Il Diavolo Dessert Wine

Grown in the Grand Valley, Baco Noir is one of the earliest crossings (1894) between old and new world grape varieties. We want a Port-style dessert wine, so the clusters hang late until they reach 30 Brix. Picking on October 5, we allow a cool night to chill the grapes, crushing the following morning. Knowing that some decisions need to be made before we start, we measure the acidity and taste the berries. There is no textbook formula to follow, but our experience tell us that a residual sugar of 7-8% should balance the acidity nicely. Once fermentation begins, we will shoot for that.

Brix: 30

pH: 4.1

Titratable Acidity: 7.4 g/l

Following an overnight chill, we crush into small vats, and let the must rest and cold soak for 24 hours, inoculating on October 7.

Very ripe grapes, unusual brick tinge to the must, dried fruit and tomato flavors evident, juice temp 55 F.

Peaking at 88 degrees, we stop the fermentation on October 11 at 8 Brix, expecting about 7.5 Brix when all is said and done. Allowing a 3 day cold soak we press to tank on October 20. After settling for several months, we transfer to barrel. Following 20 months of barrel age, we transfer to tank, make some minor adjustments and prepare to bottle. At bottling on February 8, 2022, the alcohol reads 19.6: and residual sugar 7.2%. Close to the 20% and 7.5% we were targeting. As the wine ages in the barrel and bottle, the dried fruit, fig, and date flavors dominate, supported by just a hint of oak and vanilla.