The Spill: Sosie blends Old World and New World winemaking styles

It’s becoming a familiar story line – the one where people from the tech world fall in love with wine and wine country, and next thing you know they own a winery. That’s sort of what happened with the creation of Sosie Wines, but what’s different about the Sosie story is the wine, people and their philosophy behind it.

While plenty of wineries go for California big and bold, Sosie owners approach winemaking based on their love of French wines and European elegance.

“We love European winemaking styles, especially French,” said owner Scott MacFiggen.

His wife and co-owner Regina Bustamante is Brazilian and grew up drinking wine – cut with water when she was a child. It was during a trip to the Loire region in France that MacFiggen became enamored with French styles and the traditions behind it.

Their approach to wine is based on “tradition more so than science,” MacFiggen said. They use the science to guide them in the New World style, but everything revolves around the Old World. They source their grapes from organic vineyards, add no chemicals and use native yeast. That twofold-style winemaking is reflected in the brand’s label and name.

Sosie (pronounced so-zee) in French equates to lookalike, twin or double. The label, too, is reflective of the new and old with a bear – emulating California’s state flag – and a rooster, one of the national emblems that have decorated French flags.

Sosie is relatively new. The label launched in 2017, but they were making the wine before that, MacFiggen said. The label, website and other design elements were developed with the help of Sonoma-based Fred & Co., which is owned and run by Fred Schwartz.

They typically pick their grapes earlier than others do, MacFiggen said, to keep alcohol levels low and acidity high – a combination that makes for a balanced wine, perfect for enjoying with, or without, food.

Occasionally they use whole clusters in the fermentation process, it all depends on the varietal and how the grapes taste at harvest, which adds texture and freshness, he said.

The oak barrels that the wines are aged in add aromas of vanilla and oak, and are “managed” to add to the complexity of the wines that are produced at Sugarloaf Custom Crush facility on Highway 12 near Kenwood, across from Oakmont.

Winemaking consultant Kieran Robinson works with MacFiggen to produce pinot noir, syrah, cabernet franc, rousanne and a rosé of syrah. Robinson worked with the likes of Paul Hobbs, Aaron Pott and Michel Rolland. MacFiggen has learned mostly on the job, he said, and he’s taken some viticulture courses through UC Davis and Foothill College in Los Altos.

Unafraid to be daring and bold, Sosie will next venture into the sparkling wine category next year when MacFiggen will release a sparkling syrah and a sparkling rousanne. He worked with Craig Romer, whose resume includes Schramsberg Vineyards in Calistoga, to produce the bubbly wines.

Producing about 1,000 cases allows the self-described “very shy” MacFiggen and his wife to sell the wine themselves. It’s certainly not his favorite part of owning a winery, he said. And since the couple cares deeply about the wine and the quality, MacFiggen said the small production works for him.

“We’re not chasing markets,” MacFiggen said. “We’re allowing the wine time to be what it wants to be.”

Sosie wines are pretty special according to reviews and medals. The wines have received dozens of awards and accolades – a gold and seven silver medals from the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition this year for starters.

And Antonio Galloni’s Vinous review had this to say about a Sosie wine that he gave 93 points, reflecting MacFiggen’s desire to have a light touch on his wines:

“The 2015 Cabernet Franc Stagecoach Vineyard Block 5 is a very pretty wine with terrific aromatic lift and plenty of nuance, all in an appealing midweight style. Wines from Stagecoach are often bruisers, but this Cabernet Franc is remarkably polished.”

Contact Anne at anne.ernst@sonomanews.com.