Joplin
100% Maréchal Foch · Lincoln ON · 95 Cases
Lightly sparkling, Joplin is Lambrusco's eccentric cousin. Made from hand-picked Maréchal Foch, from 50 year old vines (planted in 1972).
Hand-sorted and destemmed, the juice was wild fermented on skins for 9 days, and bottled without any fining or filtration.
What's it like? We get whiffs of apricot skins, grape leaves and cherry pits. This vintage of Joplin is clean with high acid - like a Granny Smith apple, or the first raspberries of the season. With gentle bubbles, Joplin drinks like a pomegranate soda.
It's kind of like eating cherry blaster dust while watering your garden. Open Joplin with friends on a hot summer day. Or with any Italian food.
8.9% ABV | 750mL
Ingredients: Maréchal Foch grapes. Gluten free.
Wild ferment. Zero added sugar. Vegan friendly
Some of the best things in life are underrated. Hybrid grapes are one of those things.
Maligned for decades, hybrids have been subject to vine pull programs by governments arrogant enough to think they knew better than Mother Nature.
Despite this, a select few growers have kept these varieties alive. In 2019 we were thrilled to find a tiny plot of very old hybrid vines in Lincoln, Ontario.
Tariq's thoughts
When I first met Douglas Backus (who grew these grapes), he was so excited we were taking his hybrid grapes seriously. He and I realized we both took the same agriculture courses at the University of Guelph (many, many years apart).
Maréchal Foch is a hybrid vine with European and native North American parents. Its mixed ancestry gives it resistance to the cold and diseases of North America, with a nod to the old world flavours we know and love.
I want to say we got lucky with hybrid grapes, but we really didn't. Douglas saw the beauty in these varieties, long after they fell out of fashion. He refused to pull them out of the ground, even when our government offered him money to do so, knowing how beautiful they could one day become.
Thank you Douglas, for your patience and prescience. And for allowing us to work with the special fruit you’ve poured your life into keeping around.
Technical details
Varietal: Maréchal Foch
Vintage: 2021
Planted: 1972
Alcohol: 8.9%
Vineyard: Backus Farms in Lincoln Ontario, operated by Douglas Backus and the Backus family. Farmed conventionally, but grown with sustainable practices (eg. baking soda + sulphur sprays). Deep sand, 50 year old vines. The whole clusters were hand harvested by the Backus family Oct 8th, 2021.
Vinification: Destemmed, and hand sorted by us. Crushed and left to wild ferment on skins for 9 days. Pressed off skins, and aged on lees for 3 months. Lightly sparkling (tank method). Unfined, unfiltered.
Serving Temp: Chilled. We enjoy Joplin after a couple hours in the fridge. For best results, reseal bottle with a sparkling stopper.
