WINEMAKING NOTES

Grapes from Lakeshore Farms is older vines with sandy loam soil and Lakeshore Vineyard is younger vines with light rich sandy soil. The grapes were harvested in mid-November and immediately pressed into stainless steel tanks for a cool fermentation which was stopped to retain balancing residual sugar. The wine was lightly fined and filtered before bottling in April 2022.

VINTAGE NOTES       

A mild winter, accompanied with warmer than warmer-than-average temperatures led to an early start to the growing season in 2023 (Bud break recorded May 5^th). Conditions throughout the Spring and Summer were highly variable, a mix of extreme heat and cool spells with intermittent and isolated heavy rains caused a wide range of fruit maturity among most varieties. This led to a slightly delayed start to the 2023 harvest (3^rd week of September. Two weeks later than 2022). Once harvest began, conditions were near perfect, consisting of mostly dry, warm days and cool nights with little precipitation. The first grapes to come into the cellar were Chardonnay for sparkling. Followed by aromatic whites and lighter reds such as Riesling and Gamay from late September through mid-October. Later ripening reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were harvested mid to late November concluding harvest. Overall quality was good to excellent, with yields ranging greatly