Fourth Grade
TASTING NOTES:
2021 Found Wine Co. Mission, Mokelumne River, Lodi: “Reaching down into the deep sandy soils of Somers’ Vineyard in the Mokelumne River AVA, these old Mission vines bring California’s past into the present, the 2021 pops with fresh cut strawberries, watermelon, orange rind, spiced cherry, and delicate, fuzzy tannins on the finish. Juicy and fresh, this elegant light red pairs perfectly with summertime and cookouts!” (AbV 13.08%, pH 3.73, TA 4.64 g/L)
2022 Found Wine Co. Mission, Mokelumne River, Lodi: “Reaching down into the deep sandy soils of Somers’ Vineyard in the Mokelumne River AVA, these old Mission vines bring California’s past into the present, with notes of strawberry and cherry notes mingling with fuzzy tannins, made under native fermentation, this wine presents a subtle yet exciting complexity that defies explanation. So instead of explaining, give a slight chill, pop and enjoy!” (AbV 13.5%, pH 3.9, TA 4.7 g/L)
VARIETALS: 2021: 100% Mission. 2022: 100% Mission.
BARRELS: Both vintages aged 6 months in neutral oak barrels. The 2022 also went through native fermentation. The winery’s whole philosophy is minimal manipulation — let the wine express itself, and get out of the way.
PAIRS WITH: N/A
THAT REMINDS ME OF: The California Missions.
Every fourth grader in California has to build one. It’s a rite of passage. You come home with a photocopied assignment sheet, and suddenly the whole family is at the craft store buying foam board, popsicle sticks, and a bag of sugar cubes. The sugar cubes are key. They’re structurally questionable but aesthetically essential.
There are 21 of them, stretching from San Diego de Alcalá to San Francisco Solano in Sonoma, founded between 1769 and 1823. The padres who built them brought the Mission grape north from Mexico — making it the oldest European wine grape in California by a comfortable margin. For nearly a century, it was the only one.
The fourth-grade mission project has been a California public school tradition for decades, and every family has a story. The dad who hot-glued his thumb to a bell tower. The kid who used Legos and got a B-minus. The overachiever whose mission had working aqueducts. They line up on folding tables in the school cafeteria, wobbly and proud, and they’re magnificent.
