Because of our farm’s shale soil, the yield during harvest season is somewhat lower than that of other cellars in the region as we get smaller berries, but our grapes tend to have thicker skin with a higher concentration of flavor. Our sorting process is three-fold: it starts in the vineyard, where the undeveloped bunches and berries are cut down in the ‘green harvest’. Later the harvested bunches are sorted, leaving only the grapes that are then finally sorted again to remove small, green berries, as well as any with bird damage.
The grapes are usually harvested between February and April and the berries are hand-pressed to a low yield per ton for the best quality. Fermentation happens between 16 and 27 degrees Celsius in open tanks with four pump-overs a day. We mature our wines in French oak barrels, recently also Swabian oak barrels, for around 15 to 22 months and release the finished product for sale about two years after harvest.
