Our vineyard
We began planting in 1999 and now have 25,000 vines over 20 acres. There are 11,000 Pinot Noir, 9,000 Chardonnay, 3,000 Pinot Gris and 2,000 Gamay. The current yield, depending on the vintage, is about 3500 cases. All the wines use grapes only from our vineyards.
In September, we net the vineyard against birds, and an electric fence surrounds the perimeter to keep out the raccoons.
After harvest, with trial and error, we have invented a system to hill canes for the winter to ensure a crop the following year.
Harvesting begins as the weather dictates, anywhere from mid-September into October. We process the grapes in the barns across the road. The grapes are hand-picked and sorted, then crushed and de-stemmed (by machine, not feet).
We leave the skins on Pinot Gris and Chardonnay grapes for 24 hours, then squeeze them out. The Gris goes into stainless steel tanks, and Chardonnay is barrel fermented using various ages of wood.
We leave the skins on Pinot Noir for up to 10 days in cold-soak maceration. We use native or cultured yeast is used in fermentation. The wine is pressed, racked and aged in French oak for up to 24 months.
The secret to great wine is healthy, ripe fruit. We look after the vineyard with every attention to detail and, with luck, have a decent growing season (ideally hot and dry), and we don’t overcrop the vines, so our wine is rich with the flavours unique to the region. Don’t just take our word for it; go ahead and taste for yourself.
