Winemaking

The grapes were cold soaked for 3-5 days and fermented on their skins in open top fermenters. An extended maceration period followed fermentation to help modify the depth and mouthfeel of the wine, and to fully extract color, flavor and aromatics. The young wine was then racked into small French oak barrels - using a selection of coopers and forests to accentuate the vineyard distinctions - where it aged for 11 months. In order to maintain the unique characteristics of each vineyard, each block and lot was kept separate until this point when the assemblage was blended. The resulting wine was returned to barrel for an additional 9 months of aging.

Jon Priest - Winemaker

For more than a decade Jon has fashioned Etude wines with a simple creed. Inspired winegrowing diminishes the need for a winemaker to intervene in the cellar. Whether sourcing from the estate Grace Benoist Ranch in Sonoma's Los Carneros, or vineyards like Fiddlestix and North Canyon in famed growing regions of California's Central Coast, his focus is on coaxing the very best from the vineyard. It shows in every glass of Etude.