At the beginning of 2015 we started offering a new behind the scenes tour of our wine production facility which now includes the option to taste wines in the various stages of development. This tour and tasting has been very well received by our guests so we are excited to tell you about it.
The tour begins under our covered trellis, at our demonstration vines, where stories about the history of Callaway Winery are told and our vineyard practices are reviewed. Guests are then escorted to the crush pad, fermentation cellars and barrel room where the winemaking process is examined and unfinished wines are tasted.
While in the fermentation cellar guests are offered a sample of our 2014 Winemaker’s Reserve Roussanne drawn from tank #13. Harvested on August 9, 2014 at 21.8 degrees brix, this 100% Callaway Estate grown Roussanne in the tank will eventually be blended with barrel aged Roussanne of the same vintage. This wine has not been fined or filtered. As you can imagine this cloudy, stainless steel aged tank sample is much different than the blended, finished, bottled wine of the future will be.
In the barrel room, the 100% Callaway Estate 2014 Winemaker’s Reserve Syrah is thieved straight from the barrel for tasting. Harvested on August 14, 2014 at 24.3 degrees brix, this Syrah is barrel fermented sur lie with Batonnage in medium toasted French oak barrels. Expected to remain in barrel for awhile this wine will not be released for at least a couple of years but it is sure to be a crowd pleaser, just like the previous award winning vintages.
On to the finished wines. With a new understanding and appreciation of this art we call winemaking, guests are truly able to enjoy the aromas, flavors and nuances they discover in the 4 additional wines they choose to taste in our tasting room. Whether dry or sweet, white or red, it’s now time for them to find some new favorite finished Callaway wines. With a little help from our friendly staff and a list of over 20 wines it’s never hard to find at least one or two new favorites.
If you have never tasted unfinished wines and compared them to finished wines, we would love to have you come join one of these daily tours offered at 11am or 1pm. No reservations required. Just come on out and sign up for the tour with tasting in our winery gift shop. We can’t wait to see you at the winery!
