Season

2007 can be classified as extraordinary. After a mild winter, spring was cool with normal rainfall amounts. Beginning with flowering on May 30 and extending just past the last day of harvest on October 22, we experienced below normal rainfall and average to above average temperatures. It was especially dry and warm during the critical ripening months of August, September, and October. Harvest was September 5 and 8, 2007.

Winemaking

The grapes were hand picked, at night and in the early morning hours. The fruit was then chilled overnight to 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. Most of this press juice was sold on the bulk market but some was later blended with the free run, as it added some complexity and body. The juice was cold settled for 48 hours and then racked and inoculated with VL3 yeast for fermentation in stainless steel tank. Fermentation lasted about 30 days at around 55ºF. The wine aged on light yeast lees without going through malolactic fermentation and bottled on April 10, 2008.

Varietal

100% Sauvignon Blanc

Production

430 cases

Season

In a word, 2008 was a troublesome year. And in two words, the resulting 2008 wines are remarkably good. Early spring was cool and wet. Fortunately, at flowering, conditions were extremely hot and dry. Early summer then turned wet again but by mid summer conditions once again warmed and we experienced a severe drought until late August. We harvested the west facing side of our Sauvignon Blanc vines on September 3rd and the east facing side of these vines on September 5th, both pickings during the cooler nighttime hours. 6.6 tons were harvested from 1.7 acres of vines.

Winemaking

After spending 24 hours in cold storage the grapes went across a sorting table very fast, as there was no rot and very little culling was needed. This quick speed in filling the presses meant the juice extracted was very cold and this helped to retain delicate aromas and flavors. Only free-run juice was used. Press juice was fermented separate and the wine later sold in bulk. The juice settled for 24 hours, then racked into a stainless-steel fermenter tank. Two yeast strains were used, X5 with the west lot and VL3 with the east lot. Fermentation lasted about 30 days at 55ºF. After completion of fermentation, the two lots were blended and allowed to rest. Bottled in February 2009.

Varietal

100% Sauvignon Blanc

Production

310 cases

Season

2011 was a near perfect year for our Sauvignon Blanc. 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. The west facing side of the vines were harvested during the dark and cool morning hours of August 25, just before 1.5 inches of rain fell from the remnants of hurricane Irene. Then, on September 3 and again at night, the east facing side of the vines were harvested just before the onslaught of tropical storm Lee. 2011 went downhill from here.

Winemaking

The grape clusters were chilled for 24 hours 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 two different yeast strains for fermentation in two separate stainless steel tanks. Fermentation lasted about 30 days at around 55ºF. After completion of fermentation, the wine was blended back together and aged on light yeast lees without going through malolactic fermentation and bottled in January 2012.

Varietal

100% Sauvignon Blanc

Production

500 cases

Season

2012 was an excellent year for growing our Sauvignon Blanc. 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 21 August, (west facing canopy) and again on 30 August, (east facing canopy), 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 two different yeast strains for fermentation in two separate stainless steel tanks. Fermentation lasted about 30 days at around 55ºF. After completion of fermentation, the wine was blended back together and aged on light yeast lees without going through malolactic fermentation and bottled in February 2013.

Varietal

100% Sauvignon Blanc

Production

280 cases

Aging Potential

2013-2018

Season

In 2013, we experienced a rather troublesome, wet spring and summer and thankfully, during the critical ripening months of August, September, and October, the weather turned very warm, dry, and sunny. Bud break occurred around mid-April, flowering the first week of June, and veraison the first week in August. We harvested, on September 9 and 17, 4.1 tons to the acre or 56 hl/H.

Winemaking

With both harvests, the west facing canopy (Sep 9) and the east facing canopy (Sep 17), 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 two different yeast strains for fermentation in two separate stainless steel tanks. Fermentation lasted about 30 days at around 55ºF. After completion of fermentation, the two lots were blended and aged on light yeast lees without going through malolactic fermentation. This wine was bottled in February 2014.

Varietal

100% Sauvignon Blanc

Production

385 cases

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 and warm harvest with no tropical storms moving through our area. We hand-harvested Sauvignon Blanc on August 30 and September 17.

Winemaking

With both harvests, the west facing canopy (August 30) and the east facing canopy (September 17), 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 two different yeast strains for fermentation in two separate stainless steel tanks. Fermentation lasted about 30 days at around 55ºF. After completion of fermentation, the two lots were blended and aged on light yeast lees without going through malolactic fermentation. This wine was bottled in February 2015.

Varietal

100% Sauvignon Blanc

Production

430 cases

Aging Potential

2015-2021

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

With both harvests, the west facing canopy (August 28) and the east facing canopy (September 2), 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 two different yeast strains for fermentation in two separate stainless steel tanks. Fermentation lasted about 30 days at around 55ºF. After completion of fermentation, the two lots were blended and aged on light yeast lees without going through malolactic fermentation. This wine was bottled in February 2016.

Varietal

100% Sauvignon Blanc

Production

440 cases

Aging Potential

2016-2018

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

With both harvests, the west facing canopy (30 August) and the east facing canopy (13 September), 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 two different yeast strains for fermentation in two separate stainless steel tanks. Fermentation lasted about 30 days at around 55ºF. After completion of fermentation, the two lots were blended and aged on light yeast lees without going through malolactic fermentation. This wine was bottled in February 2017.

Varietal

100% Sauvignon Blanc

Production

415 cases

Aging Potential

2017-2019

Season

Every vineyard block harvested achieved ripeness 10-14 days earlier than normal. This began with an early spring bud break in March, allowing for an early flowering and fruit set in late May, followed by an early veraison in late July. A wet spring got the vines growing rapidly, but then the unabated heat of the summer’s sun, at first nourished the wet and wild vines but later, along with drought conditions, helped stimulate the vines to cease growing and instead transfer their energies and resources into ripening grapes. August through October was especially warm and dry. The Atlantic was very active this year in spawning many hurricanes but thankfully no remnants made it to our little glen. This is to be a vintage for the ages.

Winemaking

With both harvests, the west facing canopy (27 August) and the east facing canopy (31 August), 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 two different yeast strains for fermentation in two separate stainless steel tanks. Fermentation lasted about 30 days at around 55ºF. After completion of fermentation, the two lots were blended and aged on light yeast lees without going through malolactic fermentation. This wine was bottled in February 2018.

Varietal

100% Sauvignon Blanc

Production

360 cases

Aging Potential

2018-2020

Winemaking

100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes from 23 year old vines. Harvested on September 5 (west facing canopy) and on September 11 (east facing canopy). Both lots fermented separately in stainless steel tanks at 55 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 days using two different yeasts. Blended in October and rested on fine lees before being bottled in February 2019.

Varietal

100% Sauvignon Blanc

Aging Potential

2019-2021