Varietal
The grapes for this wine are from the Bartolucci Vineyard in Lake County, where the 5 year-old vines of this Italian clone of Muscat Canelli are farmed organically. Vineyard practices are focused on emphasizing the floral and citrus characteristics in the grapes.

Vintage
Vintage 2003 started with a cold spring and finished with a cool summer with a couple of heat spikes. In the vineyard, shoot and crop thinning help the grapes achieve maximum hang time to reach optimal flavor development. Grapes for this wine were picked September 30th.

Vinification
In the winery we use whole cluster pressing and an aggressive press cut to insure beautiful floral fruit without astringency. Tank fermentation at low temperatures allows us to slow the fermentation process to preserve fruit flavors and aromas. We stop the fermentations with just enough residual sugar to emphasize and balance the crisp acidity. The wine was bottled early for freshness. Alc.12.0%, TA .53, pH 3.32, RS 5.8%. Bottled January 22nd 2004.

Tasting Notes
Smelling this wine is like putting your nose into a bouquet of fresh flowers (honeysuckle, rose, apple blossom). It is medium bodied, medium sweet (but does not taste it), and extremely fruity and floral in flavor, with a long aftertaste. Serve with dishes that have mild sweetness or moderate levels of spiciness or heat, including orange chicken (chicken a la orange), barbecued chicken or pork, mild curry dishes, and honey baked ham.

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