Our
Winemaker - Brett Raven: Winemaking and farming represented a significant
career change for Brett. After working as an attorney in a law office in San
Francisco for nearly ten years, we had the opportunity to purchase property in
Sonoma County which we did in 1995. While taking viticulture courses at Santa
Rosa Junior College under Rich Thomas and installing our vineyard along with
the help of veteran consultant, Bob Dempel, Brett discovered a new passion and
he soon began applying himself to the art and science of winemaking.
He has
literally learned the winemaking process from the bottom up. While attending
U.C. Davis Extension courses and industry sponsored seminars, Brett has worked
in wine production at Alderbrook Winery, Matanzas Creek Winery and Ramey Wine
Cellars. This hands on winemaking experience, knowledge of vineyard practices,
and close association with the winemakers who have been purchasing our grapes,
have allowed Brett to learn rapidly and leverage his experiences at every stage
of his professional development. At the beginning of 2009, Brett left his full
time job with Ramey Wine Cellars. While Brett remains available to the team at
Ramey for special projects, we felt it was important to devote more time to
Frostwatch, both in the vineyard and the marketplace. Our wines currently in
barrel, as well as future vintages, will be made and bottled at our new
production facility, "Vinify" in Santa Rosa. Vinify specializes in
providing state of the art winery facilities and equipment to small artisan
producers and new ventures.
Winemaking
Philosophy: Our approach to winemaking is a simple one. We rely on careful
viticultural practices to produce the best fruit possible from our site. We
then utilize meticulous winemaking protocols that blend the best of old-world
tradition with modern winemaking technique.
Our
Chardonnay is hand-harvested in the early morning hours into ½ ton
bins. The grapes are then whole-cluster pressed and fermented in Burgundian
barrels using indigenous yeasts. This results in a long, relatively slow
primary fermentation which contributes to more complex and desirable flavor
profiles. Indigenous malolactic fermentations likewise proceed slowly, often
finishing up when the weather warms in the spring - some six to seven months
following harvest. During this time, stirring and topping takes place weekly in
order maximize wine-lees contact and minimize potential problems with
oxidation. Grapes from each vineyard block are normally kept separate
throughout fermentation and are evaluated for quality regularly. The final
cuvee is typically moved out of oak by mid-fall which provides a long period
for the marrying of flavor components from the individual lots. By the time the
wine is bottled, unfiltered, early in the following year, the assemblage has
become a truly integrated wine which is ready for enjoyment.
For Red
Wines we begin by harvesting in very small lots which helps us to select
grapes which have achieved the optimal level of physiological maturity. At the
winery, the grapes are sorted, de-stemmed and crushed. The red must then
undergoes an extended cold soak which allows for the extraction of complex
fruit flavors. On or about the fifth day, the indigenous yeast fermentation
begins. All of this takes place in special insulated bins which are
significantly larger than the ½ ton picking bins frequently used in small
lot processing. The insulation in the bin walls allows for better temperature
control during the cold soak and subsequent fermentation. We also believe that
the larger lot size is advantageous with regard to the optimization of color
and tannin extraction. Following primary fermentation, the must is heated to
maximize extraction of color and to volatilize excess alcohol. The wine is then
pressed off the skins and put to barrel where it begins un-inoculated
malolactic fermentation. Our best lots are blended early in the traditional
manner. The wines are aged in French oak for 21 months and then bottled
unfiltered early in the year following harvest where upon they age in-bottle
until release.
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