Old World Wine Making
At Chapin Family Vineyards we take our wine making very serious. From the vineyard to the barrels nothing is unsupervised. Therefore our quality wines reflect our commitment to perfection.
The Vineyard
Wine grape quality is everything, even though we cannot control Mother Nature, having soils that are rich in nutrients and well-nourished allow us to achieve the most out of our vines and produce quality berries. During veraison, (when berries turn from green to red), we perform crop reduction eliminating poor grape clusters and excess fruit per vine.
Harvest
We hand pick our grapes very early in the morning to capture the full flavor and richness of the berries. The Brix (berry sugar content) is monitored up to two times a day for several days to determine the precise moment to harvest. When we do, they immediately travel to a de-stemmer (NOT CRUSHER) where berries are handled gently and free of MOG (Matter other than grapes) to begin the full berry maceration process (Old World Style) and wine making.
The Art of Wine Making
After berries ferment and turn sugar into alcohol, the wine making process begins. The “must” (wine, skins and seeds) is transferred to a bladder press where the un-dissolved berries are gently pressed to extract the remaining juice. Without crushing or bursting the seeds, the wine is then introduced in to New American white Oak Barrels. Many factors have to be considered but monitoring the wine when maturing, is crucial. Since our wines age for 30 to 36 months before they are bottled, constant supervision and TLC is given to the process to acquire the highest level of quality.