WINEMAKING

Because Old Hill is a Field Blend, we harvest the vineyard two times in any given year. The Zinfandel, an early ripener, is usually picked and fermented earlier, and the "Mixed Blacks," a term used to describe all the other red varieties in the field blend are picked two weeks later. The fermentations are relatively cool and long, a result of using native yeast and harvesting the fruit very ripe. Pressing occurs after three weeks on the skins, and the wine is immediately put to barrel (40 % new, 100% French oak.) When the wines finish malo-lactic fermentation, usually in January, the barrels are racked and blended. After barrel aging for 19 months, the wines are bottled by hand. Winemaking techniques, including bottling, are gentle ~ utilizing gravity, minimal sulfites, and no filtrations.