Fidelitas Wines

Harvest Step by Step

At Fidelitas this month we’ve brought in fruit from our neighborhood growers as well as our own Estate. All fruit is hand-picked and then transported to our facility in Richland, where it will undergo fermentation, barreling, and eventual bottling. Here’s a brief rundown of what Charlie and the crew have been working hard on these past weeks!

Step 1: Pick the fruit

Handpicked clusters come in on the rakis, so upon arrival at the cellar, they will be de-stemmed and sorted.

Step 2: Crush and Inoculate

Here is some of the Fidelitas Estate Malbec after a 3-Day cold soak. Charlie and the team will pump over this fruit twice a day to ensure heat dissipation and a balanced maceration. Inoculation will occur by mixing our chosen yeast strain into each tank. Right now the residual sugar in this particular lot is sitting at about 10.1 Brix, which means it has a few days to go!

Step 3: Drain off the “Free Run” juice, and press the fruit

After fermentation is complete and most of the sugar has been converted, the team will begin pressing the fruit. Charlie prefers to use a Basket Press shown below- this is a gentle method of pressing that doesn’t extract all the juice, but will also result in a softer extraction of green flavors and tannins.

Step 4: Prep the barrels the wine will rest in for 18-20 months

The wine will be removed and “racked” which is a method of filtration

While talking with Charlie today he became animated discussing all the new oak treatments he’ll be implementing and the new fermenters purchased which will debut this vintage. Here he is explaining his new roller fermenters:

Stay tuned for this show-stopping vintage! Charlie is excited about them already!

Vineyard Update

 When it comes to Red Mountain fruit, both our winemakers and grape growers alike, must show nerves of steel, tenacity, and faith in our soils. Today, while walking through the vines of the Fidelitas Estate Vineyard the truths of the harsh climate, and nearly impossible conditions have become even more evident. Stepping into August we’ve already seen brutally hot days peaking at 111° F, ceaseless winds, all without a drop of precipitation to allow relief. August will take us through version and straight into ripening with an eye on September for harvest. We walk a fine line between insanity and triumph with some of the state’s hottest years and earliest harvests setting record on these 4,040 acres.

This month I wanted to reflect and give credit where its due to our wonderful growers, industry wildcards who challenged the status quo giving possibility to this land, and gusty winemakers such as Charlie who possess the technique and talent to handle our unique region. I’d also like to share with you a few of the challenges tackled regularly on Red Mountain by our Winemaking and Viticulture Team going forward as harvest looms ahead.

Red Mountain’s dry and chalky soils are a very important part of what gives life to our wines. By regulating how much water reaches the roots we can determine the fruit set and corresponding weights and sugar content when we go to harvest. Determining how much water to give the vine is a dangerous game- too little and the vine becomes overstressed, too much and the water weight bulks up the grape diluting the flavors and sugar. Temperatures here can spike dramatically (as we saw these last two weeks), and having a team that can act quickly and decisively to calculate what that means for the vine and fruit is exceptionally important. Signs of over stressing can be seen in the canopy, which Charlie pays particular attention to throughout the growing season. On any given morning you can usually see Charlie driving through our Estate Vineyard looking at the leaves, feeling the soil moisture, and tasting the grapes. Rolling into September, the decision to harvest each lot of fruit will be primarily driven by Charlie’s taste buds- a talent developed over 31 harvests!

A special thanks is always in order to Scott Williams and Jim Holmes who have always supported and influenced the advancement of the AVA. Both of whom were kind enough to supply the fruit going into our Old Vines Merlot set to be released this fall to our club. It’s lasting relationships such as these that allow Charlie the opportunity to source from the top vineyards on Red Mountain.

Changes are happening quickly now! Take a look at the changes our Fidelitas Estate Vineyard, 2008 planting has gone through in only seven days! This fruit will be harvested this year, and the wine will be released in 2020. If you find yourself wanting to learn more about our Estate Vineyard, our Red Mountain Team hosts our Fidelitas Estate Experience tours on select dates this fall. Its our opportunity to share and explain the magic happening in our very back yard. Mark your calendar guys- this fruit is already looking exceptional.