De Levende is a California natural wine project born from The Soil Expedition, the Los Angeles-based natural wine importer owned and operated by Brett Pallesen. It brings the importer's zero-intervention philosophy home, using organically farmed North Coast fruit.
The Project
Rather than a traditional estate, De Levende is a collaborative effort. The wines are produced and bottled at SC Cellars in Forestville, in Sonoma County's Russian River area, working with California growers and winemakers.
Vineyards and Farming
Fruit is sourced from organic vineyards across Ukiah, Mendocino, and Sonoma counties, drawing on the diverse terroirs of California's North Coast.
Winemaking
De Levende is committed to zero-intervention winemaking. The wines see extended skin contact and partial carbonic maceration, ferment with native yeasts, and are bottled unfined and unfiltered with no added sulfites.
The Wines
The flagship Cortez is a skin-contact orange wine, a blend of roughly 60 percent Sauvignon Blanc and 35 percent Muscat that pours a bright amber. The range also includes Genuine Blanc, the Mere Miroir rose, and the Cuvee Marty light red.
