Winemaking
Pinot vineyard in the spring
Winemaking at Gryphon Wines starts in the vineyard. Our vines are a medium that creates fruit from the terroir they live in. They perform best when allowed to dominate the land in a natural state supported only by the judicious augmentation of existing conditions. A little water if the year is dry, a little bit of kelp if the cover crop is sparse; those are the type of inputs we use.
We have never used chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides. The fruit produced under these conditions is absolutely unique to the site and the most exciting for a winemaker to work with. When the grapes come in perfect the wine nearly makes itself; when they don’t, careful hand sorting eliminates the imperfect bunches. This sacrifices some of the crop for the sake of quality rather than requiring intervention during fermentation.
A bottle of Gryphon Pinot
The fermentation of the grapes is the time of greatest excitement. The process starts slowly as the fruit rests in the fermenters releasing flavor from the skins, coloring the juice (which starts out clear) and infusing it with character. After a week the native yeasts, which live on the skins, have multiplied enough to begin the dramatic and magical process of changing grapes to wine. During the second week the fermentation may finish and by the end of the third, the new wine will be pressed and resting in barrels.
The first months in the barrels are crucial. We wait for the second fermentation (malolactic) to soften the acidity and add roundness to the mouth feel. When that is complete we can, for the first time, gain a real picture of the new vintage. Earlier tasting gave clues but this is the moment of revelation. The taste of the new wine at six months after harvest will determine how long (10 -20 months) it will stay in barrel before bottling and 6-9 months later it will be released. Wine made thus is true to its roots and will live many years in the bottle. At ten years after the vintage the bottle bouquet is the measure of the vintage and the treasure we have sought. Enjoy….
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