to friends in early 2020. The response was immediate. He has been building a tiny, handcrafted portfolio ever since — two barrels per vintage, unfined, unfiltered, made by hand with minimal intervention. His Skin Contact Chenin Blanc from an organically farmed Clarksburg vineyard is the wine that launched the label and remains its defining expression.
- WINEMAKER: Sagie Kleinlerer
- FARMING: Organically farmed.
- VARIETY: 100% Chenin Blanc
- TERROIR: Clarksburg sits in the Sacramento River Delta, where warm Central Valley days are cooled dramatically each afternoon by Delta breezes from the San Francisco Bay — one of California's most reliable diurnal swings. Sandy loam soils along the river floor produce Chenin Blanc of naturally high acidity that holds up especially well to extended skin maceration. The region has been California's foremost Chenin Blanc appellation for decades.
- VINIFICATION: Native yeast fermentation on skins in neutral French oak barrels with daily hand punchdowns. Extended maceration of approximately 36 days, producing a deeply textural, orange wine style.
- AGING: 10 months in neutral oak barrels. Unfined, unfiltered, minimal sulfur. Two barrels produced per vintage.
- TASTING NOTES: Amber-golden in color. Aromas of white grapefruit, pineapple, dried herbs, and orange blossom honey. The palate is rich and grippy — dried apricot, nectarine, lime zest, and chalky mineral — with a dry, tannic finish that makes this wine a natural partner for food. Intensity and complexity well beyond its modest production scale.
- FOOD PAIRINGS: Fatty fish, charcuterie, aged hard cheese, roast pork, spiced Middle Eastern dishes.