This morning, I went out to a friend's vineyard in the Carneros, where he is growing the Wente clone of Chardonnay. The vineyard is on very shallow soils, and is at the southern edge of the grapegrowing area of Sonoma Carneros. I'm going to do a joint venture with MJ Lords, who are handling my custom crush this year, on ten tons of these grapes, which will net Clary Ranch Wines about 250-300 cases of Chardonnay. We are intending to press the juice at Baletto Winery, then truck it to MJ Lords, where we'll cold-ferment in stainless, with maybe a small fraction in barrels. We're not looking to produce a butter-bomb, so we'll halt malolactic fermentation early on with Lysozyme and sulfites. I intend to use a very light touch when it comes to oak, so I'll bottle much earlier than I do my reds.
The Chardonnay grapes are at about 21 degrees Brix, and we'll harvest soon. I'll be happy with 22-22.5, and that should be in about a week-and-a-half.
Crush is imminent!
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Yum... love a nice chardonnay!! Can't wait to try it!
ReplyDeleteProst!
Emily
Hi Emily-
ReplyDeleteThe vineyard is owned by Paul Larson, who attends the same group meditations as I... It lies south of Hwy 121, just east of Schellville. From the vineyard, you can see clear down to Hwy 37 and San Pablo Bay.