Vineyard
Hassayampa Vineyard & Farm was established in 2012 on 140 acres along the Hassayampa River near Kirkland, Arizona. The property consists of a farmstead cheese creamery, a 12 acre vineyard, a fruit and nut orchard, and several acres of pastures for their Jersey cow herd. They use sustainable grape growing practices that include Integrated Pest Management, OMRI (organic) approved pesticides, cover cropping, and minimal tillage.The Grapes
The Cabernet Sauvignon vines are grown in the high desert, 3,800 feet above sea level near the Hassayampa River. Alluvial deposits of volcanic and sedimentary minerals combined with extreme diurnal shifts of hot days and cool nights allow the grapes to preserve aromas and natural acidity. Grâce À Vous 2020
VARIETY Cabernet Sauvignon
BRIX at Harvest 19.4
PH at Harvest 3.3
LOCATION Walnut Grove, Arizona
VINEYARD Hassayampa Vineyard and Farm
SOIL TYPE Alluvial deposits of volcanic and. sedimentary minerals
PRODUCTION 155 bottles
ALCOHOL 10.3%
Expression
Black cherries, black currant, strawberries & even prickly pear define the aromatics of this wine. On the palate, the wine is fizzy, juicy, slightly tart and fruit forward. Think Arizona style dry Lambrusco, made with Arizona Cabernet Sauvignon grapes that should be served chilled and paired with whatever your heart desires. Vinification
The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were hand picked and transported to Sedona, Arizona for vinification. The whole cluster grapes were foot tread and fermented with native yeasts for 3 days with several punch downs a day before being pressed to two stainless steel tanks. The wine finished fermenting in the tanks with one tank being racked off the lees and the other tank being left on the lees, both aged for 6 months without bâtonnage. Both tanks were racked once to stainless steel tanks a few days before bottling. Unfined, unfiltered and only 30ppm added SO2 before bottling. In order to make the finished product sparkling, 25 pounds of grapes were harvested one week after the initial harvest and were foot tread and left on the skins overnight before being pressed the next day, only for the must to be frozen before fermentation began. The must was taken out of the freezer 6 months later to defrost and took 6 days before beginning to ferment. Once the fermentation began, 2 galons of slightly fermenting must was added to both tanks, mixed and left for a few hours to homogenize before being bottled with a crown cap. This sparkling wine method is known as col fondo, where the wine undergoes a re-fermentation in bottle but is not disgorged, which can leave it slightly cloudy from the leftover yeast particles that are left in the bottle.