Winemaking Blog

Cabernet Rose

Dan Mills — Mon, 09 May 2011 20:20:56 +0000

Well Winter's gone, and here at DMP the Spring has brought us possibly the best wine we've ever made! Blessed with wonderful Palmaz Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, last Fall be decided to go off the reservation and attempt a Cabernet Rose... Not just bleeding off a late harvest Cab, but sacrificing the real deal Clone 15 tonnage to make a fresh pressed Rose... The results, STUNNING! Comments from our Mentors (people who make the best wine in the world for a living) ranged from "You made THIS?" to "How many cases do you have?" to "Don't you wish you had 6 pallets of this stuff!" We'll take that all as an extreme compliment... : )

Harvest 2010

Dan Mills — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 20:21:46 +0000

What a tough year to be a grape grower in the Napa Valley! Mid-season rain and mildew, followed by a brutal heatwave, followed by cool non-ripening weather and now rain... A lot of winemakers are truly earning their money this harvest! For me the question was do I really need another couple hundred cases of red wine in the pipeline... Not really... The answer was to try my hand at another dry classic Rose. Much like the '08 Rose of Pinot Noir that everyone loved to the point there's only a handful of bottles left!

So this year something with a new twist... Using Cabernet Sauvignon grapes to make a Cabernet Rose! Grapes were harvested first week of October and the pressed juice is almost through primary fermentation... If all goes well we'll be bottling Cabernet Rose this Spring!!

Summer 2010

Dan Mills — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:37:07 +0000

Summer has finally rolled into the Napa Valley... It seemed like Spring took the year off and we went straight from Winter to Summer! Our '07 Cabernet and Syrah and our '09 Rose of Syrah are in the bottles. The reds to bottle age for another year, the Rose is perfect right now and has already made an appearance or two on warm evening BBQ's...

Speaking of the Rose... It ended up a deep ruby color, slightly sweet (about 2% residual sugar) and pushing 15% alcohol! It is a killer Rose, and has paired wonderfully with spicy BBQ and Asian dishes!

The '09 Cab and Syrah are barrel aging and slated for bottling in another 18 months.

The Next Level

Dan Mills — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:29:00 +0000

09 Harvest and Crush is through and everything is shaping up to be the best year ever for Napa's premier Tuff Shed winery! The Howell Mountain Beatty Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon and the Truchard Carneros Syrah is progressing sinfully well in the new french barrels we invested in this year. The big surprise is the Rose of Syrah that's just finishing fermentation... Light ruby colored with intense citrus and grapefruit flavors! Insane for hot Summer evenings on the patio...

The New Year

Dan Mills — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 03:54:00 +0000

It's not that 2008 sucked... We did get a fantastic Rose of Pinot Noir in "the barrel". It's just that things were so hectic that we haven't had time to bottle the '06 Cab and Syrah yet. So full speed ahead towards the bottling party. I'm trying to decide on bottles. Do we go with the huge elegant heavy bottles that scream "this is important wine" or do we go green?? What do you think?

'09 Harvest Is Here

Dan Mills — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:47:00 +0000

Mid-October and this years winemaking is in full swing... Two tons of Carneros Syrah grapes were the first in. We crushed and destemmed on the tenth. Bled off 300 liters of free run juice for a Rose and are fermenting the rest for an intense deep dark Syrah. Next up is Cabernet Sauvignon from the famous Beatty Ranch on Howell Mountain. Weather permitting they'll be harvested the first week of November.

Blending & Racking

Dan Mills — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:26:00 +0000

The 2006 and 2007 vintages are both in barrel, but at very different stages in their development. The '07's are young and restless. Finally settling out the solids left over from fermentation and pressing. They taste vibrant, full of fruit, dark dark red, almost bragging of the vineyards they came from. This week we'll rack the lees that have settled and top the barrels. The '06's taste like velvet, deep, smooth... Bruce says "like the 2000 Chateau Latour"... Here's where all the extra work of making separate lots and keeping them in separate barrels pays off. Does 85% of the Cepage and 15% of the Montrachet work better than a 90/10 blend? Ah it's tuff work... Over the next few weeks we'll blend and taste small samples until we're sure we have the magic figured out.

Spring Arrives

Dan Mills — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:25:00 +0000

Spring is arriving in the Napa Valley with a mixed message this year.... The mustard plant burst into it's bright yellow bloom just after New Year's, covering the valley floor months early. I felt Mother Nature was hinting at a long and early growing season. But here we are at the end of March and near freezing mornings bring the drone of the wind machines and the scent of smudge pots. Bleary eyed growers, after another sleepless night, gather at the Rutherford Grill ordering cups of coffee instead of the usual $20 glass of vino.