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Technical spoTlighT winemaking January 2015 Wines&Vines 77 A reflecting pond is located at the center of one of the courtyard entrances that frames a view of the estate vines and the historic farm- house on the property that was built by William DeVries in 1864. strategy in the vineyard The vineyards surrounding the new winery and historic buildings on the property are only in their second leaf, but eventually they will sus- tain all of Oak Farm's wine production. The estate is planted with three white varieties (Verdelho, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc) and eight reds (Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Sirah, Petit Verdot and Primitivo). The vineyard manager is Jon Wetmore, and his company is Round Valley Ranches. The entire property includes about 58 planted acres and 10 acres that con- tain the historic ranch and new winery. Panella said he decided to plant Verdelho because 2014 marks the third vintage he's pro- duced a varietal wine with the grape, and it's always done quite well. "It's a good medium- bodied wine. I always tell people it's halfway on the spectrum between Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay," he said. For the whites especially, Panella said his goal in the vineyard is to restrain yields and ripeness to retain some of the "green" flavors he likes. They opted for Clone 1 Sauvignon Blanc instead of the popular Musqué clone. Rather than high-volume clones of Chardon- nay, they planted a Dijon clone. "I find that the tendency is to grow some of the whites in the valley here just for volume and have them just get over ripe and kind of flabby," Panella said. While the goal is to be a self-sustaining es- tate winery, Panella said he will remain open to buying grapes from elsewhere to produce a specific type of wine. "There will always be things that we can't grow here—like if we want to play with Carneros Chardonnay or if we want LIQUID NITROGEN HANDLING SPECIALISTS SINCE 1958 Tel 1-781-933-3570 Fax 1-781-932-9428 sales@vacuumbarrier.com www.vacuumbarrier.com LIQUID NITROGEN DOSING Liquid Nitrogen Handling Specialists Since 1958 Keep dissolved oxygen levels to a minimum with the new MiniDose • Designed to discrete dose up to 200 CPM • Compact size ideal for filling lines, mobile bottlers and R&D facilities The NITRODOSE ® MiniDose system is sold only through Vacuum Barrier and their select group of worldwide distributors The sizes of the new Albrigi tanks at Oak Farm's winery provide flexibility during racking. " Barbera is our flagship kind of wine, and we've done that for several years. French oak really supports the spicy notes of the Barbera." — Dan Panella, managing partner