Description
Production: 163 cases
In the Vineyard
Our gnarled, 37-year-old vines grudgingly produce small clusters of densely-packed berries. While difficult to harvest, the flavor in these grapes is always intense. The 2017 season was of typical length but cool. Picked from 3 different vineyard blocks beginning on October 6, the last of the Gewurz came in on October 17
In the Cellar
Each day’s harvest was crushed and allowed to sit on the skins for 2 to 5 hours before pressing, drawing additional flavor, mouthfeel and slight color from the must. Despite the cool fall, the grapes were fully ripe with excellent numbers:
Brix: 25.0
pH: 3.15
Titratable Acidity: 6.6 g/l
Flavor very intense, skins dark purple/pink, seeds mostly brown, juice temp 55 F.
After pressing, the juice was allowed to settle overnight and the clear juice was inoculated with yeast the next day. The fermentations remained cool, under 60 degrees, and finished on November 2. No secondary malolactic fermentation was allowed, and the residual malic acid contributed its characteristic faint green-apple flavor to the finished wine. After cold stabilization in the mountain winter, and subsequent heat stabilization, we prepared to blend and bottle. The following year on, October 17 and 18, we bottled 163 cases of 2017 Gewürztraminer and it has has been gracefully ageing ever since.
