Our Approach

The vineyards were carefully farmed and the grapes handpicked.  The picking dates were determined after close monitoring by our team beginning one month before harvest. Because of the more accelerated ripening process in the Santa Rita Hills, as compared to Burgundy, it was critical to anticipate harvest. We wanted a healthy tension between ripeness and acidity, allowing the wines to reflect the vineyard’s natural exuberance, for which the Santa Rita Hills is known.

The grapes were gently pressed according to Alex’s Burgundy protocol.  This was followed with a cold 48-hour clarification process (débourbage) in order insure that the juice’s fermentation was clean and not dominated by the vineyard’s and growing season’s propensity for richness.

Fermentations started naturally after 36-48 hours on their own yeasts (no inoculation), followed by a full and easy malolactic fermentation, no lie stirring and finally barrel aging. All our new barrels were sourced directly from suppliers in Burgundy. We applied a maximum of 1/3 lightly-toasted new oak barrels to both wines. We also utilized several stainless-steel barrels in order to limit the influences of the wood and to guard the wine’s natural freshness and vigor. Finally, the wines were racked in March 2018 and assembled in stainless steel tanks for an unfined, unfiltered bottling that took place in early May.