Winemaking

When I began making Pinot Noir with the Duncan family, we talked a lot about the style of wine we wanted to achieve. For all of us, the overriding principle was to create wines that express both the vintage and site in which they are grown. We agreed that if there’s one wine that needs to be all about place, it’s Pinot Noir. For that reason, we do everything we can to gently coax personality from the grapes; the grapes shape the wines. We use indigenous yeast, and after fermentation we use gravity to move the wines to barrel. All lots are kept separate by property, block and clone, which can mean upwards of 30 to 40 lots to track in any given vintage. We let the wines stay on their lees for up to 12 months to protect the aromatics and preserve the indigenous, natural flavors. We want our Pinots to be about delicacy, not strength; about balance, texture and finesse. Each wine is an expression of one region and one vintage – a place and a moment ultimately rendered in a glass.

Ben Cane
Winemaker