Med Bag of Chips

Ham, cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, and arugula.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard in a whole wheat wrap.

Fit Turkey Wrap

Fermented in stainless steel and barrel aged in French & American oak. dark cherry, dark fruit flavors with spice accents.

Harvest approximately 100 kg of ripe Pinot Noir grapes. Sort to remove underripe, rotten or damaged fruit and excess stems. Keep fruit cool and process within 12 hours of picking if possible.

Harvest & Sort

Crush and destem the grapes into a sanitized fermentation vessel (stainless steel tank preferred). Aim for whole-berry crush with minimal maceration to preserve Pinot Noir delicacy.

Crush & Destem

Add 30 mg of potassium metabisulfite per kg of must (total ~30 mg for the batch amount shown) to the must after crushing to limit undesirable microbes. Wait 6–12 hours if performing cold soak (optional).

SO2 Addition

Rehydrate 5 g of Pinot Noir yeast per manufacturer instructions and add 10 g yeast nutrient to the must. Inoculate the must with the rehydrated yeast when must temperature is 18–22°C (64–72°F).

Yeast Preparation & Inoculation

Ferment in stainless steel with active temperature control to maintain 20–24°C (68–75°F) during primary fermentation to emphasize dark fruit and preserve aromatic nuance. Cooler-fermenting (18–20°C) will enhance red fruit/silkiness; slightly warmer will develop darker fruit and spice.

Temperature Control

Perform gentle punch-downs or pump-overs 2–3 times daily for the first 5–7 days to extract color and tannin without harshness. Maintain skins in contact with juice for 7–14 days total depending on desired structure; Pinot Noir generally benefits from shorter maceration (7–10 days) to retain elegance.

Cap Management

Track Brix/°Plato or specific gravity daily. When fermentation slows (residual sugars low), perform a longer gentle maceration for a day or two if additional extraction is desired, then press.

Monitor Fermentation Progress

Press the fermented must gently to separate wine from skins. Use a low-pressure press to avoid extracting harsh phenolics. Collect free-run and press fractions separately if you plan to blend later.

Press

Rack the wine to a clean vessel and inoculate for malolactic fermentation (optional but common for Pinot Noir) or allow native MLF. Maintain temperatures around 18–22°C for MLF to convert malic acid to softer lactic acid, contributing to mouthfeel and spice/cream accents.

Malolactic Fermentation

Transfer wine to French oak barrels (majority) with a portion aged in American oak staves or barrels to introduce a subtle vanilla/spice lift. Use a mix (for example 80% French, 20% American) depending on desired profile. Age for 8–12 months with periodic topping to avoid oxidation.

Barrel Selection & Aging

Optionally stir lees (batonnage) lightly every 2–4 weeks for the first 2–3 months to build texture and integrate oak. Avoid heavy lees stirring to keep clarity of fruit.

Lees Management

Sample every 4–6 weeks. If desired, make minor adjustments to acidity (tartaric acid) or perform small blending trials with press fraction to dial in dark cherry and spice balance.

Tasting & Adjustment

Once aging goals are met, rack wine off gross lees. If needed, cold stabilize to reduce tartrate precipitation and use fining agents (e.g., bentonite or egg whites) to clarify and reduce astringency. Follow product instructions for dosing and contact times.

Stabilize & Fine

Adjust free SO2 to target bottling levels (~25–35 mg/L free SO2 depending on pH). Add approximately 50 mg potassium metabisulfite for the batch as a final addition (calculate exact dose to reach target). Filter if desired and fill ~70 bottles, cork and label.

Sulfite & Bottle

Allow bottles to rest for several months (3–6 months) to integrate before release. Pinot Noir often benefits from additional bottle age; plan for optimal drinking window of 1–5 years depending on vintage and oak use.

Bottle Aging

Pinot Noir grapes (ripe)

Wine yeast (Pinot Noir strain or neutral Saccharomyces cerevisiae)

Yeast nutrient

Potassium metabisulfite (SO2) — for must sanitation

Tartaric acid (to adjust total acidity, optional)

Fermentation temperature control (cooling)

French oak barrels (medium toast) or oak staves/chips for partial American oak character

American oak staves or chips (light-med toast) — optional for spice/vanilla lift

Cold stabilization (refrigeration)

Fining agent (e.g., bentonite or egg whites), optional

Potassium metabisulfite (for bottling SO2)

Bottles and corks

PINOT NOIR

Make PINOT NOIR Recipe in just 876h . Fermented in stainless steel and barrel aged in French & American oak. dark cherry, dark fruit flavors with spice accents.

PINOT NOIR

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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