The old Wirz Vineyard was originally planted around 1900 to “mixed blacks” as Pat Wirz, the longtime farmer/owner likes to call them. The mix is the typical field blend of vineyards in the Diablo range that consist of Mataro, Carignan, Zinfandel, and the oddball Cabernet Pfeffer. However, in 1964, about 45 acres of white Riesling were planted. The San Andreas Fault runs through the vineyard, which sits at the base of the Eastern flank of the Gabilan Mountains. There are several different soil types found here. The Riesling is mostly planted on deep granitic sand, and some is on the darker clay loam that’s weathered from limestone. Dry farmed, head trained, and organic.

Vintage Summary

The 2020 growing season was nothing short of eventful and challenging. Winter was relatively dry and cool with limited rainfall until late winter, early spring. Spring was very cool, with a few frost days into May, followed by a mild early summer with a light crop forming. Mid August was the first of a few punishing heat waves coinciding with fires around the state of California. We started picking the Riesling on September 12, and finished three weeks later on October 5. The Zinfandel was picked September 5th/6th.

Winemaking

The grapes were picked by hand. At the winery the grapes were given 24 hours of whole cluster maceration to extract tannins, aroma, and flavor compounds in the skins, followed by pressing the grapes.  No sulfur was added to allow the juice to oxidize.  After a 36 hour cold settle in tank, the clean juice was racked off the solids to another tank for spontaneous fermentation. The wine was sulfured post completion of secondary fermentation with elevage in tank on fine lees for 22 months. Racked off fine lees a month prior to bottling. Unfined and unfiltered. The only addition we ever use is sulfur.  Bottled August 13th, 2022. 236 cases produced.

Wine Stats

Brix at harvest: 21.6

Titratable Acidity: 6.2 g/L

pH: 3.25

Residual Sugar: 0.3 g/L

Alcohol: 12.5%