Harvest
October 3rd and 18th, 2022 at 22.9 Brix, 3.45 pH, and 5.6 g/L of titratable acidity. 100% Viognier, 51% Les Collines Vineyard and 49% Francisca’s Vineyard. All stainless steel fermentation and aging with 3% lenga wood.
Bottling
This stainless steel Viognier opens with white
flowers, pear, orange peel, and a slight woody character on the
nose from the 3% lenga wood added to the fermentation tank. The
palate shows red apple, pear, and lime with bright acidity
throughout. The fruit and acid carries through to a long finish with a
touch of wood tannin. Drink now through 2035.
Winemaking
We wanted to create a Walla Walla Viognier that was
not overly floral and ripe, balancing acidity and fruit flavors with the
naturally oily character of Rhone whites. For our first vintage, we
think it’s pretty spot on. Harvested in October from the two
vineyards, the grapes were whole cluster pressed with the use of
enzymes for settling and juice extraction and an ascorbic acid, SO2,
and tannin blend to control oxygen contact. The wine was
fermented with Rhone 4600 yeast in a stainless steel tank at 56
degrees until completely dry. Total time: 27 days in fermentation.
After fermentation was complete, SO2 was added to stop ML from
occurring. The wine was protein stabilized with bentonite, cold
stabilized, crossflow filtered, and then prepared for bottling on
January 26th, 2023.
