Limited Edition Wines

There’s a growing philosophy amongst premium winemakers that great wines are made in the vineyard.  While not literally true it is impossible to make great wine with poor quality grapes.

Great grapes in the right hands can be crafted into an ethereal wine.  If premium wines come from great grapes then a winemaker needs to source them from the very best vineyards.  At Pacific Breeze we purchase grapes from only the best vineyards in the finest locations that are managed by growers that take the utmost care in growing wine grapes.  They sweat every detail, irrigation, row orientation, vine stress, clone and root stock selection, row orientation, irrigation regimes, shoot training, canopy management, fruit thinning, soil and site selection and sustainable farming methods.  This all figures into the calculus of producing grapes capable of becoming fine wine.

We are maniacal about quality and it starts with the grapes that we make our wines from. When sorting grapes fresh from the vineyard we have a rule, "if you wouldn't eat the grape don't make wine with it."Red wine grapes often go through what is called a cold soak period after de-stemming and crushing and prior to fermentation. The must (grapes skins and juice) is held in small open top fermentation vessels and placed in a refrigerated room to keep it fresh and to prevent the onset of fermentation.  This allows the skins to release the color and flavor compounds that add so much to the complexity of red wine. Not all grape varieties need, nor benefit from, long soak periods. Our intimate and hand crafted approach can only be made in small lots where attention to detail and quality is paramount.  We use specific yeasts to complete the fermentation process.  During fermentation the skin and seeds will rise to the top of the fermentor creating what is called a "cap."  We conduct frequent daily pump-over during fermentation that keep the skins in contact with the juice which is how red wines get their red color.

Fermentation is the process of taking the raw materials of grapes and turning them into young wine. This requires managing the implementation of several layers of logistics with the goal of creating a desired wine style.  We constantly assess the fermentation process to insure that quality is being maintained and problems avoided and frequently measure; sugar levels, temperature, aroma, taste, pH and titratable acidity.  Our fermentation strategy is to arrive at creating a wine style that results in balanced food friendly wine that are true to their varietal character and reflect the place in which they come.Once the wine has been pressed off to barrel we actively monitor malolactic fermentation, pH, SO2, and wine quality and flavor.  The malolactic fermentation requires monitoring just like the primary fermentation.  Malolactic fermentation is a process of fermentation where naturally occurring malic acid is converted to softer-tasting lactic acid which imparts a rounder fuller mouth feel.  This process is under way before, during and after the primary fermentation and is accomplished by naturally occurring lactic acid. Malic acid tastes slightly of tart apples while lactic acid is richer and more buttery.

The beauty of using oak barrels is more than skin deep.  They not only serve as a storage vessel but they also transfer attractive aromatics and flavor profiles and allow for micro-oxygenation. The microscopically small amounts of air that passes through the wood staves and pores slowly round the wine and soften young aggressive tannins.  This small amount of evaporation combined with absorption of wine by the barrel wood creates a small air pocket in the barrel or "head room."  The French refer to this loss of wine in the barrel as "the angels’ share." (Our winemaker often makes reference to this during his tours).  It’s important to top the barrels with reserve wine juice in order to keep the wine fresh and minimize oxidation.  We maintain a regular barrel topping regime that takes place every two weeks to keep the barrels full.

Barrel racking is a common quality assurance technique we perform during ageing. Wine aged in barrels develops some amount of lees sediment (spent yeast) that settles at the bottom of the barrel over time.  Robust wines like Cabernet, Merlot & Syrah require longer barrel time and we rack the wine from barrels, clean the barrels, and return the wine for further aging. Wines are typically racked from barrel every two to four months.