Growing Conditions
Pristine vineyard on a well drained knoll above the rest of Lahoma Vineyards. Manicured, weeded, and hedged in the postcard tradition that grower Harlan Fulkerson takes pride in. All work that was done by hand for fruit thinning was performed by the winemaking team exclusively to ensure that the highest quality fruit was left hanging prior to harvest.
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 thanks to their root depth.
Winemaking
Three day active cold soak on skins prior to pressing, with moderate SO2 added for protection against oxidation during the maceration process. Normal pressing followed without any press fractioning and the juice was cold settled for 72 hours, with bentonite added for heat stability, before racking. Juice bottoms after racking were filtered with diatomaceous earth and returned.
