We hope your summer has been fun!
Inland Sea Winery is pleased to announce two new releases that are bottled and available for tasting and purchase at our tasting room and at other fine retailers and restaurants in the metro area.
First, our new 2008 Missouri Chardonnay:
2008 Inland Sea Chardonnay - Missouri
Amigoni Vineyards - To Kati Block
The Vintage
Our 2008 Chardonnay was probably the largest harvest of Missouri-grown Chardonnay in the history of the region. We fermented this wine in a large 2000 Liter jacketed tank at a steady 50 degrees for a period of 10 days. After the primary fermentation the wine was aged “sur lies” in neutral oak barrels with stirring of the “lies” every two weeks. In other words, we did not “rack” the wine to another vessel or clean barrel after a period of a few months. Instead the spent yeast sediment is constantly stirred back into the wine bi-weekly. This process for the wine encourages a creaminess and complexity. The nose of the wine has hints of stone fruit and melon and is followed by a crisp rich character. A little white peach and pear is present on the finish.
Harvest Data
Harvested 9/03-9/04/2008 from Amigoni Vineyards To Kati Block @ 23 brix, crop-load 3.5 tons per acre. To Kati block is an east-south sloping section of the vineyard that has very nice drainage and air flow. The Chardonnay is a Dijon clone 95/96.
Suggested retail
$16.00 retail price
Recent awards
Silver Medal – Missouri Extension Platte County
Bronze Medal – Missouri Governors Cup Competition
Our new second release, 2008 American Malbec:
2008 Inland Sea Malbec
American Series
The Vintage
We love making Malbec because it is such a great food friendly wine (and because we just love it). The smooth tannin structure allows the wine to pair with many different foods. Malbec is probably the hottest new varietal in the wine market today. It is a mid-season ripener in the vineyard, and Amigoni Vineyards has about 1/3 acre planted to a French Cahor clone 594. Malbec is a traditional French blending grape from Bordeaux that a decade ago becomes a major red wine export from South America to the U.S. Today, some of the best Malbecs in the world are from Argentina. Our Malbec has been aged nearly a year in new Missouri oak; this Malbec is a versatile red wine covering a wide range of food pairing possibilities. A very fruity nose belies a solidly-built red wine with good balance and length. Red fruits appear first on the nose, followed by flavors of black cherry and plum, with black tea and spice. The Malbec is unfiltered and unfined to express the most pure fruit for your pleasure.
Harvest Data
Fermented in macro bins for 7 days with a steady temperature of between 75 -85 degrees with 22.5 brix. The must was pressed at 5 brix with remaining fermentation finished in a 1000 Liter tank.
Suggested retail
$16.00 retail price.
2009 Harvest Update in Centerview
Our next newletters will alert you of the opportunity to participate in harvest. We are about 2 weeks away from the harvest of Chardonnay; and about 3 weeks away from the harvest of Viognier. The red grapes, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Verdot, Malbec and Mouvredre will not be harvested until the first weeks in October. We don’t make the harvest a total volunteer event like some local vineyards. However, if you’d like to come by we are happy to have you experience the thrill of harvesting grapes. Amigoni Vineyards operation hires workers to meet a quota for harvesting due to timing of weather and brix. For example, if we continue to get 85- degree days for the rest of August, and if September is very warm, then we will harvest earlier. We will let you know as soon as we make these decisions.
Tasting Room
Our tasting room is open on Fridays from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Livestock Exchange Building, 1600 Genessee, Suite 160. Come on by to taste our new releases and say hello.
Cheers,
Inland Sea Winery Team.