Cupola 2022

Production

We were once again very fortunate in that 2022 was a very good year that provided not only an abundant crop but fully ripe and flavorful fruit, reminiscent of the excellent 2019 vintage.  Every year provides its own variations:  the Sauvignon Gris is usually the first variety picked, but in 2022 the Sauvignon Blanc was first in (September 4^th – 9^th) and then followed by the S. Gris on September 9^th and 10^th.  Though we feel the quality level is on par with the fine 2019 vintage, in that year we actually finished harvesting these two varieties on September 4^th.  This speaks to the beauty of vintage influenced wines!

Hand-picked and delivered straight to the winery, the grapes were chilled overnight, whole-cluster pressed, and the cold juice settled. We conducted multiple fermentations based on the different clones and/or location in the vineyard and all wine lots were fermented at cool temperatures of 55-59°F.  This is done to help retain the natural aromas of the grapes and its fresh flavors.  The young wines were then left to develop in tank with the yeast lees (sediment).  The lees were occasionally stirred with the wine to improve the body or weight, accentuate the richness of the mid-palate and enhance the aromatic potential.  Springtime 2023 meant pulling samples from the different fermentations to evaluate and assemble into this 2022 Cupola blend. It so happens all the Sauvignon Blanc in this blend is from a clone called SB 376.  The wine was bottled in April 2023.