Ulla & John at the vineyard
The Vineyard
We own and manage 33 acres of vineyard consisting of Chardonnay, Viognier, Riesling, Muscat Blanc, Orange Muscat, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Black Muscat.Our vineyard year starts in March with pruning the canes from the previous year's growth. We go through the vineyard and tie the canes to the fruiting wire, if needed. April is the month of planting. If we don’t plant new acreage, we replace the vines that are dead. In late April or early May, the regular rhythm of the growing season starts. This is also the time when the vines are showing leaves. We need to weed around the vines regularly, removing the weeds in row with a mechanical device called a grape hoe, which is attached to the tractor. Every 10 to 14 days, the vines need to be sprayed to prevent powdery mildew. We mainly use sulfur. Every four to six weeks, we water the vines. The vines bloom in early to mid-June. As the season progresses, we position the shoots on the trellis wire.
To control growth, we use the Smart Dyson system--half the canes grow up and half the canes grow down. To expose the grapes to the sun, we pull the leaves around the fruiting wire. In July, we walk through the vineyard and count the clusters on each vine to prepare an estimate of the crop. If necessary, we thin the grapes and/or the shoots to control the crop load. This keeps us busy through August when the vines turn color and we cover them with bird netting for protection. The bird netting isn't removed until harvest, which starts in the middle of September with the Chardonnay. In September, we take samples of grapes once or twice a week to evaluate for sugar, acid and PH to check for their ripeness. The last variety to be harvested is Cabernet Sauvignon, which we pick the second or third week of October. The vineyard year comes to a close with marking vines that did not survive the season and repairing our equipment.
The Winery
Once the grapes are harvested, they are stored in a cooler before they are trucked to Boulder where we crush and destem them. Chardonnay is pressed immediately and then transferred into steel tanks for fermentation. Cabernet and Merlot ferment on the skins for color extraction for a week before they are pressed and transferred into steel tanks. As the red vines ferment on the skins, the skin cap needs to be punched down and turned over twice daily. All wines are transferred into oak barrels after they are settled. The Chardonnay ages in the barrel for a year and the Cabernet and Merlot ages for two years. We stir both varieties regularly as they age in the barrel. We use French and American oak barrels. Before bottling, the wine is cold-stabilized. Due to Colorado's arid climate, wine evaporates regularly and we need to make sure that the barrels stay topped off.
