Terroir Project: Antiquum Farm
When Firestone Walker began its Terroir Project in 2018, we had already been making beer-wine hybrids, and so had they, but this new adventure was an experiment. They wanted to take on the complexity, history and culture around wine, and view it through the lens of artisan beer.
They invited select breweries to make beer-wine hybrids, all with the same base beer recipe, and then co-ferment the beer using the individual breweries' local wine grapes. The goal is to see how each brewery’s native fruit and its terroir — or sense of place — defines the beer. Then, seeing all the distinctiveness among these beers, the variety and nuances help define the term terroir.
Now in late 2020, with our collective and cultural sense of place tattered and flying in the wind, terroir has taken on a nostalgia we never would have expected. Feeling connected to where we are, in the moment, seems like all we really have.
Our upcoming release, Terroir Project: Antiquum Farm, has Pinot Noir grapes from one of our favorite wineries in Eugene, Antiquum Farm. Harvested in the summer of 2019, those grapes represented what we love about Oregon, the Willamette Valley, and Eugene. They remind us of sunshine, of drinking wine with friends, of rolling hills and picturesque views.
We used the native yeast on the skin of the grapes to naturally ferment this beer-wine hybrid. In this way, Terroir Project: Antiquum Farm represents our local ecology from 2019 as well. Respect for the environment and its proper cultivation causes an incredible impact on the flavors and aromas in this beer because of the microbes thriving on the skins of the fruit.
This is one reason we picked Antiquum Farm to highlight in this beer. The head winemaker, Stephen Hagen, cares for the whole ecosystem, not just the vines. He coordinates his sheep to naturally tend to the farm, and he uses compost created on the farm rather than chemical fertilizers shipped across the country. These are just two examples of the rigorous back-to-the-land work Stephen takes on to grow incredible grapes. His integrity to ethical viticulture has both brought about fantastic wine and the perfect crop to highlight the Southern Willamette Valley’s terroir.
So, when you try this beer, consider where you are and what it means to be there now. Enjoy the subtle acidity and the earthy, fruit qualities derived from Antiquum Pinot Noir and aging in local wine barrels for the better part of a year. Imagine the rows of vines with meandering sheep, or the stacks of French Oak barrels holding this blend, and consider what it means that all this was done specifically in Eugene, and not anywhere else in the world.
Cheers, and we hope you enjoy Terroir Project: Antiquum Farm.
