It’s well known that the busiest time of year for a winemaker is during and immediately after Harvest. As ton after ton of grapes are brought in from the vineyards, time is of the essence to make sure those grapes make it through the various stages of preparation and into their barrels.
That doesn’t mean that the rest of the year is a walk in the park, however. Although the 2023 Harvest is still months away, the winemaking team has had plenty to do this season. We caught up with our winemaker Nadia Urquidez to find out what she and her team have been up to this Spring.
The racking of our 2022 wine is complete and we are thrilled with the results! Racking is the process of transferring wine from one vessel to another. We do this multiple times throughout the aging process to clear the wine and remove any impurities in the barrels that may affect the flavor or clarity of the finished wines.
This process also gives us the opportunity to taste and analyze each wine, and we’re excited to report that we have a selection of highly aromatic and exceptionally clean wines! During the review process, we examined the barrel profiles, incorporating aroma, color stability, oak integration, tannins, and astringency into our analysis. This will allow us to better understand what techniques and protocols to employ for the 2023 selection.
Our team also classified each wine batch for potential use in our Private Reserve line, which is made from only the best quality wine. To ensure consistently high quality, we are currently adjusting the SO2 levels, taking lab samples, conducting regular barrel sampling, and topping the wine in the barrels to account for evaporation.
As we look ahead to our next bottling, we are taking steps to order sufficient supplies and are eagerly anticipating the arrival of the 2021 vintage. And although the 2023 harvest is still a few months away, now is the time when we start to prepare and make sure everything is aligned and ready for a successful harvest. We are committed to providing our customers with exceptional wines year after year, and that is why we are so focused on every single step of the winemaking process.
A big thanks to Nadia for taking us inside the Doffo wine lab! Spring is an amazing time of year to visit wine country! Click here to plan your visit and we hope to see you soon!
