2021 • Nero d'Avola 2021

Nero d'Avola 2021

Varietal:

100% Nero d'Avola

Alcohol:

12%

Vinification Notes:

Dry-farmed Nero d’Avola (78% Bricarelli Ranch, 22% Venturi Vineyard) harvested separately and both 100% destemmed. Bricarelli Nero d’Avola fermented in an open-top stainless steel tank with a mix of pumpovers and manual punchdowns, then pressed prior to dryness. The wine completed primary fermentation in a concrete tank before racking to neutral oak barrique and larger 500L puncheons. Venturi Nero d’Avola fermented in a small T-bin with manual punch-downs and pressed prior to dryness. Both Nero d’Avolas spent 12 months on full lees in neutral oak barrique, then racked off lees, blended, and returned to barrel for an additional 8 months of aging prior to bottling. Unfined. Unfiltered. Sediment expected.

Vineyard:

Bricarelli Ranch, Ukiah, Mendocino County, 16-year-old head-trained, dry-farmed (non-irrigated) vineyard, farmed by us to organic principles (no pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilizers); gravelly loam soils.

 

Venturi Vineyard, Calpella, Mendocino County; dry-farmed (non-irrigated), certified organic vineyard; Pinole gravelly loam soils.

Martha's Notes

The beauty of Nero d’Avola is its Chiaroscuro-like nature: brightness from its ability to hold onto acidity in warm Mediterranean climates, and darkness from its characteristic forest fruits. I spent a very impactful vintage working with this grape at COS in Sicily, so the fact that Nero d’Avola even exists in California—AND I get to work with it in both the vineyard and cellar—makes my heart happy. While everyone else is clamoring for cool climate sites along coastal California, I am proud to be looking inland, where the hotter climate and shorter spring season make low-input farming a reality. I still want to make elegant wines, so it just means thinking outside of the box with the choice of varieties. Nero d’Avola is a perfect natural fit.

Production Notes

Production: 333 cases

At Bottling:

(June 2023): 12.5% alc/vol · Free SO2 7 mg/L, Total SO2 32 mg/L · Less than 1 g/L sugar (dry) · All wines are vegan