2024 Frediani Valdiguié

Bright magenta hue with nose of strawberry rhubarb, hibiscus, and cacao. Light-bodied, bright entry with notes of watermelon, blackberry and a peppery finish. This light red wine is excellent at room temperature, or slightly chilled. SR (2/25)

For this wine, we ferment three-quarters of the fruit as whole clusters. An anaerobic process then encourages fermentation inside each intact berry and produces wine that is light and fruit-forward. The remaning twenty-five percent is crushed and fermented on the skins. This unique wine will be at its best on release and over the next three years. SR (11/24)

Since the 1970s, Jim Frediani (pronounced with a hard “a”) has been farming his family’s vineyard that spans the Silverado Trail. Valdiguié was once widely planted in California but known by the misleading name of Napa Gamay. We have found some valdiguié throughout mixed vineyards in Alexander Valley, particularly in Whitton block 101 of our Geyserville vineyard. In our pursuit of quality we continually experiment with various approaches to fermentation. This wine looks at fermenting grapes as whole, uncrushed clusters in an enclosed tank. The resulting wine is light in color, aromatic, fruit forward, soft and sensuous. It is intended for immediate consumption.

Rainfall: 45 inches (above normal)
Bloom: Early May
Weather: A warm spring, very hot July, then average temperatures in August and September, with another heat spell in early October at the very end of harvest.

Harvest Date: 6 September
Grapes: Average Brix 24˚
TA: 6.3 g/L
pH: 3.45
Fermentation: 100% whole cluster pressed; natural primary and secondary
Aging: 3 months in stainless steel tanks

Sustainably farmed, hand-harvested, grapes; whole-cluster pressed; fermented on the native yeasts, followed by a full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush, 48 ppm over the course of aging); pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.

See all food pairing recipes we have created specifically for this wine.