Tag along on a cellar work day in the winery at Burnsini Vineyards.
Bypassing the glass cluttered bench for the moment, we glimpse the winemaker peeking in on the new Rosé of Sangiovese.
Nearby her assistant is eager to judge the fruity young wine. Satisfied, he leaves to attend to the vineyard and let the winemaker “science”.
Juice from the grapes harvested from the vineyard is cared for in the trio of Italian fermentation tanks. The depth of the fine lees at the bottom of each tank indicates the work done by the yeast. On November 2nd, the lees is thick with grape solids falling to the bottom and looks like a generous layer of enamel paint.
Winemaker Brandi Greene explains the bench trials planned for the 2017 Merlot.
The ever popular Burnsini Friends blend depends on the ripe fruit and plum of the Merlot. The wine was set to isomerize as the tannins bind with anything blocking the fruit flavors.
In a few days, the grape tannin addition will be complete and the hearty fruit flavors will be front and center on this Merlot.
- new Rosé of Sangiovese
- red Sangiovese
- Zinfandel
- old vine Zinfandel
- Merlot
- Cabernet
- old vine Cabernet
- Petite Sirah
Tasting of the old vine Zinfandel commences among the native oaks and the crowing of the rooster at the neighboring farm.
The winemaker voices her observations: The wine has a peppery nose, maybe a white pepper and even dried fruit flavors. She waits until the train whistles die down before continuing. Another month or so before it will be ready for raking into barrels. Half into oak and the other half into bourbon barrels.
She grins are our impatience at having to wait for the wine to barrel age until 2020.
The arrival of the bottles for the beloved blends, Friends and Tehama Red, coincided with much anticipated rains of late 2018. The delivery truck took a turn into the winery too tight and became stuck. Bertha, the water truck, came to the rescue! And bottling work could begin, despite the storm. Bottles of Friends and Tehama Red are back on the shelves, just in time for the holidays.