Rancho Zabaco Reserve Pinot Gris 1999

After harvest, the grapes selected for this wine were not crushed or destemmed, but instead pressed as whole clusters in our membrane press using very minimal pressure.  The wine then chilled for at least 24 hours to allow most of the solids to cold-settle, and then the clear juice was racked off into tank and barrel for fermentation.  Two thirds of the blend was fermented at cool temperatures in stainless steel, to preerve the exotic fruit and floral notes in the wine.  The remaining third of the blend was barrel fermented, adding vanilla and spice notes to the finished wine.  Approximately 20% of the wine then went through malolactic fermentation, contributing a creaminess and softening the wines acidity.  Just over half of the wine was then aged on the lees for two months during which time it was stirred twice, to enhance the complexity and richness in the wine.  It was lightly fined and filtered prior to bottling.