Libby’s Naked Diary – Libby takes her Naked Wines on the road. This week: Chillin’ in a hot tub
Libby takes her Naked Wines on the road. This week: Chillin’ in a hot tub
An outdoor hot tub is one of my favourite happy places. Let me sink my limbs into its warm, watery depths and I shall happily marinade there as the brilliant sunshine slides into sunset and the steam rises into the starry night sky. Last weekend I retreated off to Chigborough Farm in Essex to stay on The Raft, an aptly named wooden house floating in the middle of a lake, completely off-grid.
There may be no electricity or heating – just a log burning fire and some candles for the dark (questionable given everything is made of wood… but then we are floating in a lot of water) – but when it comes to amenities the wise souls who own it knew a hot tub was a necessity.
Tubs are best enjoyed alone or with a significant other but most importantly they should always be accompanied by an excellent bottle of wine, something crisp and cooling to counteract the flush of the heat. Said Significant Other, having chopped the logs for the tub’s fire and rowed us over to the bank to enjoy our afternoon soaking, was quick to point out that log-splitting was thirsty work and could I please get a move on and open the bottle.
I had selected – and I am a little proud of how well this worked – the Weingut Kaufmann Sommervogel Organic Riesling 2022 (£14.99, Angels £11.99). Riesling is one of the best grapes for sunshine-bright crispness, ideal for keeping cool, and this wine has a lightness to it, enhanced by mouthwatering citrus and tropical fruits.
It all came together to create a beautifully silky glass, with those tell-tale Riesling floral notes, which slipped down with outdoorsy freshness and felt in perfect sync with the sun and hedgerows around us. This made even more sense when I learned ‘Sommervogel’ was the Swiss word for butterfly. The producer is biodynamic and organic, respecting the earth in a way that makes it an even better fit with which to enjoy the great outdoors.
An idyllic, bucolic weekend away where, for three days, we did not see another soul. It may be a little on the nose given the name of this new column – but after a couple of glasses it was felt swimwear was no longer required. Thankfully, this photo had already been snapped.
This Naked Wines star sells bottles for seven figures – but they can be yours for £40
Q&A
Jesse Katz is A Wonderkid whose wines sell for up to $1M – yet he makes ‘Exposed’ for Naked at under £63.99 a bottle (£40 for members) in his Napa winery Aperture Cellars
HOW DID YOU GET NAKED
I teamed up with Naked Wines during the pandemic. I was getting ready to open my first ever tasting room for Aperture Cellars, in Healdsburg CA, and the world shut down. Thankfully with wineries being an essential business – and boy was it essential in my household! – I was able to continue to make wine. Naked has an amazing community of wine lovers and I created a label for them called Exposed, offering Alexander Valley Cabernet and Sonoma Coast Pinot and Chardonnay from some of the top sites in the area, all made at my state-of-the-art winery.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO WINE
Through my travels following my artist father, Andy Katz, who frequently worked on photography projects that took us to some of the world’s best wine estates and regions. These travels instilled a deep appreciation for terroir, balance, and the artistry of winemaking. After studying I got work at estates including Pétrus, Screaming Eagle, and Bodega Noemia.
WHERE DO YOU DO YOUR THING
It starts in the vineyards, from the hills of Alexander Valley to the Sonoma Coast. Site selection and detailed farming is important in driving style. From there, all my wines are made at Aperture Cellars. This is where our tasting room is, and where I live.
WHAT IS YOUR HOUSE STYLE?
I’ve made wine in Napa, Argentina, Bordeaux, Oregon and Sonoma so I have a wide and worldly approach, letting that drive the winemaking style. I don’t have a preconceived idea of what the wine will be or try and force a style on it. We adapt our winemaking approach to the site and vintage – this helps to bring out different textures and qualities in the wine.
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE WINES TO BE ENJOYED?
With friends, family and great food.
WHAT IS NEXT FOR YOU?
Continuing to grow Aperture Cellars nationwide and globally. In 2021 we acquired an 80-acre vineyard, Farrow Ranch, one of the great vineyards in California. Sonoma and Alexander Valley have the potential to be one of the great growing regions for Bordeaux reds in the world. We are the first 100-point wines in Alexander history –- I have 19 in total as of the 2021 vintage – and now it is starting to get the respect it deserves. I want to help lead this, standing on the shoulders of the greats before me.
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