Merlot was handpicked on October 13, 2022. The vineyard team carefully hand sorted the fruit while picking. The fruit was brought into the cellar where is was carefully sorted for a second time to highlight the highest quality Merlot 2022 had to offer. The fruit was crushed and fermented a stainless steel tank and open-top fermenters. The wines were split into two different lots, fermented with different yeasts. The lots were kept separate and used as blending components in the final Merlot. The wines were fermented for a month a high temperature to increase extraction of color and tannin. The wines were then pressed off, separating the free run and the press fraction. This wine was aged in a combination of French and American oak until the blend was constructed of all the different components to create a wine reflective of Seneca Lake and cool climate Merlot. It was bottled in the fall of 2023.
