Estate Sauvignon Blanc

This section runs between our Aglianico and the fence line that separates our vineyard from Vino Noceto. The Sauvignon Blanc vines are grown on quadrilateral trellis much like our Zinfandel. The main difference is that we leave 2 to 3 times the number of growing points (buds) on the Sauvignon Blanc because the clusters and berries can be very small. This section probably gives us the most inconsistency in terms of yield. We harvest anywhere from 1.5 to 4 tons of fruit from this section. We typically always have plenty of clusters, but the size and weight can very dramatically year to year. In years with more rainfall, we see a drastic increase in crop load compared to drier years. This is almost always the first thing we harvest each year, often in late August or very early September. The fruit is very sensitive to late heat spikes so providing extra shade and maintaining the canopy of leaves for protection can be crucial; the timing on harvest can make all the difference. Too early and aromatics and body will be lacking, too late and the fruit can have severe sun damage and lose a lot of freshness and acidity. The flavor of the wine grapes translates amazingly well to the wines so correctly timing harvest in this section makes all the difference in the finished wine.