2011 Sta. Rita Hills Syrah/Grenache Blend - Syrache

Soil. Vines. Wines.  This is the order in which great wine is made.  Ampelos is the Greek word for vine.  The  Greek symbol Sigma: “the sum” is used mathematically  for a sum.   This wine is a blend of several components and designed for those who like to explore.  As the say the sum is better than the parts.    

The relationship we cultivate with our land is paramount in producing hand crafted, minimally invasive wines that both whisper and shout about the terroir from which they are grown.   Our commitment to natural winemaking is evident in every sip.

Wine Making Style:

• After we harvested the fruit, it will stay 1 day in our cold room to avoid using dry ice
• The fruit is cold soaked for about 3 days and then the natural wild yeast will kick in for the primary fermentation
• We hand punch down twice a day to assist the extraction of colors, tannins and flavors
• Once completed we will barrel it down keeping the “free run” juice separate
• The juice is racked and the indivual batches are put into oak barrels to allowed the second fermentation (converts malolatic acid to lactic acid) utilizing the natural wild malolactic bacteria to begin
• The wine is barreled aged about 21 months in a combination of 1/3 new French oak and American oak
• The wine is unfined and unfiltered.