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 now 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.
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. We make our wines at Ramey Wine
Cellars in Healdsburg where Brett holds the position of Cellar Master. Our
custom crush agreement with David Ramey provides us with a modern facility and
more importantly allows Brett regular and ready access to our wine. While our
winemaking technique continues to improve and evolve, a number of cellar
practices are employed regularly to produce the best possible wines.
Our
Chardonnay, for example, 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, slow
primary fermentation which contributes to more complex and desirable flavor
profiles. Malolactic fermentations likewise proceed slowly often finishing up
when the weather warms in the springtime, 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 kept separate throughout fermentation and
are evaluated for quality regularly. The final cuvee is typically moved out of
oak by mid-summer 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, while lesser lots are sold off in bulk. The wines are bottled
unfiltered early in the year following harvest and allowed to age in-bottle
until release.
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