2017 Domenica Amato Grenache Blanc Ceja Farms Sonoma Coast

Vineyard: The confluence of three overlapping AVAs at Ceja Farms – Sonoma Coast, Carneros and Sonoma Valley – produces a unique environment that benefits our Grenache Blanc in myriad ways. The ocean breezes through the Petaluma Gap combine with the fog rolling off the northern reaches of the bay to provide a consistently cool climate and long hang time, perfect to retain acidity necessary for a crisp white wine. Unusual for the region, the soil in this block is deep, dark and rich, with volcanic material combining with clay to produce vibrant, expressive flavors.

Vintage: The first winter with big rains in half a decade allowed soils to store up plenty of water for what would prove to be a scorching hot growing season with over a dozen 100 degree days. Flowering and fruit set were textbook, leading to good yields, while the fog and wind moderated the heat fairly well at Ceja Farms producing grapes with bright flavors and a great balance of acidity. Harvest came earlier than normal, but Grenache Blanc was still by far the longest hanging of all of our white grapes, picked on September 30th.

Winemaking: Harvested by hand and whole-cluster pressed, the must was racked into a concrete egg tank, where fermentation began spontaneously with wild yeast. After a few days of fermentation we racked the wine with its lees into two-thirds used French oak barrels and one-third stainless steel, and moved the barrels to the cold cellar, where fermentation continued at a snail's pace throughout the winter before finally going dry just weeks before bottling. The wine spent a total five months in barrel before it was racked, filtered, and bottled.