October 2026 Wine Club
Click above to enjoy October’s playlist
Welcome to Red October and Go Phillies! It’s also Unconventional October here at Jet Wine Bar, which means our Wine Club bottles are—you guessed it—unconventional.
Jet was built on being unconventional. To us, this means not being beholden to tradition, or to the implicit rules and expectations that guide conformity and group identity.
For wine, this means creating a product whose grapes and techniques are selected for their flavor, or even experimental appeal, and not necessarily for their adherence to appellation rules or dogmatic guidelines. It can also mean simply producing wines in regions outside of conventional zones. This includes wine from all those regions we love: Georgia, Turkey, Texas, etc…!
The word "conventional" is often used to contrast with "natural" wine. Does that mean "unconventional" is equivalent to "natural"? We don't think so. These categories are neither well-defined nor clear cut, and the overlap in their spectra is fairly large. It is true that many “natural” wines do not follow typical rules or norms. Certainly their producers self-identify as non-normative. But, “natural” wine also has conventions regarding such things as agriculture, sulfite levels, maximum-numbers bottlings and, it seems, label style. And sometimes clothing style. And wearing of the hats?
Dogma is dogma; sometimes it should just be ignored.
At Jet, we define unconventional wines simply as those that buck the trends, experiment in unique ways, or make choices that leave the establishment raising its collective eyebrows. Some experiments fail, of course, and we don’t need to drink those! But, rules were meant to be broken, and sometimes progress is borne on the backs of the transgressors - who then become mainstream and draw more transgression!
So here is to the wines and winemakers that ignore the rules and do the unexpected, who don’t belong and who don’t care!
Onward to this month’s wines.
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Vandal "Pet-Bat" Pet-Nat
Region: Marlborough, New Zealand
Grapes: 50% Chardonnay, 50% Muscat Blanc
Farming & Vinification: Sustainable agriculture, minimal intervention, low alcohol
Flavor Profile: Peaches, green melon, and soft biscuity nose. Subtle grapefruit and soft bubbles. Relax and Enjoy!
The Vandal project was formed by three winemakers as a collective “statement against conformity and the status quo”. They wanted to have fun while making the types of wines not allowed at their “corporate” jobs. To do that, they remain anonymous and appear with faces blurred in all marketing materials.
Part of their unconventionality rests in non-formulaic use of Marlborough grapes. In a region where Sauvignon Blanc makes up 85% of all plantings, leaving it out of a white wine is subversive on its own. Their “Pet-Bat” comes from the Southern Valleys sub-region—an area celebrated for Pinot Noir. Chardonnay (3% of total Marlborough production) is the white of choice here, from which 50% of this wine is made. The other grape is Muscat Blanc – which accounts for less than 1% of grape production in all of Marlborough. In fact, there is no official reference to Muscat in the Southern Valleys outside of the Hawkesbury Vineyard from which these grapes are sourced.
Yet, it is a brilliant choice to plant in a hilly place with high diurnal temperature variations. Such a climate enhances aromatics and also increases acidity. Muscat heaven! That is the type of subversity I can stand behind.
In addition to the choice of grapes, the style fits the mission: petillant naturel (methode ancestrale) is fun and fizzy, doesn’t stand on ceremony, and is a bit of a calculated risk. The final product is not strictly controlled by the wine maker, since it is bottled prior to the completion of fermentation.
Mainova “Moinante” Branco Curtimenta
Region: Alentejo, Portugal
Grapes: Antão Vaz, Arinto, Verdelho, & Encruzado
Farming & Vinification: Sustainable agriculture; grapes handpicked at night. Vinified in cement lagares; 100% recycled packaging.
Flavor Profile: Tons of aromatics: orange blossom, tangerine, lemongrass, juniper, and sage. Apples, oranges, and papaya in the mouth. Some heft to the body with a long, saline finish.
Mainova is a tradition-driven, family-heritage winery that explores sustainability with a distinctly modern approach. At first glance, this wine may appear quite conventional. The skin-contact (“Curtimenta”) wine is made in traditional cement vats called lagares. The grapes are pressed twice – the second after macerating on the skins for three days in the lagares. After fermentation is complete, the wine is transferred to stainless steel. The result is a beautiful orange wine that is complex, yet fresh and easy to drink.
But, then we look at the grapes!
Antão Vaz, Arinto, Verdelho, and Encruzado are all found in equal percentages. These are all indigenous to Portugal, but one of these grapes is not like the others.
Antão Vaz, Arinto, and Verdelho are all typical to the Alentejo and are all permitted in the Alentejo DOC (Denominacao de Origem Controlada). But, Encruzado is native to the cooler Dão region and isn’t permitted in Alentejo DOC wines. In order to use Encruzado, Mainova had to use the broader PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) appellation. But this is not a case of breaking the rules for the sake of it. Mainova is located in the Alto Alentejo, whose soils and climate are more similar to those of Dao. Encruzado flourishes in sites with higher altitude and well-draining schist and granite soils. This is a great wine, whose producers value the flavor results more than the benefits of the “superior” DOC label.
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The wine world is evolving rapidly. Grapes historically locked to specific regions are finding new expressions elsewhere—driven by shifting climates and modern viticulture. There is plenty of room for experimentation and adaptation, and these wines are evidence for that. Cheers to the transgressors! Enjoy this month's lineup. Incidentally, both wines feature cute animals on the labels!