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WINEMAKING
 

We live in our vineyards and believe in speed of harvest at optimal ripeness.  We have 2 presses, an exaggeration for an estate of our size, and both transportation of the grapes and size of the presses are best suited to the capacity of our "Fuder" casks. The juice is normally fermented by native yeast in wooden 1,000 liter casks without need for temperature control. Due to cold weather at harvest (end of October/ November) and the relatively small size of the casks, fermentation temperatures rarely exceed 60°F and fermentation can last well into January. Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese demand cultured yeast.

Fermentation in our cold cellar often stops before the wines are dry. Racking is done about 2 to 4 weeks after fermentation. The wines are aged in casks for approximately 6 months, generally unfined, and filtered prior to bottling in May.

The better casks in each category are bottled unblended. Auslese and up are always bottled unblended. No wine below Kabinett level is sold under our vineyard name. Approximately 45% of our production is Kabinett, 35% Spatlese and 20% or less, Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese.