ROOTDOWN WINE CELLARS

Healdsburg, California

Winemaking Process:

Hand harvested in ½ ton micro bins, upon delivery at the winery I foot tread the bins and cold soak on skins/stems for 24 hrs. Post-cold soak it goes straight to press, after which the wine is transferred to a stainless-steel tank and settled. Post settling, I’ll rack to another tank and keep the light, fluffy clean lees. I allow the fermentation to take off spontaneously and then transfer to neutral oak barrels once the wine has dropped 3-4 degrees in Brix. Once the wine is dry or tastes the way I feel it should be, I’ll add 10ppm of SO2 to clean up the wine and prevent any oxidation or off flavors. After the addition I rack the wine to tank to finish off its elevage. I do this for a few reasons – to keep the alcohol down, maintain aromatics and keep it in a place of reduction for pallet texture. 33 days before bottling I’ll cool the tank down to 33 degrees for cold stabilization. Why 33 for 33? Dunno. Just something I came up with years ago and it works. My “rule” of 33! This wine is sterile filtered and is bottled with less than 10ppm of free sulfur. I feel that whatever is natural in the vineyard will be that way in the bottle as well.

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