Fausse Piste Syrah Garde Manger 2015

97% Syrah, 3% Viognier. Owned by Jesse and Maryna Skiles, Fausse Piste is a Portland, Oregon, based winery that sources fruit from vineyards across the Pacific Northwest.  Working with family-owned vineyards that focus on quality and reducing the overall impact on the environment.  They focus on producing Syrah, Viognier, Grenache, and other Rhône varieties from high-elevation vineyards, as well as small lots of other grapes, to make small production wines.  By using only native yeasts and respecting the quality of the fruit, minimal use of new oak barrels, and no additions or subtractions are made to the musts, Fausse Piste practices an old-school approach in the cellar. They only filter when required and add SO2 at bottling for stability. This Washington Syrah, grown near the Oregon border, has a clean nose of pulpy black fruit with undercurrents of shady, dark minerals. Candied fruit, violets, and black currants are all present in this full-bodied wine. From sustainably maintained vines planted in 1982 on basaltic soils and loess, the wine was fermented in equal parts neutral French oak, stainless steel, and a concrete egg, yielding heady aromatics and an undeniably New-World edge. The goal of Fausse Piste is to make food-friendly wines of purpose that have a focus on acidity and balance and in Garde Manger, they have certainly done just that.