Growing Conditions
The growing season for 2020 was perhaps the most redeeming part of the year. It was a light winter that lasted a bit longer than anyone would have guessed and delayed budbreak a smidge but the rest of the season more than made up for it. It was warm and consistently on the verge of a drought without actually causing any alarming stress to the vines. Grapes came in at a high quality across the board and there was no pressure (rain, disease, or otherwise) to pick, therefore winemakers rejoiced.
Harvest
The fruit was picked over the course of October on four separate days. The fruit was machine harvested, crushed and destemmed and pressed the same day. A small portion (15%) had 24 hours of skin contact after destemming to improve structure and was then pressed. The juice was then settled and racked off of gross lees and separated into different tanks for fermentation. A portion of juice (16% of final blend) was put into neutral white barrels for ferment.
Winemaking
This Riesling is a blend of five different fermentations using the following yeast strains: AMH, Rhône 4600, 71 B, W15, ES 181. The AMH, Rhône 4600 and 71 B fermentations occurred in stainless steel at temperatures between 52˚F and 65˚F. The W15 and ES 181 fermentations occurred in barrel. Fermentations lasted from 3 weeks to 10 weeks in length, depending on fermentation and desired stopping point. Fermentations were monitored and maintained at low temperatures to retain delicate aromas. Fermentations were arrested naturally (using cooling) to maintain natural grape sweetness in the final wines. The separate components were blended, cold stabilized, and filtered.
