English White Wines
Renegade Urban Winery Maria 2022
A floral nose with wonderful apricot aromas balanced nicely with a focused dry palate
Maria is a really special one. This wine has light skin contact- a floral nose with wonderful apricot aromas balanced nicely with a focused dry palate. Herbal notes are forthcoming, basil and mint leaf with a tinge of lemon peely acidity. This wine walks the line between acidity, fruit and floral elements.
The grapes were destemmed into Renegade’s Georgian qvevri where the wine spent 6 days on skins, then was pressed off into stainless steel where it underwent malolactic fermentation. Maria then spent 7 months on lees to increase complexity and mouthfeel. The wine was then lightly filtered before bottling. Minimal SO2 additions were made.
And who is Maria? She is a script editor living in the sunny climes of East London so be sure to dot you T’s and cross your I’d!
When Renegade started making wine in 2016, they were copycat winemakers, asking the growers how they should make wine with their grapes. They soon realised this was a mistake. Taking advantage of the relative lack of legislation in the UK over terms and styles of wine, and drawing on London’s history of innovation, they sought instead to lead the charge on new wine styles and winemaking approaches, using both ancient and modern techniques. Renegade now make around 12-14 wines a year, from classical
styles with a twist to wines that are entirely unique. Alongside the core range, they make a variety of new styles each year.
And who’s on the bottle? As a UK producer, Renegade wanted to celebrate the best thing about the UK. The weather? No. The people! Each label shows the eyes of a different person who lives in the UK. They may not be born in the UK, they may not have gone to school in the UK, but they’re part of this country. They each form a key part of the rich tapestry that makes the UK special. As as urban winery based in London, many of the faces are Londoners. But anyone can apply to be on the labels. Faces of Renegade have been students, plumbers, researchers, the unemployed, the retired, newspaper editors, receptionists, teachers and HR executives. They are aged between 19 and 70+. They are white, black, Asian, mixed race. They are straight, gay, transgender, queer. They are from all walks of life. Could it be you next?
