Wild Bush “The Dreaming Moon USB-C" Port, Louisiana, NV

FROM WILD BUSH:

THE PRODUCER: Southeast Louisiana’s premiere vineyard and winery, Pontchartrain Vineyards, has been purchased by Neil Gernon and Monica Bourgeois of Wild Bush Farm + Vineyard. Monica and Neil have extensive history in the Louisiana wine market, dating back to their starts within the New Orleans restaurant arena, before moving on to retail wine management, then wine distribution, before starting their first wine company out of California, Vending Machine Wines.

We started Vending Machine Wines in 2009 as a method of expressing ourselves and finding a distinctive voice in the wine market. We wanted to make thoughtful wines that filled a need that wasn’t being met at the time. While the backbone of our portfolio was classic Napa varietals, we began tweaking some of the flavor profiles to showcase our palates. Less oaky cabernets and chardonnays, and interesting varietal blends. And as our tastes evolved, we began to play around with more experimental expressions of wines creating Pet Nat’s, chillable reds and a soon to be released low alcohol Piquette.

When we realized Pontchartrain Vineyards was for sale, instinctively we were curious. Quarantine had given us the rare opportunity to take stock in what we wanted for our future, and we found ourselves investing our time in ways to better ourselves and our quality of life. LSU had offered an online gardening course that basically set everything in motion as we found ourselves more drawn to learning about self sufficiency and sustainability within our community, and the desire to be more involved in the creation of something fresh and interesting in Louisiana. And while we know the path to winemaking is a bit of a struggle in Southeast Louisiana, we feel the time is right and people are open to trying new styles of wines, and that we have the support of the community to be those people to bring a new perspective to this business.

We are so honored to be a part of the history that Pontchartrain Vineyards has created. In the time leading up to the sale, we were able to attend many of the Jazz in the Vines concert series and one of the wine club releases and were greeted overwhelmingly with positive energy. It is so clear how important this site is within the community for bringing friends and family together over concerts and glasses of wine, and we feel honored to be the ones to continue those traditions at the vineyard.