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WINEMAKING TECHNICAL SPoTLIGHT 36 Wines&Vines March 2015 neath towering redwood trees and crosses a creek three times over small wooden bridges. It's a beau- tiful little route, especially be- cause one emerges from the redwood grove and is treated to a view of the winery and estate vineyards. That little road is an easement through other proper- ties not owned by the winery, and the bridges can't accommodate large trucks or a mobile bottling rig. Ackerman also prefers the flex- ibility of being able to bottle as soon as a wine is OK'd for release. "Everything that we bottle is ap- proved by the Caranos; they taste everything," she said. "We come to them with what we think is a preliminary blend, and everything gets approved by them, and they're busy people." In addition to the filler, the winery also is equipped with a GAI labeler and capper. Lazy Creek currently produces 2,200 cases of the Lazy Creek Vineyards estate Pinot Noir as well as 300 to 800 cases of the Ferrari- Carano Middle Ridge and Sky High Ranch vineyard designates as well as about 3,500 cases of a Ferrari-Carano Anderson Valley Pinot Noir. Most of the Lazy Creek wine is sold through the tasting room and wine club, and a small amount is distributed through the Ferrari-Carano network. Ackerman is a graduate of Cali- fornia State University, Fresno, and she chose that program because it offered the chance to gain practical experience in the cellar. "I chose Fresno State because I wanted a hands-on experience," she said. "I liked that students were working in the winery, making the wines, and that wines were bottled and sold commercially." After working at Jordan Vine- yard & Winery in Healdsburg, Calif., Ackerman joined Ferrari- Carano as an associate winemaker in 2006, when the Caranos were looking to expand their Pinot Noir portfolio and had focused on An- derson Valley. They purchased fruit from the Sky High Ranch in 2006 and liked it so much they began to look for opportunities to acquire vineyards. Buying grapes was proving to be a challenge, and "eventually Don (Carano) was This JLB basket press is well suited to the myriad small-lot Pinot fermentations conducted at the winery.