Vineyard: A certified organic vineyard the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. Sitting on an eastern-facing slope with a blend of volcanic Jory and Nekia soils.

Vintage: The growing season started with a cool spring and bud break in mid-April, with an uncharacteristic 80-degree spike at the end of the month. This warmth sustained through August without any significant rain. We were setting up for an early, warm harvest until rain started to fall in September. The plants were given new life to finish ripening and after the rain came three weeks of sun with highs between 74-84 degrees. The combination of rain and mild temperatures let us hang the fruit longer for flavor development, while keeping fresh acidity and moderate sugars. The warm, dry summer gave us smaller berries with higher concentration and tannic structure.

Winemaking: We fermented the juice in a twice-filled, 500 liter Acacia puncheon and aged it on its lees for almost a year before filtering and bottling. Since the wine was clocking at just over 11% alcohol we encouraged malolactic fermentation and stirred the lees monthly to flesh out the mid palate and offer more texture.

Winemaker Note: This wine was a last minute addition to our lineup. During harvest, a winery lowered the amount of Albarino they were purchasing from owners Myron and Vicki, so they offered it to me. I jumped at the chance and we made the wine as we do our other whites: picking the grapes earlier when the acids are bright and potential alcohol is low.