Antiquum "Daisy" Pinot Gris 2023

For the golden hour that stretched into evening.

There's a particular kind of afternoon in late September — warm enough to sit outside, cool enough for a jacket. The kind where you open a bottle at 5pm and it's somehow gone by 7. Daisy was made for exactly that afternoon.

Antiquum's "Daisy" Pinot Gris is grown on a west-facing knoll in Oregon's Willamette Valley, farmed organically, and made with the kind of careful restraint that lets the fruit do the talking. A brief skin contact gives it something most Pinot Gris doesn't have: texture, depth, and an aromatic complexity that stops you mid-sip.

The Moment

It's the last warm Saturday before the clocks change. You've been for a walk — coastal path, forest, wherever clears your head. Back home, the kitchen smells of roasting squash. Someone's put music on. This is that bottle.

Or: a lunch that runs long. Good company, afternoon sun through the window, nowhere else to be.

On the Palate

Hibiscus and rose hip tea on the nose — exotic, floral, immediately distinctive. Tropical tones underneath, then a palate that's richer than you'd expect from a Pinot Gris: ten months on lees in neutral French oak has built real texture. The finish is long and gently savoury, with a lithe tannin structure from the 72-hour skin contact.

This is what skin-contact done carefully tastes like.

At the Table

• Butternut squash and sage risotto with pecorino
• Seared scallops with cauliflower purée and crispy capers
• Smoked salmon, crème fraîche, and dill on sourdough — a lazy Sunday lunch opener
• A soft, washed-rind cheese — Époisses, Tunworth, or a good Somerset brie
• Thai green curry with jasmine rice (the floral notes are a revelation here)

The Producer

Antiquum Farm is one of Oregon's most quietly exceptional producers — certified organic, biodynamically farmed, and deeply committed to letting the land speak. "Daisy" is named after one of their Willamette Valley plots. It's wine with a sense of place.

The Details