Lake County

VINEYARDS:We source the Sauvignon Blanc fruit from Dorn vineyards here in Kelseyville. The Dorn family has been farming since 1965 and we have produced our Sauvignon Blanc from their vineyards for 25 years.WINE STYLE & TASTING NOTE:Winemaking for this varietal is straightforward. The grapes are picked early morning (before dawn), delivered in the coolest part of the morning, crushed and pressed off the skins. The juice is then settled for 24 hours and racked off the lees. The fermentation...

Philosophy: At Kuleto, blocks and varieties are harvested in the order that they ripen. Nothing unusual there. But instead of waiting for enough of a particular variety to ripen fully for the sake of having a pure tank or lot, we combine whatever fruit happens to be perfectly ripe at the moment. While co-fermentation of different varieties has not been the default protocol in the New World, it is intuitive and natural. It’s also the genesis of our multi-varietal blends. Curious Blends: Our...

Philosophy: To create the kinds of finished wines that make up our three Red Blends, it is critical that farming is controlled directly by the winery. Our blends are therefore produced from fruit grown at the Kuleto Estate and in our premiere estate vineyards throughout the North Coast. Where we deliberately give up a bit of winery control is in our unusual approach to harvest and fermentation. Instead of waiting for enough of a particular variety to ripen fully for the sake of having a pure...

VOLCANIC VINEYARD SITE: Obsidian Ridge Vineyard is sits on a volcanic flow at the northern tip of the Mayacamas Range at a half mile of elevation. Vines planted in 1999 on red volcanic soils shot with black obsidian are subject to an unforgiving, mountain climate. Low humidity, cold night time temperatures, and ultraviolet exposure 10% greater than at sea level all contribute to developing small grapes with dark color, thick skins, and intense flavors. THREE ELEVATION ZONES: The estate is...