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110 WINES&VINES January 2018 WINEMAKING TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT What's your plan when the market turns? Call us. T U R R E N T I N E B u l k Wi n e & G r a p e s 7599 Redwood Blvd, Suite 103 Novato, CA 94945 Tel: 415.209.9463 www.turrentinebrokerage.com Thirteen-hundred-gallon stainless-steel tanks from JVNW are used for fermentation of red and white wine varieties. Oak and concrete fermentors are used during the aging process. steel tanks accommodate both red and white wine during fermentation. The tanks also serve as storage for cold-settled white juice, and during blending and bottling. A glycol chiller and heater from G&D Chillers controls heating and cooling for each tank. Upon completion of fermentation, red wines move to 30 hectoliter (hL) oak uprights by Tonnellerie Boutes and 49 hL and 21 hL Nomblot cubes, while whites settle into 11 hL and 7 hL eggs. Bottling happens in-house three times per year in March, May and August. Aging and beyond Racking transpires as needed, and topping takes place once per week. Typical oak aging lasts 10-11 months for whites, extending to 18-24 months for reds. "Oak is a fascinating subject," Mayfield said. "For me, it varies a lot from wine to wine, even vineyard to vineyard. There are so many op- tions for winemakers, but truly understanding forests and grain is an art. At The Walls, we work with both specific forests, stave thickness and grain. We work with traditional 225L (59 gallons) all the way to 650L (171 gallons)." Barrel-cleaning systems employ both ozone and steam, including an Aquatools high-pres- sure barrel rinser. "Aging is an interesting subject as well," Mayfield said, recounting a recent observation made to her by another mentor, Claude Gros, consulting winemaker at J. Bookwalter. "He said to me, 'You created this wine, now you have to age it.' Some wine is meant for small barrels, and some wines need bigger space for aging. The key is to find the balance and let the aging begin. The wines will tell us how they want to be aged." While The Walls currently produces ap- proximately 3,000 cases annually, owner Mar- tin does foresee future expansion plans that may impact the current production facility configuration, including build-out of a second building with additional tank space, barrel room and library. Timing for such an expansion remains undetermined. In the meantime, Delmas Winery, propri- etors of SJR Vineyards in The Rocks District where The Walls source their Syrah, utilized the Pine Street production site for their own harvest in 2017. Mayfield appreciates the syn- ergy of sharing her space with those who have the same commitment to quality "We have past experience in managing and working in cus- tom-crush facilities, and we are able to main- tain protocols." Ultimately, The Walls attributes its success to an appreciation for the community, coupled with strategic partnerships, teamwork, and a commitment to sustainability, including infra- structure investments such as energy retrofit rebate programs, solar power and technologi- cal innovations.