Varietal
Moscato di Canelli is the white Muscat or Moscato Biano variety – considered the nobles of the dozen of white Muscat varieties. 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
The amount of rainfall, though early, was normal. Dry weather reigned from March, the warmest March on record, to October. The warm weather jump-started the growing season, making farmers nervous. Things did cool down for spring extending bloom. Summer was moderate without any heat waves, but it was humid raising concerns of mildew. By the end of July it was evident that an early harvest was upon us. High temperatures are not unusual in late summer and early fall but humidity under 20% is very unusual. In fact the average low humidity over the previous five years didn’t go below 30%. Extended periods of hot, dry weather are difficult for a grapevine to endure. With almost two weeks of 10 - 20% humidity in late August and September, mildew was now the least of concerns! Grape sugar was soaring before flavors had matured; our growers did a great job sustaining vineyards until flavors developed. By the end of September we were evaluating an outstanding vintage. 2004 is a vintage of ripe and well-developed flavors with the best overall quality in years.

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%, TA .51, pH 3.42, RS 5.9%.

Tasting Notes
This wine is extravagantly floral and fruity in character, with the hallmark musky overtone of the varietal. It tastes of apple, lime blossom, honeysuckle, clove and ripe grapes and is mildly sweet, medium bodied, and intensely flavored on the palate.

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