In The Vineyard Experience
Friday, July 13, 10am-12pm
Want to truly experience what goes into creating that wonderful bottle of wine? If so, this "hands-on, get your boots dirty" experience in the vineyard is for you. Get a first-hand view of what people mean when they say terroir and that a wine is "made in the vineyard."
Choose your vineyard experience - either the lush richness of Gallo Family Vineyards' Barrelli Creek Vineyard in the Alexander Valley or the varietal diversity of Kunde Estate's Wildwood & Kinneybrook Vineyards in the Sonoma Valley. Both experiences offer some of the most spectacular landscapes in the county, and feature:
A vertical tasting of wines from that vineyard, comparing how the land expresses itself throughout different vintages
Soil comparisons, and what effect soil types have on vine growth and the finished wine
Workshops to help you understand essential vineyard practices of pruning, trellising, and canopy management
An overview of the life cycle of the vine and what occurs in the vineyard throughout the year
A comparative tasting of wines from the various appellations of Sonoma County, discovering the effect location has on a wine's flavors
Barrelli Creek will additionally have a focus on Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and warm-climate grapegrowing, along with an overview of the Alexander Valley, named 2006 wine region of the year by Wine Enthusiast. Wildwood and Kinneybrook, featuring seven different microclimates and twenty different varietals, will offer a study in climatic diversity and the importance of matching the correct varietal to a site, including a discussion and comparison of hillside versus valley floor vineyards.
Wildwood and Kinneybrook Vineyards
These vineyards consist of three elevation ranges: valley floor, hillside, and mountainside, extending 1,400 feet up from the valley floor into the Mayacamas Mountain range. These distinct elevations contain a mix of soil depths and types as well as sun exposures. Mountain and hillside vineyards are mainly dry farmed, and specific trellising and ground cover crops are utilized to enhance fruit characteristics. The soil base, known as "Red Hill" series, is volcanic red ash produced from lava flows that occurred more than five million years ago. The valley floor soils consist of shallow gravely loams and "Red Hill" clay, with evening coastal fog and wind protection that make these vineyards the coolest on the estate.
Barrelli Creek Vineyard
Originally planted in the 1880s, our family's Barrelli Creek Vineyard is located in the hillside benchlands of the Alexander Valley, on a site first planted by Italian immigrants. The warmest of our Sonoma County vineyards, Barrelli Creek Vineyard has soils comprised of gravel, sand, silt, and clay. The unique soil and warm climate add richness, depth and intensity to the Cabernet Sauvignon, Barbera, and Zinfandel grapes grown here.
