2018 Tempranillo

Our Tempranillo clone originates from Spain where it is the #1 wine grape. We built this wine after the traditional Rioja style. Worldwide, Tempranillo is the fourth most sold wine following Chardonnay, Cabernet and Merlot. It is well-known for its spicy, smoky and leathery flavors that age well. The grape’s popularity is growing quickly in the United States. Tempranillo is one of only a handful of grapes that has red juice. Most all red wine grapes have white juice and the flavor/pigment is derived from the skins. It also has an enzyme that naturally fights oxidation, which allows for long-term barrel aging.

We de-stemmed the clusters, returning just enough of the stems to add natural tannins. The juice was put through 48 hours of cold-soaking to extract color from the skins before inoculation. We punched down 3 times a day in the fermentation bins and allowed for an extended maceration of almost 4 weeks, pressing when the cap fell.