La Notte (Port)

Appellation:

Shenandoah Valley

Winemaker Notes:

La Notte is a blend of late-harvest Barbera and Zinfandel each made separately into port-style wine. First came the Zinfandel, harvested October 6, 2019. Because of the late harvest, it was extremely dried-out and high in sugar and needed to be re-hydrated with water. Sugars were around 32-36 Brix and continued to soak out over the days ahead. We inoculated with a favorite and reliable yeast to get fermentation going. Vigorous fermentation so we let it ferment just 6 days, punching down the cap to continue to rehydrate the grapes and extract color and amazing flavors. Once the Zinfandel hit 15 Brix sugar, we pressed it and added 189-proof spirits to boost alcohol, as a result slowing fermentation down and leaving residual sugar. The Zin yeast stopped working at 17.2% alcohol leaving 54 g/L residual sugar with a soft pH of 3.8.

Our very last harvest of 2019 was the Barbera for port on October 20, 2019, which soaked out to a Brix of 29 and a pH of 3.8. This time we decided to use the natural vineyard yeast and it started fermenting on its own. After 9 days of natural fermentation and daily manual punch downs, we pressed the Barbera at 18 Brix sugar and added spirits. The Barbera stopped fermenting at 18.2% alcohol and 79g/L residual sugar with a soft pH of 3.85.

We then aged both the Zinfandel and Barbera ports separately in French medium toast oak barrels and just before bottling we blended them together in an optimal combination. We decided to use 375ml bottles as this is a dessert wine you would want to savor after a meal, yet be able to finish the bottle with a small group.

Vineyard Notes: