Wine with Comedy & Soul
Las Jaras Wines is one of California's most distinctive and joyfully irreverent natural wine projects — a collaboration between long-time winemaker Joel Burt and comedian Eric Wareheim (of Tim & Eric, Master of None, and Foodheim fame) that has brought natural wine to an audience far beyond the usual natural wine bar crowd. [^184^] Founded officially in 2016, though their first wine — the legendary Sweet Berry Wine — was made in 2015, Las Jaras produces a diverse portfolio of spontaneous-fermentation wines from organic and dry-farmed vineyards across Mendocino, Sonoma, Lodi, and beyond. [^184^] The wines are serious in the cellar but playful on the label — hypnotic art by Jen Stark, John C. Reilly on the Sweet Berry bottle, and a general vibe that says wine should be fun, not fussy. [^184^]
From a Lottery Card to Sweet Berry Wine
The name Las Jaras means "The Arrows" in Spanish, and it comes from one of the lottery cards that Joel Burt's Mexican coworkers would leave behind at his old table grape farm job. [^184^] That origin story — humble, accidental, and rooted in agricultural labour — sets the tone for everything that followed. Joel had been working in California wine for years before meeting Eric. Eric had been making people laugh on screen. Their friendship, built over shared meals and bottles, eventually led to a winemaking partnership that neither quite planned but both fully committed to.
The first wine they ever made was Sweet Berry Wine in 2015 — born out of a desire to share wine with Eric's comedy fans. [^184^] The label features John C. Reilly, one of Eric's comedic counterparts, and the wine has been part of the range ever since. It was not a vanity project. It was a genuine attempt to make something delicious that could travel from the comedy club to the dinner table without pretension. That spirit — accessibility, humour, and quality — defines Las Jaras today.
The winery was officially born a year later, with the 2016 vintage. [^184^] Joel handles the winemaking; Eric brings the creative energy, the audience, and an enormous love of food. (He even co-authored his own cookbook, Foodheim.) [^184^] Together, they have built something rare: a natural wine brand that is both critically respected and commercially successful, with distribution across the US and a cult following that spans wine geeks and comedy fans alike.
Beyond the comedy and the labels, Las Jaras is deeply committed to sustainable farming. Joel and Eric have been actively working on turning their growers into chemical-free farming, and now virtually all the vineyards they source from are practicing or certified organic. [^184^] This is not greenwashing — it is a deliberate, multi-year effort to shift an entire supply chain toward cleaner agriculture. The exception is the Chenin Blanc vineyard, which is conventionally farmed but which they continue to work with while encouraging transition.
"Pizza, burgers, wine: the Las Jaras holy trinity presents Glou Glou, the perfect wine for circle foods."
— Joel Burt & Eric Wareheim
Spontaneous Fermentation & Diverse Vessels
Las Jaras' winemaking is defined by spontaneity and diversity. All wines are fermented with native yeast — no commercial strains, no lab cultures. [^184^] The aging and fermentation vessels are equally varied: old and new French oak (600L demi-muids, 500L puncheons, 228L Burgundy barrels, 225L Bordeaux barrels), concrete eggs, sandstone jarres, terracotta amphorae, and stainless steel tanks. [^184^] This diversity of vessels allows each wine to find its own path — some need oak for structure, some need concrete for purity, some need amphora for oxidative complexity.
The techniques vary by cuvée. Carbonic maceration — the classic Beaujolais method where fermentation happens inside whole berries — is used for Glou Glou and Slipper Sippers Nouveau. [^184^] Reverse saignée — pumping juice into a tank of skins — is used for Waves Red and some Glou Glou vintages. [^184^] Traditional skin maceration with varying proportions of whole bunches is used for Sweet Berry Red and Chloe Carignan. The wines are generally bottled without fining or filtration, though some receive light filtration before bottling when necessary. [^184^]
The vineyard sourcing is a map of California's most interesting sites. Gary Venturi's vineyard in Calpella, Mendocino — dry-farmed, head-trained old vines in Yokayo sandy loam, certified organic — is the backbone of the range, providing Zinfandel, Carignan, Petite Sirah, and Grenache. [^184^] Larry Venturi's vineyard across the highway supplies Vermentino. Ricetti Vineyard in Redwood Valley provides Carignan for the pét-nat. Frei Vineyard in Solano Green Valley supplies Chenin Blanc and Carignan. Love Ranch in Madera County (near Yosemite, 2,000 feet, granitic schist) provides Grenache, Marsanne, and Mourvèdre for Superbloom. [^184^] Bokisch Vineyard in Lodi's Clements Hills supplies Albariño. Spear Vineyard in Santa Rita Hills supplies Chardonnay. The list goes on — each site chosen for its farming philosophy and its distinctive terroir.
Sulfur is used minimally and strategically — typically 10–20 ppm at key points (after pressing, before bottling) — but never as a crutch. [^184^] The goal is to protect the wine without masking its character. "We want the wine to taste like where it came from," Joel explains, "not like a laboratory."
All wines fermented with native yeast. No commercial strains, no lab cultures. [^184^] "We want the wine to taste like where it came from, not like a laboratory."
Old and new French oak (demi-muids, puncheons, Burgundy and Bordeaux barrels), concrete eggs, sandstone jarres, terracotta amphorae, stainless steel. [^184^] Each wine finds its own path.
Virtually all vineyards are practicing or certified organic. [^184^] Gary Venturi's Calpella vineyard — dry-farmed, head-trained old vines in Yokayo sandy loam. A multi-year effort to shift the entire supply chain.
10–20 ppm used strategically at key points — after pressing, before bottling. [^184^] Never as a crutch. Protection without masking character.
Hypnotic Art & Circle Foods
Las Jaras occupies a unique position in the wine world: it is taken seriously by sommeliers and critics while remaining accessible to people who have never heard of natural wine. The labels — designed by artist Jen Stark — are hypnotic, colourful, and instantly recognisable. [^184^] The Sweet Berry Wine label features John C. Reilly. The Glou Glou label looks like a party invitation. The Waves cans are designed for beach bags and golf carts. This is not accidental. Eric and Joel believe that wine should not be intimidating — it should be inviting.
The wines themselves back up the branding. The Glou Glou — "the perfect wine for circle foods" — is a light, juicy red made primarily with carbonic maceration, designed to be drunk with pizza, burgers, and anything round. [^184^] The Old Vine Rosé is "a classy pink party wine" that "deserves to be drunk alongside imported tinned fish, artisanal baguettes, and plenty of salted butter." [^184^] The Slipper Sippers Nouveau is a Beaujolais-style early-release wine made for immediate pleasure. Even the most serious cuvées — the Chloe Carignan, the Charbono, the Steak House Cabernet — carry a sense of humour in their names and their presentation.
The Waves line — canned white, rosé, red, and botanical spritzer — represents Las Jaras' most ambitious expansion. [^184^] Made with the same organic grapes and spontaneous fermentation as the bottled wines, but designed for portability and casual consumption, Waves proves that canned wine can be high-quality and natural. The White is Grüner Veltliner, Chenin Blanc, and old-vine Chardonnay. The Rosé is Zinfandel, Carignan, and Viognier. The Red is Merlot, Zinfandel, and Carignan made with reverse saignée. The Botanical Spritzer adds angelica root, juniper, rose buds, green cardamom, grapefruit peel, rosemary, coriander, Douglas fir needles, anise, star anise, and lemongrass to a base of Grüner, Albariño, and Chenin. [^184^]
This combination of quality, creativity, and accessibility has made Las Jaras one of the most successful natural wine brands in the United States. It is distributed nationally, appears on restaurant lists from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, and has introduced thousands of people to the idea that wine can be both delicious and fun — not either/or, but both. "Our approach is to use organic grapes from warm areas on rocky or gravelly free-draining soils," the winemakers say. "We also added a touch of early-picked Vermentino and Viognier to give some acidity to the blend. We think this is our freshest-tasting Superbloom yet!" [^184^]
Chloe Carignan 2022 — 100% Carignan, Old Vines, Whole Cluster + Destemmed
"Carignan is such an intriguing variety for us. At its best it is juicy, brambly and spicy. At its worst it is tannic, sour, and tastes like cabbage." [^184^] The Chloe Carignan is Las Jaras' most technically ambitious wine — a single-varietal expression from Gary Venturi's dry-farmed, head-trained old vines planted in the mid-1960s in Yokayo sandy loam. Hand-picked at 23 brix, half the fruit tipped into the fermentor as whole clusters, half destemmed. No SO2 added. Native fermentation at 72°F, gentle punch-downs — one per day until fermentation kicked off, then two per day, then backing off to one or none after the mid-point. Drained overnight, pressed in the morning. Aged in 228L Burgundian barrels (none new), native malolactic in a cool room. Racked a month before bottling, then again a few days before — limpid and clean without filtration. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. The result is a Carignan that captures the variety at its best: juicy, brambly, spicy, with none of the cabbage or sourness that poorly managed Carignan can show. It is a wine that proves Joel Burt's technical skill and Eric Wareheim's creative vision are not just compatible — they are synergistic. ~$38–$45.
The Las Jaras Range
Las Jaras Wines produces a diverse portfolio of natural wines from organic and dry-farmed vineyards across California — Mendocino, Sonoma, Lodi, Solano, Santa Rita Hills, and beyond. [^184^] All wines are spontaneously fermented with native yeast, using a variety of techniques including carbonic maceration, reverse saignée, traditional skin maceration, and whole-cluster pressing. [^184^] The range includes bottled wines, canned wines (Waves), and a botanical spritzer — all with the same commitment to organic farming, minimal sulfur, and expressive terroir. [^184^] Prices are approximate and in USD.
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