Ghost Pines Zinfandel

Winemaker Notes: The fruit for Ghost Pines Zinfandel was cold soaked for one to two days to begin the extraction of color and flavor from the skins prior to fermentation. After the cold soak, the tank was inoculated with yeast. The winemaking team kept the ferment warm, no more than 85 degrees, to restrain the rate of fermentation and balance the extraction of fruit with the extraction of tannin. The young wine was drained from the fermentor after about four days to keep the focus on the fruit Flavors and prevent too much tannin from being extracted. Ghost Pines Zinfandel was aged on a combination of French and American oak staves, which gave the wine a balance of sweet aromatics, such as vanilla and caramel, as well as structure and spice.