About This Product :
The Grape:
(2022 vintage) 84% Viognier, 11% Roussanne, 5% Marsanne
In 2022, a very late frost destroyed all of the crop of our favorite Damiano Vineyard in Auburn, in the Sierra Foothills. We discovered another gem of a vineyard to fill in for this vintage, in the hills of Santa Barbara County, and blended it with some gorgeous fruit from Paso Robles to obtain the same delicious flavor profile as our previous Damiano vintages. As usual, we picked it just a bit less ripe than many CA Viogniers, so the fruit expresses lively citrus and gentle white flower aromatics, while barrel fermentation in mostly older French oak barrels leads to a wine of perfect structure and creamy-crispy balance.
The Appellation:
100% Central Coast: 60% Paradise Vineyard, Santa Barbara County 40% Paso Robles. **All sustainably farmed
The Wine:
Beautiful nose of white flowers (jasmine, gardenia and honeysuckle) mingled with pretty green tea, grapefruit and orange zest aromas, only a light kiss of creamy vanilla oak toast. Super crisp acidity without being puckery tart, just pinpoint balanced with trace of sweetness and creaminess from oak. Juicy, mouth-watering Honey-crisp apple and citrus, green peach fruit. Great structure to pair with lemon-butter shrimp or Thai food or even to drink solo.
Destemmed to press and cold settled.
100% barrel fermented, stirred weekly sur lie for 5 months. No Malo-lactic fermentation, so it is crisply finished.
Alcohol: 13.37%
Total Acidity: 0.55 gm/100ml
3.7 pH at harvest: September 5, 2022
pH: 3.52
Cases Produced: 838 cases (750ml, screwcap)
Release Date: April 12th, 2023
The Winery:
Based out of an industrial park in the city of Santa Rosa, Carol Shelton started at UC Davis in 1974, and is still making excellent wines with passion ’til this day. Carol has won Winemaker of the Year five times, has countless gold medals for her wines and was named one of eight Pioneer Women Winemakers of Sonoma County in 2005. She continues to win awards and accolades – her 2011 Wild Thing Zinfandel was included in the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2014.
With many harvests under her belt and her passion for winemaking still strong, Carol Shelton has become an iconic woman winemaker. For Carol, the best is yet to come.
