So Now What?

You may think just because the wine is aging away nicely in the barrels that nothing else happens until it is bottled.  Oh to the contrary.  While the wine is ever-changing as it soaks up the wonderful flavors and aromas of the oak, the business side of things is moving full-steam ahead.

Bottles, licensing, and labels, oh my!  There is definitely plenty going on.  The name and label designs are just about complete and I can't wait to share it with you all.  Stay tuned for the big unveiling.  It won't be long now!

Moving to Barrel

Since my last post, the fermentation process has taken place to convert the grape sugars to alcohol all while the colors and flavors in the wine have continued to develop.  Once complete, it was time to move on to the next phase called "press" which is when the fermented juice is extracted from the grapes.
 

With a little help from a basket press and some gentle pressure, the juice was slowly extracted from the grapes and added to the barrels.

 

Wine, grape skins and seeds going into the press

Pressed wine

One of my favorite aromas of the wine making process is when newly made wine first comes in contact with the inside of a new French oak barrel.  The scent is amazing when the fruit-forward wine combined with the toasted oak of the barrel.
 

But, in all honestly, it's not just the aroma that makes the moment so special. It's the fact that another phase of wine making is over.  It's a time to reflect back on the grape development in the vineyard based on the changes in the weather.  To remember the date that was scheduled to pick and process the grapes.  And, to think back on all of the hours in the winery spent tending to the grapes to extract rich colors and flavors.  All of these memories culminate at this point when the wine enters the barrel.

Granted, a lot still happens to the wine during the aging process when in barrel, (which you will have to stick around to find out about) but this just means we are one step closer to a great wine.  And based on that aroma when the wine hit the barrel, it's building up to be something incredible!

 

Let's Make Some Wine!

After the grapes have been picked from the vineyard and hauled back to the winery, we started the actual process of making wine.

Part of the winemaking process is maceration whereby we break down the grapes so that the grape skins can impart color and flavors into the juice.  Many people have asked if I stomp around with my bare feet like Lucy did in the vat of grapes on the I Love Lucy show.  If that was you, sorry to let you down but I don't (I make David do that!)  This sort of grape stomping isn't used very much today, except for with some varietals such as Mourvedre and Syrah, which benefit from this due to their thick skins and tight grape clusters.  However, for Pinot Noir, the skins are thinner so a punch-down tool works just fine to breakdown the grapes.

Ultimately, the sugars in the juice turn to alcohol to become wine but so much more occurs during the winemaking process that shapes a wine's style and structure.  Time, temperature, and attention during this process all play a role in making a truly well-rounded wine with beautiful color and flavors.  This Pinot Noir is shaping up to be just that.

California Weather

It has been said that a good deal of winemaking takes place in the vineyard. By the time the fruit has made it's way into the winery, if the grapes are good, the hard part is done. Some would argue it's all about location, but in actuality, it's the affect of the weather on that particular location that has a big impact. Coastal, hillside, valley floor, ridge top; vineyards planted in these types of terrain all receive different weather patterns and thus are suitable for growing different types of grapes to their greatest potential.

 

California is typically known for having beautiful weather and that is definitely one reason why this state is great for growing wine grapes. That said, mother nature doesn't always provide the perfect conditions when they are most critical; the weeks building up to harvest when the grapes are ripening on the vine.

The weather over the past few years hasn't been ideal and the amount of rain coupled with the cooler temperatures during the growing season had a negative impact on the quantity as well as quality of the fruit in many areas of California.

Luckily, for 2012, the weather has been pretty close to perfect.  The higher temperatures during the day has helped with maturation of the grapes while the nighttime lower temperatures helped preserve acidity.  These ideal conditions, found in our Russian River Valley vineyard, are just what the Pinot Noir grapes need to thrive to produce an exceptional wine for our inaugural vintage.