June 9, 2008
Bottling of the 2007 Carneros Chardonnay is going well; we’ve been averaging 2200 cases a day, so we should be done a couple of days earlier than planned. After that, we turn our attention back to red wine. Sometime next week I’ll take a look at the Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet and decide if they need another racking. Chances are we will be racking all of them, but almost certainly we’ll rack the Syrah, as it generally needs the most air during the ageing process.
Racking is pretty basic: we pump the wine out of its barrels and into a tank, wash the barrels, and then put the wine back in. The wine gets clearer each time, as we leave the sediment that has settled out during ageing behind, but the main benefit is brief, limited exposure to air. Unlike white wine, which we protect from significant air exposure all its life, reds actually need a little during their time in barrel in order for their flavors to develop properly. Dark, tannic reds, like Cabernet and Syrah, generally need the most.
Once these wines are snugly back in barrel, it will be time to address ourselves to the final assembly of those barrels that were selected back in April to become the Wildcat Mountain Vineyard Chardonnay. Stay tuned.
-Kevin W. Holt
