The story behind Little Bastions is a compelling one. Chase and Casey find old, forgotten, dilapidated vineyards and orchards (using Google Earth, no shit) in the Columbia Gorge, and then contact the landowners to inquire about farming their land. “Little Bastions” refers to these plots of land. These dudes are super hands-on throughout the entire winemaking process: they tend to vines and trees, harvest the fruit, and make everything in a minimal-intervention style. We’ll be tasting through a slate of their juice, including a hybrid grape-tree fruit fermentation that all the cool kids are raving about.
Their label art has a hilarious explanation, which I feel compelled to share. Chase and Casey were looking through their friend’s sketchbook, hunting for inspiration for label artwork. They found an image of the bourgeoisie looking with disdain upon drunken monkeys below them, and realized that—in their words—”we’re the drunken monkeys!” This piece has adorned most of their bottles ever since. Dear reader, if that factoid isn’t enough to convince you to try their wines, I’m not sure what will.