|
|
| Turning grapes into wine is an age-old process that has been around for the past few thousand years... |
Winemaking |
|
Turning grapes into wine is an age-old process that has been around for the past few thousand years. The grapes are harvested, crushed and yeasts do all the work by turning the sugars from the grapes into alcohol (fermentation).
Making complex, fantastic wines that age gracefully is a satisfying blend of art and science. Under the masterful guidance of Kian Tavakoli, our Lead Winemaker, we feel our wines demonstrate that perfect balance.
|
| Our winemaking starts in the vineyard where we grow our wine grapes with careful attention to detail. At harvest time we field sort as we pick the fruit. One or two family members can be found on the bins during harvest hand checking each cluster and throwing out fruit that does not meet our strict standards. |
|
|
| At Sunset Ridge Vineyards we sort the fruit at least three times for quality control. Once in the field, a second time in the winery examining clusters on the sorting table, and finally sorting the individual berries on the shaker table after de-stemming. Sorting is a labor and time-intensive process where the grapes are inspected to only allow the best clusters and berries into our wines. |
|
After sorting and de-stemming, the berries drop into a bin for fermentation.
When fermentation is completed, it is time to separate the juice from the fruit (press). We carefully monitor the pressing process, tasting often to assure the perfect balance before the wine is pumped into the barrels. |
|
We then barrel-age our wine for approximately 22 months before it takes the last leg of its journey from barrel to bottle.
We (Sunset Ridge Vineyards) collaborate with CrushPad in San Francisco, California for our winemaking. Crushpad's winemaking facilities are state-of-the-art and focused entirely on ultra-premium small lot production. |
| Kian Tavakoli - Lead Winemaker
Kian started his winemaking career at Opus One and after four years moved on to Clos Du Val where he spent nine years building their red wine program to over 30,000 cases.
Kian brings a strong set of sensory skills and production experience and is a master blender. |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
