2019 Gewürztraminer

Our gnarled, 38-year-old vines grudgingly produce small clusters of densely-packed berries. While difficult to harvest, the flavor in these grapes is always intense. The beginning of 2019 was beautiful. A season of sufficient water, no late frosts, and reasonable temperatures was interrupted by an early fall frost and forced the picking schedule up earlier than we would have liked. Picked from 2 different vineyard blocks beginning on October 8, the last of the Gewürz came in on October 12.

Each day’s harvest was crushed and allowed to sit on the skins for 1-2 hours before pressing, drawing additional flavor, mouthfeel and slight color from the must. The early frost truncated the growing season and offered some challenges in the cellar:

Flavor very intense, skins dark purple/pink, seeds mostly brown, juice temp 55 F.

AFlavor very intense with notes of citrus – especially grapefruit, skins dark purple/pink, seeds partially green, 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 due to the cold temps, needed a little extra heat to finish on November 6. 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. When tasting, and given the abundant 2018 harvest, we decided to allow another year of tank age to soften the acidity. Bottled early in 2022 and released late spring.