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TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT WINEMAKING November 2018 WINES&VINES 33 411 Russell Ave. • Santa Rosa, CA 95403 Ph: 707-528-7649 www.rcmaps.com • rca@rcmaps.com LAND SURVEYING • GIS • PLANNING • RESEARCH ™ Products Tentative Maps Subdivision Maps Records of Survey Custom AVA Maps Topographic Maps GIS/GPS Vineyard/Winery Aerial Photos Land Development Data Management As-Built Surveys Drone Pond Estate Boundary Aerial Control Protecting Your Estate? Passing on your legacy? Modernizing your management? Expanding? Call Now! In business since 1976 using 2018 technology, Ray Carlson and Associates, Inc. can help by providing Surveys, GIS, Mapping, Historical Research and more. You may be surprised at what we nd! Verhey, farm organically, so Ashes & Diamonds enjoys complete control of the grapes from bud to bottle, with Matthiasson acting as both vi- ticulturist and winemaker. "Yount Mill is an old-vine, dry-farmed, four-generation-old site that produces Semillon just the way we like it: age-worthy and complex," Khaledi said, saying that once the white blend ages for a few years the "raciness" of the Sauvignon Blanc mellows, giving way to the earthier flavors and textures known to old-world Semillon. Due to a miscommunication when ordering equipment for the winery, Ashes & Diamonds spent its first year without a white wine press. Instead, Brooks took the grapes to a friend's neighboring winery to have the hand-har- vested white grapes pressed. This year, however, the winery has invested in a Pera Pellenc press. After pressing, the juice settles overnight in a utility tank, to remove the heaviest lees, and then is transferred to barrel for "dirty fermentation" and aging. The white wine sees only French oak, and since the first vintage, in 2015, the winemaking team has been incorporating less new oak influence each year — 40% in 2015 compared to 25% in 2017. The wine stays in barrel for 10 months, without stirring or any other agitation, before bottling. In general, the wines do not undergo sec- ondary, malolactic fermentation. However, Brooks said that in 2017, because of extensive heat during September, the Sauvignon Blanc was picked a bit earlier than they would have liked, resulting in a leaner flavor profile. Thus, they encouraged four barrels to undergo ma- lolactic fermentation. In keeping with the theme of "old school" winemaking and "mini- mal intervention," Ashes & Diamonds' prefer- ence is for native yeast fermentation. Other winemaking tools Ashes & Diamonds uses InnoVint for its win- ery-management software. As the winery is still in its early years, Brooks stresses the im- portance of a reliable software system that can keep records of winemaking techniques for years to come. He said that after several experiences using out-of-date, unreliable pro- grams, InnoVint is a database software he actually likes: It's modern, device-friendly and developed by a young company that's open to suggestions and willing to discuss new ideas of implementation with clients. Ashes & Diamonds also has an on-premise lab. But like other "new-fangled contraptions" in the winery, the winemaking team uses it sparingly, performing basic analyses (sugar, acid, pH) to aid their hands-off approach. "Your own sensory instrument is the most sensitive one," Brooks said. It's that "old school" vibe, that "old world" winemaking, that focus on vineyard manage- ment over high-tech tools that produces wines that will one day themselves harken back to a time and space uniquely their own. "It's about subtlety, rather than flashiness," Khaledi said. "We want the vineyard and vintage to be present in every bottle." Head winemaker Steve Matthiason. EMMA K MORRIS