Ripe Life Wine Event Meet Founder Mary McAuley
Friday October 4, 2024 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
We are SO excited to welcome back Mary McAuley for this VIP wine event. Back in 2015 we hosted Mary when she first launched Ripe Life Wines, and today her wines are better than ever, with new varieties & new labels, and her unoaked Chardonnay is still a mouthwatering, crisp beauty from California. The idea for Ripe Life Wines was born when Mary was at her annual clambake at the Jersey shore. After being disappointed in the wines served, she set off to make her own wine to bring to the clambake for next year. According to McAuley, the process of opening a winery was not an easy one. After attending the Institute for Culinary Education and the French Culinary Institute, and then proceeding to earn her sommelier certification, it inspired her to go down the road into wine production. Despite not having the personal assurance that creating her own wine would work, she still had a goal in mind and made it happen!
She became a co-owner of a co-op winery in California. These unique wineries have access to a network of grape growers as well as providing world-class equipment, winemaking assistance, and labor, but at an affordable price for a small producer because the cost is split between several different co-owners. McAuley strongly emphasizes that her wines are designated as “single vineyard” wines—meaning that they come from one specific vineyard and it isn’t a blend. This allows McAuley to really get to know the nuances of the vineyard which elevates the winemaking. Like the best 'winemakers' she listens to nature. “I don’t tell the grapes what to do, they tell me what to do,” said McAuley.
As a single vineyard winery, they pay attention to every detail when producing their wine—who farms it, what the soil type is, the sustainability level of the wine, and how hard the wine is pressed. They take time with the decisions they make and don’t cut any corners so their consumers can really taste the quality and difference of their wine apart from others. The mission of Ripe Life Winery is to tell a story of a specific place— which also gave Clambake its name.
We will pour several of Mary's wines including her exquisite Moules Blanc de Blancs Brut Sparkling, her new White Pinot Noir named Crudo, and her original Clambake Chardonnay. Hope to see you there!
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Ripe Life Wines Moules Blanc de Blancs Brut 2021 750ml |
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This positively delicious dry American sparkling wine is made by Mary McAuley with a refined French sensibility and excellent food pairing compatibility. 'Moules' Blanc de Blancs Brut sparkling is made of 100% certified sustainable Chardonnay fruit from Lodi Valley, California. The fruit is picked slightly underripe for a bone dry citrusy palate with a crisp yet smooth mouthfeel. Produced in the champagne method, a touch of lemon brioche shines through a wonderful combination of lemon verbena, honeysuckle, green apples and white nectarines. Bright and clean and the ultimate way to whet the palate, ”Moules” sparkling wine is the consummate pairing for raw bar, moules frites, or simple bites at apertivo hour.
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$36.99Buy Now |
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Ripe Life Wines Crudo White Pinot Noir 2023 750ml |
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Made by Mary McAuley at Ripe Life, we are obsessed with her new wines from the 2023 vintage. Clean, dry, crisp and mouthwatering, Crudo white has terrific body and texture, not surprising since it is made from the noble Pinot Noir. Crudo reminds us of a gorgeous French Aligoté (a cross of Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc in the 17th century) with sunny, happy California aromas. Look for lychee, pomelo, ripe yellow grapefruit, minerals and salty stone flavors. It’s wildly delicious & well-made! Certified Sustainable fruit. |
$24.99Buy Now |
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Ripe Life Wines Clambake Chardonnay 2023 750ml |
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Inspired by summer, Clambake Chardonnay has a crisp, clean style, perfect for serving at clambakes or with raw oysters and lobster rolls. Picked early to produce a drier, fresher expression of California Chardonnay and fermented in stainless steel fermentation, Clambake also has richness and big, ripe fruit flavors. The brand is owned and managed by a local Jersey shore native who sources the fruit from a certified sustainable, dry-farmed vineyard out in Mendocino in Potter Valley with cole and feliz loam soils. Bottled unoaked, this is balanced, delicious and lovely. |
$19.99Buy Now |