Our Story
I am now working on my "Final Roll Call" in life after leaving a 30-year career in Silicon Valley.
Happier than I have ever been, "I finally figured out what I want to do when I grow up".
In pursuit of more hands-on experience, me and my wife Chris
have contributed to many harvests over the years including Minnesota (where we brought grapes from California, and also made wine from cold-hardy fruit from the University of Minnesota at a local winery), as well as Napa Valley, and South Africa.
Our Process
During the wine making process we use half-ton macro bins, crushing, destemming, and allowing native yeasts to start fermenting. I believe the inclusion of native yeasts offer a more complex wine.
Once native yeasts have started, we determine if inoculating with commercial yeast would be beneficial. Since we are a small producer, fermentations must finish completely dry so as to insure no waste.
Manual hand punch downs are conducted two to three times per day. When the wine is near completion, we then back off on the punch downs. During fermentation Brix (sugar levels) are checked daily.
Once fermentation is complete, we press the fruit tasting during the process. We first allow the free run juice to flow into a holding tank and allow the gross lees to settle for a day. Only then do we rack the wine into barrels.
Our wines age in
French Oak barrels;
typically, once used from 18 to 24 months on average.
Managing minimal sulfur levels (via labs) while topping barrels
assures minimum head space - keeping Volatile Acidity to a minimum.
We do not believe in over “oaking” our wines as too much oak could
be questioned as flawed, or potentially hiding a problem.
We believe the fruit should express itself.
Overripe grapes will never show their true potential in the bottle.
~ Bill Thompson,
Winemaker