The third annual Summer Market is here, and it just keeps getting better! This year, winemaker Alessio Altariva joins us from Fattoria Moretto to pour his family’s Lambrusco. As ever, it’s a day of delicious food, wine, music, local makers…plus a new surprise or two. So settle into the groove: same corner, same great vibes.

SATURDAY, JULY 18, 2025 | 11 am – 4 pm

FEATURING
Wine Bar by Chez Panisse • Texas-inspired BBQ by Bebe’s
Sandwiches by Rosie’s • Tacos by Dos Raîcez 
Ice Cream by The Creamy Goat
Honey by Uplands Apiary • Coffee by Higher Land 
Flowers by Busy Bloomin • Vintage Clothing by Pho’s Vintage
Art by General Witch • Live Music by Max Chanowitz Trio
All-vinyl DJ Set by Mara Hruby • And more!

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
1605 San Pablo Avenue at Cedar Street • Berkeley, CA

Since the first wine J. G. Benda released, the dazzling 2021 Rosso di Montalcino, we have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of this young estate’s Brunello and single-vineyard Pietrafocaia bottlings. In a prestigious region like Montalcino, where any change is immediately scrutinized, the whirlwind arrival on the scene of John Benda and his partner, Zoë, has commanded everyone’s attention. These people are a force of nature, whose energy is impossible to ignore!
     The first time we visited, the couple met us at the bottom of their steep old vineyard with broad smiles and an enthusiastic—even chaotic—welcome. To be fair, some of the bedlam was thanks to their rescue dog, Diana, who was frantically running about, disappearing into the neighboring woods, and splashing gleefully through the mud. In fact, I have yet to visit the Benda vineyards without hearing the long, loud call of “DIANAAAA” being unleashed at one point or another. It all makes for a dynamic and unforgettable experience.
     John is one of those rare humans whose vision is so clear and so concrete you can almost see the universe bending to his will. It is as if he found these two small vineyards for sale, looked around, and declared, You will produce great wines here. It is unclear whether he would aim that command at the vines, or at himself, but in either case there is no doubt he has done it.
     Two people, two hectares: John and Zoë pass through these vineyards every day, obsessing over each vine and every leaf. The wines that have begun to emerge from their little cellar are eagerly sought after for a reason—they are brimming with the life force of these people and their lofty vision.

Most of the bottles we import feature a cork, but every so often, we’ll find a demijohn, keg, wine box, or screw cap bottle peeking out of a corner in a cellar in France and Italy. After all, some situations call for a cork-less delivery system—backyard parties, picnics, you name it—and our producers experience those too! We don’t import the demijohns, kegs, or wine boxes, but here are a few of the screw cap classics.

While still a teenager, Jean Foillard reluctantly agreed to work at the family domaine at his father’s behest. It was the early 1980s, and most growers in the Beaujolais had long ago heeded the siren’s call of easy chemical farming and oenologically assisted winemaking. To say that Jean drank whiskey instead of wine tells of the sad state of the region in those days, until he started hanging out with his neighbor and new friend, Marcel Lapierre. The wines he tasted there caught his attention and then some—they were full of life, vibrancy, and fun. Jean hopped on board and, with Marcel, formed an ever-widening circle of mates to fine-tune the craft of carrying out ultra-precise, sulfur-free vinifications with natural yeasts from organically farmed grapes.
     By the 1990s, Jean’s Morgon “Côte du Py” bottling had come to be his signature sensation, raising eyebrows from the classicists while simultaneously becoming the go-to house pour in the burgeoning Parisian natural wine scene. The svelte, iconic expression of his wines, with their instantly recognizable fleshy stone fruit, granite minerality, and full, riveting structure, became a reference point for what serious, top-tier cru Beaujolais could be.

The beauty of the Loire is in its diversity. Spanning more than 300 kilometers, the rolling hills and river valleys create a mosaic of vine-friendly habitats, each with its own soil, microclimate, and people. Add to this a bohemian streak that gives a sense of freshness and discovery, and the Loire is a region that, for all its vastness, feels intimate. You can take a yoga class in a centuries-old château and view street art set amid ancient ruins. Famous vignerons age their most precious wines in caves tucked away in the countryside. History is very present here, not as a restrictive set of rules and traditions, but as a foundation on which to keep growing. These selections, made from different grapes and grown in different corners of the Loire, are but three delicious examples of the many unique white wines made in this dynamic region.

One thing I admire deeply about French cooking is its devotion to making every part of something delicious, not just the choicest cuts. Even if you go into the country’s best restaurants, it’s almost a badge of honor for the chef to treat ingredients that might have once been overlooked with the same level of creativity as their more distinguished counterparts.
     This attitude translates to wine, too. Every region has its grapes that are popular—an equivalent to the ribeye or filet mignon—as well as its more obscure varieties—like the liver or cheek—that require a little more trust and adventurous spirit from the customer. Like the chef who is committed to using every part of an animal, or whatever the forager brings to the restaurant on a given day, it says something about a producer when they work not just with the grapes that are the most fashionable or commercially viable, but also the lesser-known ones that have deep roots in a region.
     One of the most exciting such varieties today is Aligoté, in Burgundy. For a long time, Aligoté was so synonymous with the Kir cocktail that Kermit once told the Aubert de Villaine that he’d just found a good crème de cassis that would go well with Aubert’s Aligoté. (See the back page for the full exchange.)
     And yet, it was true that very few growers were taking Aligoté as seriously as Aubert did back then. Today, it’s a different story. Many of Burgundy’s top growers are proudly elevating this once humble grape, no matter that it isn’t—and likely won’t ever be—as popular as Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. Still, because they’re devoting themselves to it, we are in the middle of a Golden Age for Aligoté.