Spanish Springs Vineyard

El Lugar · Central Coast, USA

Creamy raspberry sorbet, concentrated hibiscus, sumac, and hard spices layered with deeper seashell, kelp, and wet forest notes. 

Farming
SIP Certified (Sustainable in Practice)

Harvest Method
Hand harvested

Varietal
Pinot Noir

Age of Vineyard
Planted between 2007-2008

Vessel
1/3 new French Oak, 1/3 once-filled, and 1/3 neutral or well-seasoned French Oak barrels

Vineyard Yield
Between 1.5 tons to 3 tons to the acre

Soil Type
Sandstone, Pismo sandy loam series, and clay loam soils

Annual production
1824 bottles

Vinification
Grapes are harvested at night. The grapes are cluster sorted, destemmed then berry sorted before going into the fermentation vessel. Depending on the year and vineyard we do some whole cluster as much as 30% per lot/vineyard. Gentle pump overs occur 1-2 times daily before fermentation. Once the native yeast fermentation begins this switches to twice daily punch downs at first, and then only one time per day. A small amount of sulfur is added after pressing, when the wine goes in to barrel. The wine ages in 1/3 new French oak, 1/3 once-used oak, and 1/3 neutral oak barrels for 11 months and is only racked once, prior to bottling. No fining or filtration.