All About "Ruben's Blend"

It might surprise some of you (denizens) to hear that we are changing the name of our to "Ruben's Blend." There is no doubt that it is cool to have a white to go with our red , but a lot of people had trouble differentiating and and were never sure if they were asking for the white or the red And while it was great fun to refer to our good 'n , we can see that it is time to move on.

Please rest assured we will continue with the red (You might say that no one minds if a is finished quickly, but no one likes a short Or you might not...)

It occurred to us that by renaming our white Rhone-style blend, we finally had the chance to bring the rubber chicken back to the label. "Ruben's Blend" is named after our own traveling rubber chicken Ruben. Ruben has been with us on several journeys, seen here on a trip to Alaska a couple years ago. (You can see more of Ruben here, here, and even here.)

So, when you are writing your entry for Ruben's Backside, you may want to tell a story about his travels. Just a suggestion. Or, you may want to talk about the gory technical details...

2007 Sierra Foothills "Ruben's Blend"

Tasting Notes

Aromas - Pear and apple with a slight mushroomy character.  Flavors - lemon and citrus, nutty flavors too. Mouthfeel - medium-bodied, some crispness still but with a touch of creaminess.  Finishes long with melon and lemon flavors.

In the Vineyard

The fruit for this wine is grown at two different vineyards.  The Sumu Kaw Vineyard in El Dorado brings us the Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier.  Elevation at the vineyard is 2800 feet.  These vines are planted on a steep West-Northwestern slope on a ridge banked by a pine forest on the morning/east side, making it one of the cooler spots in an otherwise warm climate region.  The vines are on a Vertical Shoot Positioned trellis system (VSP) in order to maximize sun exposure to the leaf canopy.  Soils at the site are sandy loam with moderate nutrient levels.  The second is the Tanner vineyard here in Calaveras.  From the Tanner vineyard comes the much more rare Rolle varietal, also known as Vermentino.  Brothers Dick and Ron Tanner, along with their sister Judie Block and their families, are extremely committed to learning from their vineyard and tweaking wherever necessary each and every year. 

In the Winery

Upon reaching the winery, the fruit was gently crushed and then allowed to soak on the skins for a short time (1 hour) in order to gain some complexity.  After an hour, the fruit was pressed to remove the clear juice from the skins and seeds.  After pressing, the wines were inoculated with a Rhone yeast strain and the yeast monitored throughout fermentation to ensure optimal yeast viability.  The Viognier and Roussanne were barrel fermented in 25% new French oak which adds to the mouthfeel and completes the nutty flavors.  The Marsanne and Rolle were fermented slowly at a temperature of 58 degrees.  After the end of primary fermentation, we began stirring the lees in the barrels vigorously every week to enhance mouthfeel, for an additional 8 weeks and the wine was bottled after a full 6 months in wood.

The Really Geeky Details

Varietals/Vineyards:

46% Marsanne from the Sumu Kaw Vineyard
23% Roussanne from the Sumu Kaw Vineyard
21% Rolle from Tanner Vineyard
10% Viognier from Sumu Kaw Vineyard

Harvest Dates: 9/5 (Viognier), 9/12 (Rolle), 10/15 (Marsanne/Roussanne)

Oak Program: 25% new French oak, 55% neutral oak, 20% stainless steel

Stats

RS = .03%
TA = .56 g/100ml
VA = .051 g/100ml
pH = 3.55
Alc = 13.1%
Brix range at harvest = 22.8 - 24.6
Age before bottling = 7 months