R. STUART & CO. MENEFEE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR

We watch the vineyards particularly closely in the last month before harvest. We make our picking decisions based primarily on flavor, although of course we consider acid, ph, TA and brix. We taste the fruit every week and as we get closer, sometimes every day. When we decide the flavors are right, we call for the pick. The fruit comes in from the vineyard and the first thing we do is destem – without crushing – into small one-ton fermenters. We use natural proprietary yeast, which we’ve cultured for weeks from the vineyard samples. Including strains from our many vineyards in the yeast gives the wine welcome complexity, just like with a blended Pinot. Later in the fermentation process we delestage The result is large, soft tannins – which are just the kind we like. After delestage, we press off the juice and let it settle for before barreling. We rarely use new oak in our cellar, as we much prefer the gentle aging achieved with neutral French oak. Our goal for each wine is to have just the right amount of soft tannins, balanced with luscious fruit and bright acidity.