Iruai "Road Opener" Savagnin Rosé Musqué 2025

Set out with a personal goal to "do more with wine," the winemakers at Iruai put on their thinking caps, dug deep and dreamed up their first "Talismanic Wine." The result, "Road Opener" Savagnin Rose Musqué, is said to wield the power to put the wind in your sails, obliterate obstacles and summon inspiration. It's charged with the perfume of wild roses in a heatwave and the playful allure of just a dash of fish sauce in your peach salad. It's the kind of pleasure you find where you least expect it and that redefines your cravings.

Fermented on the skins and stems for 60 days then aged in acacia barrels, prepare yourself for wall-of-sound aromatics, tropical fruit blasted through a whammy bar and umami pyrotechnics! For the best results, drink with people that you love, set an intention and drink thoughtfully with that in mind.

100% Savagnin Rose Musqué, an aromatic, pink-skinned mutation of Savagnin Blanc closely related to Gewürztraminer, characterized by its highly perfumed, spicy Muscat-like profile.

Tasting notes: Sexy peach, jasmine, orange bloom, MSG and Spring flowers. Only 123 cases produced.

Iruai winemaker Chad Westbrook Hinds wrote a post about his inspiration for talismanic wine and drinking with intention that is worth reading, if you're up for a trip down the rabbit hole.

Excerpt: "The origin of the term "Road Opener" in the context of folk magic comes from the Santería tradition, referring to the cure-all herb thoroughwort, known colloquially as "Abre Camino." The goal of a "road opener" intention setting (spell) is to clear obstacles from your path and open doors, whether you're looking for some inspiration, hoping for a new career opportunity, seeking to clear out some limiting circumstances from your life, or hoping to literally not get stuck in traffic. The way I see it, who couldn't use some orange wine and open roads?"

Iruai (pronounced “eer-oo-eye”) is a boundary-pushing nomadic natural wine project from Chad and Michelle Westbrook Hinds, based in the mystical Shasta-Cascade mountains in the Siskiyou wilderness of far northern California. Their wines blend Alpine grape varieties, wild terroir and natural winemaking in a style they jokingly call “Californian Alpine.”

They seek to make wine with a sense of place by employing no additives and removing no character. Their goal in the vineyard is to let the vines thrive like they would in the wild, and in the cellar, to shepherd each ferment through its own natural development and evolution.