Season

For our Petit Manseng, 2011 was a good year. Bud break occurred normally, around mid-April and flowering too was normal, around the first of June. Summer temperatures were normal, with some hot days and some cool ones. Rainfall was normal for most of the summer, turning very dry in August just before harvest. Remnants of Hurricane Irene and Tropical storm Lee came through Virginia in late August and early September, leaving behind 7 inches of water. 2011 went downhill from here as it rained almost daily for the next 30 days. Surprisingly, Petit Manseng handles excessive water quite well, showing little signs of flavor dilution or any rots.

Varietal

100% Petit Manseng

Season

2012 was an excellent year for growing our Petit Manseng. Bud break occurred very early, around the last couple days of March. Flowering was also early, at the end of May. Summer temperatures were normal, with some hot days and some cool ones. Rainfall was rather low for most of the summer, turning very dry in August just before harvest. A couple of rain events occurred in late August and early September but after these, the rest of harvest was beautifully dry, sunny and warm.

Winemaking

Hand-harvested on September 13, the grape clusters were chilled for 24 hours in our walk-in cooler to help retain fresh acidity and delicate aromatics. To extract the juice, whole clusters were pressed with the first light press fraction or free run juice being separated from the later moderate press fraction or press juice. This press juice was later sold on the bulk market. The free run juice was cold settled for 48 hours and then racked and inoculated with yeast for fermentation in stainless steel tank. Fermentation stopped after about 30 days, leaving 3% residual sugars in the wine. The wine was aged on light yeast lees without going through malolactic fermentation and bottled in February 2013.

Varietal

100% Petit Manseng

Production

150 cases

Season

In 2013, we experienced a rather troublesome and wet spring and summer but thankfully, during the critical ripening months of August, September, and October it was very dry and sunny. Bud break occurred around mid-April, flowering, the first week of June and veraison, the first week in August. Harvested in early October, 3.1 tons to the acre or 42 hL/H.

Winemaking

A careful selection harvest of the ripest golden grape clusters was performed on October 3, leaving on the vines the lesser ripe clusters to continue ripening for another month for our Late Harvest Petit Manseng, Raepheus wine. The grape clusters were chilled for 24 hours in our walk-in cooler to help retain fresh acidity and delicate aromatics. To extract the juice, whole clusters were gently pressed, with the first light press fraction or free run juice being separated from the later moderate press fraction or press juice. This press juice was later sold on the bulk market. The free run juice was cold settled for 48 hours and then racked and inoculated with yeast for fermentation in stainless steel tank at around 55ºF. Fermentation stopped after about 30 days, leaving 1.5% residual sugars in the wine. To increase flavor and aromatic complexity and to balance the residual sugars with this wine’s intense acidity profile, a small amount of Late Harvest Petit Manseng Raepheus juice was introduced in late November. The wine was aged on light yeast lees without going through malolactic fermentation and bottled in February 2014.

Varietal

100% Petit Manseng

Production

150 cases

Aging Potential

2014-2024

Season

Following an extremely cold winter, spring was wet and cool and the first half of summer was wet and hot. In August, the rains stopped and we enjoyed a relatively dry warm harvest with no tropical storms moving through our area.

Winemaking

Hand-harvested on September 30. The grape clusters were chilled for 24 hours in our walk-in cooler to help retain fresh acidity and delicate aromatics. To extract the juice, whole clusters were gently pressed, with the first light press fraction or free run juice being separated from the later moderate press fraction or press juice. This press juice was later sold on the bulk market. The free run juice was cold settled for 48 hours and then racked and inoculated with yeast for fermentation in stainless steel tank at around 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Fermentation stopped after about 30 days, leaving 0.5% residual sugars in the wine. To enhance flavor and aromatic complexity and to balance the residual sugars with this wine’s intense acidity profile, a small amount of Late Harvest Petit Manseng Raepheus juice was introduced in late November. The wine was aged on light yeast lees without going through malolactic fermentation and bottled in February 2015.

Varietal

100% Petit Manseng

Production

135 cases

Aging Potential

2015-2025

Season

The weather of 2015 in Virginia was quite normal or predictably quite unpredictable. A cold winter, hitting zero a few nights, followed by a cool dry spring with normal bud break around April 15. Early summer had increased frequency of rains but by the end of July the rains stopped and late summer into early autumn once again became very dry with beautiful fall ripening and harvest weather.

Winemaking

Hand-harvested on September 15. The grape clusters were chilled for 24 hours in our walk-in cooler to help retain fresh acidity and delicate aromatics. To extract the juice, whole clusters were gently pressed, with the first light press fraction or free run juice being separated from the later moderate press fraction or press juice. This press juice was later sold on the bulk market. The free run juice was cold settled for 48 hours and then racked and inoculated with yeast for fermentation in stainless steel tank at around 55ºF. Fermentation stopped after about 30 days, leaving 1.5% residual sugars in the wine. To enhance flavor and aromatic complexity and to balance the residual sugars with this wine’s intense acidity profile, about 4% of Late Harvest Petit Manseng Raepheus juice was introduced in late November. The wine was aged on light yeast lees without going through malolactic fermentation and bottled in February 2015.

Varietal

100% Petit Manseng

Production

135 cases

Aging Potential

2015-2025

Season

In late March, temperatures went from 18ºF to 72ºF in less than 12 hours. Some buds were lost in this event but overall yields were not impacted. A ten-day rainy period in April was welcomed for newly planted vineyards but caused excessive growth and high disease pressure in the older more established plantings. August into September was very warm and dry resulting in the most compressed harvest here in 22 years.

Winemaking

Hand harvested on September 16. The grape clusters were chilled for 24 hours in our walk-in cooler to help retain fresh acidity and delicate aromatics. To extract the juice, whole clusters were gently pressed, with the first light press fraction or free run juice being separated from the later moderate press fraction or press juice. This press juice was later sold on the bulk market. The free run juice was cold settled for 48 hours and then racked and inoculated with yeast for fermentation in stainless steel tank at around 55ºF. Fermentation stopped after about 30 days, leaving .5% residual sugars in the wine. To enhance flavor and aromatic complexity and to balance the residual sugars with this wine’s intense acidity profile, a small amount of Late Harvest Petit Manseng Raepheus juice was introduced in late November. The wine was aged on light yeast lees without going through malolactic fermentation and bottled in February 2017.

Varietal

100% Petit Manseng

Production

190 cases

Aging Potential

2017-2027

Winemaking

Harvested on September 20 and October 2, the grape clusters were chilled overnight and then whole cluster pressed the next day. The September 20 harvested grapes fermented cold in a stainless steel tank for about 30 days. The October 2 harvested grapes fermented in barrel for about 15 days. The two lots were later blended, allowed to rest, and then bottled on February 8.

Varietal

100% Petit Manseng

Aging Potential

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