Lo-Fi Wines Gamay Pinot Noir 2020

This is a 72% Gamay, 28% Pinot Noir blend sourced from certified organic vineyards in Santa Barbara County. The Gamay comes from Oak Savanna Vineyard in Santa Ynez Valley, planted on Chamise loam soils with a 9-foot by 3.5-foot vine spacing. The Pinot Noir comes from Skyview Hotel Vineyard in Los Alamos, grown on Chamise shaley loam. Gamay clones 358, 5, and 3 and Pinot Noir clone 828 were used. Total production was 710 cases.

Each variety was hand-harvested and fermented separately using 100% whole-cluster carbonic maceration. Fermenters were sealed and gassed with carbon dioxide, with one daily pump-over before resealing. Native yeasts drove primary fermentation; naturally occurring bacteria completed full malolactic fermentation. After 8 days, the fruit was pressed and racked into vessels. The Pinot Noir was held in a neutral 3,200-liter Austrian oak tank while the Gamay aged in neutral 228-liter French oak barriques. After 4 months, both were blended and returned to barrel for an additional 3 months.

The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered with 25 ppm SO2 added at bottling only. At 12.5% ABV it sits on the lighter, lower-alcohol end of California reds. The translucent ruby color and slight sediment haze are a direct result of no filtration.