2019 Chenin Blanc Sparkling Piquette, Alder Springs Vineyard
I first found out about Piquette, as most folks did, through Todd Cavallo of Wild Arc Farm in New York. Todd had been turned on to the idea of making this “rehydrated” style of wine from an old french winemaking history book. These wines are low alcohol, refreshing, fun and rewarding to make. What’s not to love?
I first found out about Piquette, as most folks did, through Todd Cavallo of Wild Arc Farm in New York. Todd had been turned on to the idea of making this “rehydrated” style of wine from an old french winemaking history book. These wines are low alcohol, refreshing, fun and rewarding to make. What’s not to love?
I first found out about Piquette, as most folks did, through Todd Cavallo of Wild Arc Farm in New York. Todd had been turned on to the idea of making this “rehydrated” style of wine from an old french winemaking history book. These wines are low alcohol, refreshing, fun and rewarding to make. What’s not to love?
The Production
After the Chenin Blanc was basket pressed, I loaded the "cake" into a bin and rehydrated it with water. I let that soak up for about 24 hours, and then started doing "arm downs" twice a day to extract as much texture as I could. After 4 days total, I pressed the piquette on top of Muscat skins from Idlewild's Lost Hills Ranch. The juice then got a small addition of fermenting Chenin Blanc and a tiny bit of tartaric acid to get the pH into a stable range, then went into neutral oak barrel and stainless steel kegs. She hung out there for about 6 months until the weather warmed up and I knew that ML was complete. I did a fairly minimal dosage just before bottling to ensure she was bubbly - but not tooooo bubbly.
The Bottle
The impact of pressing on the Muscat skins was incredible and gave a huge aromatic lift to the wine. While it has the bright green and yellow orchard fruit qualities of the still Chenin Blanc, the extended time on skins lends fun flavors of ginger, sourdough and almond all driven by the jasmine flower character of the Muscat. Yum!
The Vineyard
Alder Spring Vineyard is located on a hilly 6,000-acre ranch in far northern Mendocino County. At elevations ranging from 1,700 to 2,700 feet, “everyone’s dad” Stu Bewley practices his patented brand of extremist viticulture on a patchwork of vineyards perched along the steep sandstone slopes of the Coast Range. The mountainous ranch is a decidedly challenging spot to cultivate grapes, but the results are beloved by all who have the opportunity to work with this site.
The Chemistry
pH: 3.84
TA: 4.9
ABV: 7.8%
So2: Zero added
Soil: Decomposed sandstone, clay, gravely loam
Farming: Practicing organic