A "man on a mission." Words often spoken, but seldom realized. Lusu Cellars is the public face of a soft-spoken man on a mission to honor family heritage while also forging new ground in the world of California wine. David T., the winemaker at Lusu, occupies a small urban winery in Berkeley first used by Steve Edmunds (of Edmunds St. John) and then Chris Brockway (of Broc Cellars), and formerly shared with ENO wines. It's a bit like a college dorm room at some elite liberal arts college, with the vine-covered exterior walls and idiosyncratic interior to match. In a few months, Lusu will get another winemaking roommate, from the Sonoma coast, who will also make and pour wines at their shared tasting room space inside the winery, right among the barrels, fermenting vats, hoses, and assorted gear needed to make small-batch, artisan wines. In the case of Lusu, the wines are made using feral yeast strains naturally present on the grapes, which are sourced from family-owned, dry-farmed vineyards in the Sierra Foothills near the town of Fairplay (El Dorado County), or from locations east of Lodi, where good grapes at affordable prices are available. Lusu's tiny production of under 1000 cases means that the winemaker has to work other jobs in the industry to help underwrite his efforts, which yield extremely inviting, elegant wines that will appeal to those interested in locally sourced wines made in low tech styles, without elaborate manipulation in the cellar room or wine lab. You can sample Lusu's variable lineup on weekends only. Given the small scale nature of the operation, it's probably sound advice to email David ahead of time to confirm that someone will be there to oversee the tasting, which has a nominal fee waived with bottle purchase. There isn't a huge range here, but what there is, you might really like. The Roussanne-Viognier white blend is a very delicate, nuanced wine without the intense colors and aromas of many California white Rhone blends. It's extremely quaffable on its own or with light foods and fish dishes. Lusu's Zinfandels are aromatic and full of red fruit and moderate alcohol with a good acid balance and very mild tannins, and additions of Carignane give them a bit more color and black fruit depth. A "Farmer's Hand" red blend, dedicated to family who worked the land, varies from year to year, but the current vintage is made up of Petit Verdot, Cabernet, and Merlot and is quite attractive, but not in a bombshell sort of way. The El Dorado vineyards that provide the grapes are fairly high in elevation (2000-3000 feet), and they are cooler than Sierra Foothills growing regions in Amador and Calaveras Counties, so they don't get as super ripe and bold as those appellations. Lusu's approach is geared more to making wines that harken back to the Portuguese-American traditions of an earlier generation, where wines were made for everyday meals using on-hand ingredients like root vegetables, garlic, kale, beans, cheese, and stewed meats. Given the family connection to Madiera, Lusu also offers a port-style late harvest Zinfandel, which is fortified to 17% with the addition of brandy. It's barrel aged for 3 years in neutral oak before release and sells, like many other wines here, for around $22 a bottle (375ml in this case). Of course, by the time you read this review, things will likely have changed. Some wines will be sold out, while others will be coming on-line. Lusu can't outbid its deeper pocketed neighbors like Broc or Donkey & Goat for prized grapes from Sonoma, Napa, or the Santa Lucia Highlands, but more than makes up for this by creative cellar practices designed to make wines that both Portuguese grandparents as well as East Bay millennials would like - all the while supporting a personal mission to "infuse old world minimalist techniques with heritage California varietals sourced from family-owned, sustainable, and dry farmed vineyards." If you can't succeed with this noble (but hopefully not Quixotic) mission in an urban wine ghetto like Berkley's ... then where can you? Cast your vote today! Come to Lusu Cellars and support David's mission. It may not put your preferred candidate in the White House, but it will yield some really cool wines for storage in your cellar. Or for chilling in your dorm room mini-fridge. Or a wine for gifting to friends at your next BBQ or wine and cheese dinner party. Any way you play it, you (and Lusu) will win! read more