Winemaker Tips

Moving Wines
The worst enemies to wine are heat, light, and vibration. For example, it can only take a few hours on a warm day in the trunk of a car to completely ruin any wine, even at 70 degrees. Keep it cool, covered and safe until you can get it to your cellar. Even under these conditions, we wait at least two weeks for the wine to settle before opening. It is a long wait, but worth it!

Airplane flights and car trips are extremely hard on wines. Wines are very fragile, particularly our unfined Cuvee Cynthia, Cuvee Audrey and our Pinots. Maximum care should be taken to handle wine minimally!

Cellaring
To ensure the absolute optimum care of fine wines, the ideal storage is in a proper wine cellar. This will not only allow the wine to mature safely; it will allow the wine to display itself to highest potential. As many people do not have a classic wine cellar, there are many viable alternatives. Make sure the wine is stored in the darkest, coolest, and most silent parts of your home, such as a large closet in a shady north side of the house, a basement, or below ground.

Remember never to store your wine near a heat source, such as a refrigerator, oven, or any machinery. Even electrical devices such as a stereo will have adverse effects on your wine. Wine is very fragile, and like all living things, needs to be properly cared for.

Serving Temperatures
Our bigger, older world styles of wine, such as Diamond T Estate, Sleepy Hollow, Cuvee Cynthia, and Case Pinot, should be served slightly below room temperature. When we are discussing room temperatures, we mean cellar temperature which needs to be approximately 57-58 degrees Fahrenheit. The chardonnays should be about 55 degrees, and the pinot 58 degrees.

Ice buckets can spell disaster to any fine wine. This extreme cold simply removes all the subtle flavors and complexities, and the personality of the wine has vanished. When a waiter brings your wine in an ice bucket, simply keep the bottle on the table, and hold your hands around the wineglass to warm the wine up a bit. Ice buckets should only be used for champagne, or briefly to chill a wine that is too warm.

The lighter styles of our wines, such as the Kali-Hart, Logan Chardonnay, and the Logan Pinots can be served a bit cooler, such as between 50 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Again, extreme caution must be taken, as these wines are frequently served ice cold, and all flavors are lost.

In summary, we cannot over-emphasize the fact that wine is a living organism, and will always be affected by all environmental influences. Not only just the temperature of the wine itself, but of the room temperature, scents, food, and what the wine is served in. Proper stemware is always important in the best presentation of your wine, and several glass companies have a very specialized program in the right wineglass for the different varieatals of wine.

With the proper consideration of your delicate and finest wines, you will be rewarded for many years to come with the knowledge that your wines are being enjoyed in their peak conditions.