VARIETY:

100% Chardonnay, Dijon Clone 76

THE VINEYARD:

In 2012 the Renteria’s purchased the 30-acre Brown Ranch (formerly associated with Saintsbury Winery and formerly a cattle grazing ranch taking its name from the former owner, Nadine Brown). The vineyard is bordered by HdV’s Hyde Vineyard and Beaulieu’s Vineyard No.9 on Old Sonoma Road.

Twenty-nine acres of vines (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay) were already planted but most of these vines were afflicted with a fungi disease, Eutypa (otherwise known as the Dead-arm Dieback) causing trunks or arms of the vines to essentially rot and die. Rather than pulling all of these vines out, their vineyard management team decided to keep the rootstock, cut off the trunk just above the soil and allow a bud from the varietal to grow, training it into a new trunk and then trellising it when it became of size. The Brown Ranch’s hillside alluvial soils, with Dijon Clone 76 set atop pre-existing rootstock, make a Chardonnay that is worthy of
producing under the Venge name.

WINEMAKER’S RECORD:

This wine is stylish and freshly balanced, featuring a light, pale straw presence in the glass with a bouquet of fresh orange citrus, toasted pine nuts, mild allspice, rocky flints, and toasted oak. Crisp, savory pineapple, sweet, delicious apple, savory stone fruit, and ripe pear lead into mouthwatering deliciousness.

PRODUCTION Essentials

Method | Whole cluster Pressed, 100% Native Yeast Neutral French Oak Barrel Fermentation, 5 Months Aging Surlie with Batonage, 45% New French Oak Introduced Post Primary Racking

Aging Regimen | 16 months, 45% New French, Bottled Unfiltered

Production | 300 Cases