Date Night
Date Night is what we’re calling our first “proper, still red wine.” Sure, we’ve made some red wines before, but this is the first time we really set out to make a 100% red-grape, red wine and, if we may say, it’s perfect for the season.
This wine came about, like so many great things do, from a mistake. It is inspired by last year’s Bath Time–a lil’ jumbo we made that never quite fizzed the way it was supposed to, but we loved the result anyway—round fruit, bold flavors and light tannins.
Date Night is one hundred percent Grenache from Arroyo Seco, harvested from Zabala Vineyard. We picked Grenache in two phases, one week apart from one another, and put the fruit into closed tanks for carbonic maceration. We pressed the earlier harvest immediately, but let the later harvest ferment on the skins for a while, with punch downs twice a day. This lets the fermentation grow dry, meaning all the sugars resolve, and “punching down” integrates the fruit, color, tannins and texture of the wine. We aged everything after blending in neutral oak for 10 months.
We bottled without sulfites, resulting in a live wine with soft herbal notes, and freshly picked wild cherries. It’s perfect to share with or without food, after a slight chill!
100% Grenache
12.5% ABV l 0/0