Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/267019
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m M a r - A p r 2 014 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 7 5 to really identify which areas of the vineyards do exactly what. That's the beauty of being estate bottled – you can walk the vine- yards and get to know each plant, out forever. That year, it rained just enough so there is all this rot out there. With the work Daniel did with our trellising and the different clones, you can trust your vines and your site. Instead of going for "more," we picked what Mother Nature gave us and made some excellent wines. [ V&WM ] But trying to stick with a house style despite some radi- cally different vintages to deal with has to have been a challenge. [ LS ] Everything we do is aimed at our house style. We don't just sit there and let alcohol carry the wine. For instance, we irrigate when it is needed. So some people say, 'But that's not good because the vines are not being stressed…' and I say we are delivering more flavor – but delivering it by getting the vines to ripen more completely. We are not simply using hang time to achieve more power. Besides, studies have shown you can get more flavonoids the more the vines are stressed, but that doesn't mean they are the right flavors. Eric Block (in his book "Garlic and Other Alliums: The Lore and The Science") says that if you smush your garlic you'll get different flavors than if you simply slice it. Well, talking with the peo- ple at UC Davis, that's what's going on when the vines are that much more stressed, you will get more overall flavors, but perhaps not the right flavors. and each vintage. For instance, 2011 was a difficult vintage, and walking the vines allowed us to fine-tune what we needed to do, rather than just letting fruit hang Iron Horse is refining its vineyard practices to work with better vines, better clones, better field sorting, and more precise harvest dates. Photo: L.G. Sterling/Iron Horse Vineyards