Growing Conditions
A vineyard that, despite its gorgeous view of Seneca Lake, tends to look quite austere as vegetation has a difficult time surviving between vines. Vines tended with an early harvest for Sekt and leaf pulling to reduce crop yield and increase sun exposure through the concluding month of harvest, both of which seem to be key to maximize ripening of the late ripening Alsatian clones of Riesling.
Harvest
2016 will be remembered for being one of the driest growing seasons ever recorded in the Finger Lakes, which is not a trivial concern in a region that does not use irrigation. From June 2nd until mid-August there was almost no rain to speak of, but fortunately the vines showed no major signs of drought stress.
Winemaking
Grapes crushed and destemmed with moderate SO2 upon receival into welch bins for overnight cold soaking. Grapes pressed out the following morning without fractioning, treated with bentonite for stability and to aid settling, then cold settled for 72 hours before racking Juice bottoms after racking were filtered with diatomaceous earth and returned. After combined spontaneous and inoculated fermentations, the wine was aged on lees in stainless steel for 10 months prior to racking, filtering, and bottling.
