Vintage 23 Kickoff Wine

Volatus started the 23 vintage with our Pinot Noir pick on the 13th of September. For reference, we normally pick on the 1st of September plus or minus a day; about two weeks late this year. As I discussed in the last post, the cool spring and summer were perfect for Pinot. The grapes had great hang time and the vines looked amazing.

I had sampled the vineyard multiple times in September and finally called the pick for the morning of the 13th. For those unfamiliar, when the grapes are within a month or so of harvest, I begin to randomly sample the vineyard to test the fruit. Testing for sugar, pH, and titratable acidity on the chemistry side, I hope to have the desired numbers match up with ripe Pinot flavors. Fortunately, this year it all came together perfectly.

We pick the grapes by hand and then collect them in the half ton bins you see in the video above. This year the small, Adelaida District vineyard yielded about two and a half tons of fruit. A little less than I would have preferred but the fruit tasted so good with ideal numbers I cannot complain. When we get the grapes back to the winery they are hand sorted as you can see in the video below (not Pinot grapes but the same process.) During the sort we look to remove and under or overripe clusters and also take out MOG (Material Other than Grapes) such as leaves or sticks.

Once sorted, the grapes are destemmed and then collected to ferment in small fermentation vessels. With Pinot Noir, I let the fruit sit or “cold soak” for about a day and then kick off the ferm with a yeast strain called RB2 isolated from Burgundy France. The grapes ferment at relatively cool temps for about a week. At that point, all of the sugar is gone and the wine has roughly 14% alcohol in its place.

Using a air driven bladder press, the wine is pressed leaving the skins, seeds, and any other solids behind. Out of the press the wine looked and tasted incredible.

In the barrel, the wine will finish malolactic, the conversion of malic to lactic acid, and age for twelve months. Along the way, I will have to top or fill the barrels every couple of months as the wine evaporates through the wood (in spirits, the “Angels’ Share”). We’ll revisit this wine over the summer and check as it gets ready for bottling.

The Pinot was our first wine this year and kicked off an incredible harvest.

Fights’s On!

Bull Schmitt