Hooray, bottling has begun!

While the vines are resting, after giving birth to the new vintage just a few short months ago, the cellar is bustling with activity. The wines have begun the process of being moved from either tank to bottle or from tank to barrels and finally into bottles, depending on the varietal and Mark’s maturation recommendations.

Before settling on what proportion of each tank and barrel determines the blends, we must all taste, and we do so happily. Mark has spent the last several weeks bringing various wine samples into the office requesting our feedback. “How’s the aroma, I’m getting apricot and lychee…are you getting that too?” “Do you think this blend could use a little more from barrel 161 or 365?” Needless to say, everyone perks up when Mark enters the office carrying bottles with blending notes scribbled on them.

After final blending notes are gathered and percentages are confirmed we begin the bottling season. Yesterday, the Rosé and Sauvignon Blanc were the first to move into bottles, as they have the shortest fermentation period. We’ll follow them with our aromatic white wines, and several weeks later, we shift to the red wines. We will wrap it up in late summer with our Chardonnay.

Naturally, we’ll have a few new surprises going into bottle for both our club members and customers looking for Eco Terreno in their favorite restaurants and specialty wine stores. Stay tuned for more updates on those wines as they’re released.

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