Wine Tasting for 4 + 2 Bottles of Pinot Gris.

With its 12-inch-thick, insulated walls, serious temperature control, a deep concrete foundation and floors that slope toward drains, the change from a produce facility to winery was pretty painless. Out went the stainless steel tables for making mixed green salads and in came the stainless steel tanks for making wine. With a few tweaks here and there, the transformation was complete.

Currently we have 16 variously sized tanks inside and space for about 1,800 barrels. Our outside crush pad has a few more tanks and room for three different presses (two bladder presses and one basket press). Because almost all of our Pinot Noir is harvested in a three week period, we have 34 six-ton open top tanks to handle the on-rush of fruit. In both 2009 and 2010, we filled every tank, which made for a lot of punchdowns!