If we had to assign a word to this vintage, it would be healthy. The impacts of growing and sourcing organic grapes continues to amaze us in the cellar. Every bin of grapes we brought in, whether from our estate vineyard, or from our partner growers across Washington state, were exceptionally robust and healthy. A greater marker for this health is YAN (yeast assimilable nitrogen) - a measure of how much nitrogen is available for yeast to consume during fermentation, essentially indicating how strong the fermentation will be. Nitrogen is a critical grape which affects the rate and completion of fermentation, fermentation bouquet and style of wine. Despite sounding less than exciting, our YAN was incredible this year, with all our fruit coming in at the ideal YAN levels. Our ferments were fast and powerful, with absolutely no supplements of any kind needed.

One of the main pillars in our approach to natural winemaking is a commitment to natural ferments, no matter the environmental circumstances. Each year we have enjoyed the terroir reflected in the subtle flavors released from the natural fermentations, however this year, we cannot wait to taste the hardiness of such healthy vineyards reflected in the wines.