Wildflower

Valdiguié is a late ripening variety - it requires extra vigilance from our Arroyo Seco vineyard crew to prune and thin to allow the fruit enough time to mature on the vine prior to harvest. Our goal is to preserve the natural acidity and wonderful fresh fruit character of this grape. We incorporate two different fermentation techniques to achieve this. During our last picks of 2020, we hand-harvested roughly one-quarter of the Valdiguié and added those whole clusters directly into the fermentation tanks in a winemaking process called carbonic maceration – no crushing or punching down for the first 2 weeks. The balance of the fruit was fermented by the more conventional technique of gently de-stemming to the fermenter, pumping over, and extracting with a fairly short, warm fermentation. Combining these two processes creates a wine with great similarity to the best “Crus” of Beaujolais, with enticing berry fruit flavors, a vibrant color, and soft tannins.