Wine Color: Red

Vintage: 2010

Appellation: Livermore Valley, San Francisco Bay

Winemaker: Karl D. Wente

Alcohol: 13.5%

Vineyard:

The grapes for our Sandstone Merlot come from a gently sloping formation of hills running along the southeastern corner of the historic Livermore Valley.  With warm days, cool nights, well-drained sandstone soils, and incoming breezes from the San Francisco Bay, the Wente family’s hillside vineyard is an ideal place to grow outstanding Merlot.

Fermentation:

Each vineyard was harvested and fermented separately in upright stainless steel fermenters.  Rack and return, which is the process of draining all of the free-run juice off the cap and then returning the free-run juice back over the top of the fermenter, was performed twice daily.  This method increases the color and tannin extractions and improves mouthfeel through the integration of oxygen.

Aging:

This wine was aged for 16 months in American, French, Eastern European, and neutral oak.