2008 Nebbiolo

Grown primarily in the Piemonte region of Italy, Nebbiolo is often expressed as Barolo and Barbaresco. Grapes grown for this wine come from our Carneros estate, Sonoma Coast and Oakley vineyards. The Sonoma vineyards are blanketed with fog, often until noon, from April until Autumn and experience a cool, long growing season. Soils are well-drained Franciscan clay-loam. The Oakley vineyard is planted in sand.

Grapes are de-stemmed with minimal crushing. Must is pumped to a temperature controlled stainless steel tank and inoculated with a pure strain of wine yeast to ensure complete and healthy fermentation. The grapes are pressed and the juice is then moved to a settling tank. Within a few days the wine is racked from the settling tank and moved to a combination of new French oak barrels and neutral cooperage for 14 months. The wine is racked once more during the course of barrel aging and then moved to a tank for bottling.

As of 2001 there existed only 186 acres of this rare grape in California. Often the last grapes to be picked for the year, our Nebbiolo has generous notes of pomegranate and crisp bright cherry.