Inconnu means the unknown, and the name is a small manifesto: a bet that California can make wines of subtlety and grace, the qualities its biggest, boldest bottles tend to drown out.
Backstory
Inconnu was founded in 2012 by Laura Brennan Bissell. Originally from Washington, D.C., she moved to the Bay Area at twenty-two intending to be a tattoo artist, toured with bands, and eventually washed up in Barcelona, where she fell for the food and discovered natural wine. She returned determined to become a winemaker and taught herself the craft. She now also runs Aitia Wines and farms estate vineyards in Underwood, Washington, in the Columbia Gorge AVA.
The Region
Inconnu draws on California fruit from sites chosen for finesse rather than power, from Contra Costa to Napa Valley, alongside the cooler-climate work Brennan Bissell does up in the Columbia Gorge.
Vineyards and Farming
She works with organically and regeneratively farmed parcels, the same standard she holds her own estate vines to. The focus has long been on Bordeaux varieties and other grapes capable of delicacy in California's warm light.
Winemaking
The cellar work is low-intervention: spontaneous fermentation, low sulfur, and a deliberate avoidance of new oak in favor of two- and three-year-old barrels. She tops up her barrels meticulously to guard against oxidation, classical care in service of a natural result.
The Wines
The range spans whites like the LaLaLu Sauvignon Blanc from Contra Costa and reds such as the Kitsune blend and a Cabernet Sauvignon, all aimed at the elegant, often forgotten side of California. They are wines that argue, quietly, for restraint.
