Pétillant Naturel (or "Pét-Nat") is a method of producing sparkling wine, also referred to as “Methode Ancestrale”, where the carbonation occurs from bottling the wine during the primary, alcoholic fermentation – in order to capture the carbon dioxide that is being naturally released.
The goal behind our reserve bottling of Pinot Noir “Sapience” (formerly “Nils”) is to showcase the powerful expression of Pinot Noir on our site. Sapience is an old French word meaning “good taste, intelligence or wisdom”. This label highlights old oak trees on our property that evoke a kind of great wisdom and power over the property as it supports our farming endeavors.
The focus of our Chardonnay philosophy & approach lies in secondary and tertiary aromatic and textural development of this noble grape variety. With extended barrel aging prior to bottling, we see an increase in vineyard expression. The clonal diversity of this wine brings complexity and balance to the whole.
The estate Blaufränkisch shows a likeness to the sanguine and iron minerality that defines our Pinot Noir but with more nervy acidity and a darker, deeper fruit profile. Blaufränkisch also has a wonderful transparency and is highly sensitive to its environment. The goal is to find consistency in expression of the Johan terroir over multiple grape varieties from our site.
Savagnin is a grape that is native to the Jura region in eastern France. It is known to produce dry white wines, full of mineral-driven aromatics and loads of bright acidity. We find this grape to be reminiscent of the Chardonnay on the property, but with more minerality and a very long finish. We hope you enjoy our inaugural release of Savagnin!
The objective of our flagship Pinot Noir is to create a bottling that is a direct translation of the growing season and the most accurate representation of Johan Vineyards’ true terroir. We carefully select parcels of fruit from every rootstock/scion combination, aspect, vine age, and soil profile, creating a collage of the diverse expressions of our vineyard through the lens of Pinot Noir.
Originally hailing from Germany, and the offspring of the noble Riesling grape, Kerner is an aromatic white variety capable of producing compelling white wines with an intensely floral bouquet, bright acidity and plenty of citrus and balance on the palate. We foot-tread the grapes and allowed them to soak on skins for a few hours before pressing, and fermented and aged the wine in barrel on original lees for 11 months.
Our 2018 Meadow Bloom is the culmination of many years of experimentation with the goal of making a natural Traditional Method sparkling wine (without the addition of cultivated yeast or sugar). Meadow Bloom is a blend of 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay, aged en tirage on Chardonnay lees for an additional 2 years and disgorged this Fall.
Maceration is a skin-contact white blend we developed to allow for creativity and experimentation in the cellar. With the Gruner Veltliner, Ribolla, Friulano and Kerner all being prime candidates for skin contact, we are trialing and employing different methods to study the wide range of expressions we can achieve with these grapes on our site.
Ribolla Gialla is a native grape championed in Northern Italy, namely the Fruili region. It produces lower alcohols, fine tannins, and lively aromatics evocative of cherry blossoms. We fermented the wine on skins for 30 days, then barrel-aged for a year before bottling - unfined or filtered.
