Fieldbrook Winery
2005 Sauvignon Blanc Redwood Valley Elizabeth Vineyard
Vineyard notes:
In the late 80's, I searched for a vineyard that could produce
Sauvignon Blanc exhibiting tropical fruit aromas in contrast to the
then popular grassy, herbaceous style. Sauvignon Blancs that were
winning competitions at that time did not appeal to me having aromas
which reminding me of smoked peat, like single malt Scotch whiskies. I
found what I was looking for in the Redwood Valley region, which has
since earned the distinction of having its own appellation. Since then,
Fieldbrook Sauvignon Blancs have earned a host of awards: At the State
Fair, Best Sauvignon Blanc of Region as well as Best wine of Region.
The Wine Spectator rated one of our vintages as one of the top ten in their
international survey. We have made Sauvignon Blanc from several
vineyards in Redwood Valley. Elizabeth Vineyard is the highest and
abuts the untillable hills above.
Production notes:
Our process with these grapes is to gently press the juice while
monitoring pH. Each year, after the free run, we press lightly for
two cycles in our new bladder press. When the pH begins to climb, we
stop pressing. Although the pommace is quite wet and could have
supplied more juice, we cart it off to our garden! It should produce
great potatoes! The juice is then chilled and the settled juice
transferred
to another tank for cold fermentation which lasts five to six
weeks. When the residual sugar reaches about
0.5%, we turn on the chiller to stop the fermentation. At this point,
the wine is transferred to neutral oak where it begins to age
on its lees, stirred weekly. This wine was bottled in early Spring.