Palate
With a firm backbone and racy core of wild-berry fruit, our Vendange pops with lively notes of cranberry, rhubarb, and candied ginger
Growing Conditions
100% Cellardoor Estate Vineyard, Lincolnville, ME
The 2014 vintage in Maine saw a cool wet summer followed by a mild warm fall. The warm fall kept us on track for harvesting our grapes between October 4 and October 11 before the frost hit.
Bottling
Date Bottled: 8/5/2015
Date Disgorged: 5/1/2017
Winemaking
The striking color of the Vendange is derived solely from the juice of the Marquette grape. Since the juice of this grape is uncommonly red, we can press straight out of the vineyard without any skin contact. Because of this, the Vendange has great color but no tannin.
To reduce the natural high acidity in the grapes, we followed the primary fermentation with a secondary malolactic fermentation after which we aged the wine in neutral barrels sur lie for 6 months (stirring the lees weekly). Once we achieved the desired chemistry and mouthfeel, we bottled the base wine with yeast and sugar for a Traditional Method bottle fermentation. The wine was then allowed to age on the lees for an additional 21 months before disgorging the yeast and corking. As a final touch, we added a 11 g/L dosage for perfect balance.
Due to the naturally high levels of calcium in our soils, our estate grapes are also high in calcium. This can cause calcium tartrate crystals to form in the bottle. These crystals are just calcium falling out of solution over time and will cause no harm or flavor change.
Aging
6 months in used barrels sur lie stirring weekly.
Food Pairing
- Roasted beet salad with goat cheese
- Sunday Brunch
- Any celebration
