Our Winemaking

Walking the Vines

Winemaking

 Grenache Noir

The grapes are hand harvested, de-stemmed, machine sorted, and cold soaked for 3-6 days before the native yeast begins to ferment the sugars.  Our addition of more predictable yeast allows us to maintain a slow and cool fermentation that lasts for up to 28 days.  Pump overs are done three times daily until day 10-12 when only softer handed punch downs are used to mix the skins with the juice.  Only free-run wine makes its way to the combination of American and French oak barrels with a very small portion being new.  The wine is aged in bottle for at least eight months before release.

Grenache Rosé

Both direct press and saignée methods are used for the Rosé.   A blend of the two methods is made about a month prior to bottling.   For the direct press, an early harvest occurs 2-3 weeks prior to the main harvest.  This fruit is whole cluster pressed immediately after picking to remove the juice from the skins before any color extraction happens.  For the saignée method, once processing begins, about 12% of the juice is separated from the skins before any color extraction can occur. The juice from these methods is barrel fermented in neutral barrels and aged in those barrels for up to five months.  The lees from fermentation are stirred every week to gain a silky texture and some viscosity in the mouth feel.