Buona Notte is, in Graham Markel's words, driven by wine but ruled by its belly, an Italian-minded label making American wine in the Columbia Gorge.
Backstory
Graham Markel founded Buona Notte and runs it as a family operation, working alongside his father Jeff as business partner, his mother Peggy, and Emily Skawinski on marketing and design. The project grew out of the Columbia Gorge wine community and looks to Italy for inspiration.
The Region
The winery is based in Cascade Locks, in the Columbia Gorge straddling Oregon and Washington. The Gorge packs an unusual range of climates and soils into a small area, which lets Markel grow and source a wide spread of grape varieties, including ones rarely seen in the Pacific Northwest.
Vineyards & Farming
Buona Notte works with specific vineyard sites across the Columbia Gorge and Columbia Valley AVAs. The fruit is farmed without chemicals, and the focus falls on Italian varieties grown in a region better known for other grapes.
Winemaking
Markel makes low-intervention wines that are left unfined and unfiltered. The methods are deliberately artisanal: the Brutto Nobile, for example, is pressed on a hand-cranked basket press.
The Wines
The lineup includes Cento Per Cento, a wine of 100 percent Sangiovese; Brutto Nobile, a Syrah rounded out with a touch of Roussanne; Il Nido, a Sauvignon Blanc from a site in Underwood, Washington; Rosa, a rosé of Dolcetto; and a Pinot Noir-based Vermouth.
