We Are A Working Winery
The wine swirling in your glass has a story, a story that spans two years from the vineyard, to the bottle, to your glass. Two years of hard work, care and attention to detail. We are a working winery where the characters of that story come together. Grapes, barrels, patience and pride in our product are all characters in the story that like wine is best shared with friends and family.
During The Growing Season
Throughout the growing season, but most frequently approaching harvest we walk the vineyards, tasting the fruit and waiting till the optimum ripeness to pick. All our fruit is hand-picked, gently de-stemmed and returned to the bins for fermentation.
Then Fermentation Begins
Primary fermentation is the process where yeasts consume the grape sugar and begin to produce alcohol, carbon dioxide, and heat. The carbon dioxide lifts the fermenting grapes to the top of the bins forming a 'cap'. Two to four times a day we 'punch down' the cap. Keeping the grapes submerged as much as possible helps extract color and aroma precursors, and cools the fermentation.
Now We're Dealing With Wine!
After 10-16 days, fermentation slows or stops completely. Now we are no longer dealing with grapes or juice, but wine! We press the fermented 'must', separating the wine from the skins and seeds. We pump the pressed wine to tank where it rests for several days. This allows the heaviest sediment from fermentation and pressing to settle before the wine is transferred to barrels for aging.
Blending And Barrel Aging
For the next two years, the wine slowly evolves in the barrel, becoming smoother and more complex. We taste monthly to keep tabs on the development and then 'top up' each barrel to minimize air contact. Prior to bottling, each lot of wine is assembled, blending wine from individual barrels into one tank, as each barrel has developed in its own way. Varietal blending is also done at this time.
And Finally We Bottle
We use a sophisticated mobile bottling truck as the final step in the long journey from grape to glass. Nitrogen dosing and vacuum corking help us bring you the best quality in the bottle. We then bottle-age the wine, again tasting frequently, until we determine that the wine is ready for release. After that, it's time to taste and toast!