Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/513570
WINEMAKING TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT 40 WINES&VINES June 2015 Terms of the deal were never disclosed. "We came up with this number, and the buyer said, 'I'll take it at full price,'" Steltzner says, adding with a chuckle, "We should have had a higher price." From what he's seen so far of the changes at the estate, Steltzner is sure he sold to the right buyer. "I think they are going to be a credit to the Stags Leap District in that they are going to give it a new dimension of quality." Changes in the vineyard Owens said some of the first changes in the vineyard were to switch from cane pruning to cordons and pulling out a few blocks of variet- ies—such as Pinotage—that didn't fit Plump- Jack's plans for the new winery. The 45-acre property will include 38 acres of vines when in full production, and all of that will be planted to the five Bordeaux varieties with Cabernet Sauvignon accounting for the major- ity. "The ultimate goal right now is to really try and gain some consistency in the vineyard as we go from the cane to the cordon and get full push from every position and just really dial it in from there," Owens said. Dave Pirio is PlumpJack's vineyard man- ager, and Owens said the two meet regularly to discuss what's happening in the vineyard. The general goal is to produce balanced, con- centrated fruit with yields of around 3 tons per acre. The vineyards recently earned certification through California Certified Organic Farmers. Odette produces a reserve, an estate wine, a small amount of Chardonnay made with pur- chased grapes and a few wines under a second label, Adaptation, which is supplied with estate grapes and purchased fruit. The reserve is the best 20 to 30 barrels of a vintage, and the estate program is limited to around 4,500 cases. Owens said the composition of the Odette wines depends on the vintage. "We're always going to keep quality at the forefront," he said. "There's no recipe winemaking. It's never going to be about a set percentage. For example, in 2012 the reserve was 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, and in 2013 it's 100% Caber- net Sauvignon. So it eventually could have all five varieties, or it might be all Cabernet Sau- vignon. It's really just playing to a particular vintage and tasting everything blind and mixing and matching the different varietals to fully express the terroir." The winery has a permit to produce 25,000 cases, but current production is about 12,000 cases, which includes both Odette and Adapta- tion. Owens has been at Odette since Plump- Jack purchased the property. After being one of the first to graduate from California Poly- technic State University with a degree in wine- Corporate Office | Jackson, Wyoming 1.800.875.1558 www.barrelsunlimited.com | West Coast Cooperage Fresno, California They say a fine wine only gets better with age – and at Barrels Unlimited we make sure of it. Whether it's making a good wine great or a great wine legendary, our air-dried American oak casks and barrels infuse complexity and character into every batch. Available in 5,10, 15, 20, 30, 59, 70, and 80 gallon sizes. "Actually, I've aged quite a bit… on the inside." "Wow, you're exactly the same as I remember you!" The exterior and roof line of the winery were designed to blend into the landscape surrounding it. The curved sliding doors also act as sun screens to provide shade for the crush pad.