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WINEMAKING TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT 32 WINES&VINES November 2018 together. Though Ashes & Diamonds has been making wine since 2014 (formerly in a custom- crush facility in Sonoma County), the construc- tion of the winery didn't begin until July 2016, and was completed just in time for harvest 2017. Because neither Khaledi nor Bestor had ever designed a winery before, they turned to those with more experience than they to help decide what to include in the winemaking production building. "We were fortunate to work with a few friends in the community like Nigel Kinsman (winemaker and co-owner of Kinsman Wine in Napa), who worked with the Araujo family on Wheeler Farms. His con- tribution was paramount to the choices we made in the production facility," Khaledi said. They also worked with Petaluma-based archi- tectural firm vonRaesfeld & Associates and Napa-based general contractor Facility Devel- opment Co., both of which have worked on numerous new wineries. "Kashy wanted maximum flexibility. He wanted to provide all the possible tools for any person's winemaking interest," Brooks said, explaining that all the general tech one would expect to find in a modern winery can be found at Ashes & Diamonds. That being said, Brooks also noted that, in keeping with the aesthetic of the wines Khaledi is interested in producing, the actual winemaking is kept very simple and "old world" in style, with very little tech actually involved. "The major thrust is the diligent work done in the vineyard. So the fruit comes in needing very little, and we can safely make it into wine without ruining it," Brooks said. Khaledi described the winemaking at Ashes & Diamonds quite similarly: "There are certain rules we all abide by," he said, adding that his part in the winemaking process is more aesthetic in taste than oenological in crafting. "We don't manipulate our wines, and we do the bare minimum so as not to obscure the expression of the vineyard." Red winemaking Grapes from all vineyards are harvested by hand, then sent through the P&L Specialties incline belt for cluster sorting. Grapes then move on to the Pellenc SPW-M destemmer, which Brooks said, because of its construction, allows for more control over how the destem- ming activity actually happens — down to tailoring the amount of stem inclusion. But the majority of Ashes & Diamonds' grapes are completely destemmed. This, Brooks said, is how they're able to "gear big mountain fruit toward lightness and freshness." The exceptions to this rule are the Merlot grapes from the Ashes & Diamond estate used for the Grand Vin, which see about 20% stem inclusion — a stylistic choice made by Seysses, who, Brooks said, has a lot of experi- ence crafting delicate wines with stem inclu- sion from her years working with Pinot Noir in Burgundy. After destemming, the grapes are pumped into stainless steel tanks, custom built by Sonoma Stainless in Santa Rosa, Calif., for maceration and primary fermentation. The berries are left whole and are in the tanks for a maximum of three weeks, again to pro- mote freshness. "Leaving things intact is a good way to maintain balance of tannin, acid, fruit and alcohol," Brooks said. "But we're not strong believers in extended mac- eration ... you have to be careful not to over- extract the tannins." The tanks are plumbed to both hot and cold glycol and are connected to a TankNet data-logging system that allows Brooks to closely monitor the juice's temperature throughout the maceration process. During its time in tank, the wine will un- dergo a combination of punchdowns, rack-and- returns and occasional pumpovers, as needed. Cap management is never performed more than twice per day. Although the tanks are equipped with automatic pumpovers, it's not a feature the Ashes & Diamonds winemaking team utilizes. "At this point, we're not pumping over frequently enough to see any advantage from having pumpovers happen automatically," Brooks said. After its time in tank, the free-run wine then moves on to barrel aging. Pomace moves on to the press, but Brooks said they're still working out what type, basket or bladder, works well with the Ashes & Diamonds wine- making style. Ashes & Diamonds has one of each at the winery, a JLB 12 basket press and a Pera Pellenc SPC 40 bladder press. "Press wine is generally reintegrated early to maxi- mize integration where possible," Brooks said. The barrel room is home to predominantly French oak barrels. "We use, like, half a dozen coopers," Brooks said. Though all Cabernet sees a little bit of new oak, Brooks said that they specifically choose barrels from forests known for their restraint and minimal impact and choose toast levels that never exceed a medium or medium-plus. "The wines are gen- tle, so the barrels need to be gentle," he said. There are just a handful of American oak barrels in the Ashes & Diamonds barrel room. These touch a small percentage (about 25% to 35% of the final blends in total) of the single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon made from Rutherford in Napa Valley and Bates Ranch in Santa Cruz. "It's a hat-tip to the Napa wines of yesteryear … and California wine pioneers who 'dabbled' with American wood, like Tchelistcheff," Brooks said. Red wines age in barrel for 18 to 20 months, with topping once a month and rack- and-returns completed only if the winemaking team feels the wine needs an extra push in development. "This (rack-and-return) hap- pens at most two times in a wine's life — if at all," Brooks said, stressing the importance of minimal intervention in the Ashes & Dia- monds winemaking program. White winemaking Ashes & Diamonds makes only one white wine, simply called Blanc, a 50-50 blend of Sauvignon Blanc, sourced from Ryan's Vineyard, in Napa's Oak Knoll District and Semillon, sourced from Yount Mill Vineyard, in Yountville, Napa Valley. Ryan's Vineyard is a site Matthiasson, along with his partner and the vineyard's owner, Jim Barrels at Ashes & Diamonds are specifically chosen for restraint and minimal oak impact. BRUCE DAMONTE