Hope Well Chardonnay

In the words of winemaker Mimi Casteel - "The inaugural Chardonnay from Hope Well is such an exciting landmark in the vineyard. We planted Chardonnay after much of the Pinot Noir was asserting the ‘personality’ of its home, and chose our favorite sites based on what we were learning from the Pinot. For young fruit it was very assertive and distinct. The grapes were pressed cold and went to barrel without settling, each barrel was hand filled and received the same amount of solids from the press. The next morning the barrels were bubbling, so they were tucked into a cool spot to ferment. Malolactic started before primary was finished, and throughout it was clear that Hope Well has a distinct signature for Chardonnay as well as Pinot noir. No commercial yeasts or bacteria were used"