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W i n e s & V i n e s M AY 2 0 1 4 53 Stockton, CA • 209.944.0921 WesternSquare.com WESTERN SQUARE I N D U S T R I E S Lean, Green and Made in America Find us on and The #1 barrel rack supplier in the world. Keeping employees and barrels safe. gomery said he plans to plant a couple of acres of Albariño and then the rest to Zinfandel. At the new winery, grapes follow a straight path from the crush pad through to the tasting room on the opposite end of the building. "The idea here is you receive the grapes, you ferment the grapes, you age the grapes, you sell and taste and sit on the patio and enjoy—all in one linear direction." All of Montgomery's picks are done by hand, with the grapes typically showing up in the early or late morning following a night harvest. He said in Lodi it can sometimes be a logistical challenge to get 4 to 5 tons picked on the same day the grower is scheduling an 80-ton harvest. Clean picks, 'intense field sorting' Yet Montgomery has stuck with his grow- ers because he appreciates their commit- ment to quality fruit. "What I've been very fortunate with is I've been using these same growers for years, and they have as much pride in their grapes as I do in the wine. I generally get very clean picks, very intense field sorting." For Zinfandel in particular Montgom- ery said he might pick 3 tons and leave one on the ground both because the grape is notorious for uneven ripening and to ensure top quality. Picks typically occur at around 26° to 27° Brix. M2 Wines are fruit-forward, unabashed Lodi Zins and red blends, and Montgomery is not shy about his style. He says he's well aware that Lodi wines are branded as too alcoholic and too fruity. "I'm very sensitive to the criticism that Lodi is big alcohol plonk," he says. Montgomery says he hits the right bal- ance by working with growers on sun exposure, pulling green fruit and knowing just when to pick. He described his wines as exhibiting a modern interpretation of Lodi's rustic winemaking roots. "I'm not always known for elegance or subtlety, but that's OK." On the crush pad, Montgomery drops fruit through a custom-built hopper by Liberty Industrial into a Lugana 1R crusher destemmer from AWS Prospero. The must is then collected back in bins for fermentation or sent to stainless steel tanks with a Waukesha 130 pump from Carlsen & Associates. M2 has one bank of 1,500-gallon Criv- eller Group tanks. Montgomery said he picked up two of the tanks for a bargain when a Napa Valley winery switched to concrete, and he's been very happy with them. Each is equipped with its own cap irrigator beneath the top hatch; so when Montgomery is doing pump overs, all he needs to do is move his pump from tank to tank. The pump is a Zambelli T-180 from Napa Fermentation Supplies. In the cellar, Montgomery said he likes About 75% of M2 Wines production is sold direct to consumer through the tasting room or to wine club members. rAndy CApAroso G R A P E G R O W I N G W I N E M A K I N G