Winemaking

Our Philosophy:

Our wines are handcrafted to perfection using the perfect marriage of Old-World techniques and the latest modern technology.

At Girardet, we firmly believe that great wine starts in the vineyard, therefore all of our vines are hand-harvested and hand-pruned. The vines are also watered by hand for the first two years, and then they are dry-farmed to stress the vine and produce the most flavorful grapes possible.

Our Whites:

The grapes are sorted by hand to insure uniform ripeness and flavor before being pressed whole-cluster, as gently as possible, in a computer-controlled press. Whole-cluster pressing reduces yields but results in a wine with brighter, more delicate flavors.

The juice for our white wines is fermented cool at 45-55 °F in stainless steel to preserve the fresh fruit flavors. Aging is also done entirely in stainless steel to create wines with fresh, vibrant flavors and acidity.

Our Reds:

The grapes are all hand-sorted to select ripe clusters with the best flavor and balance, and then fermented with 30% whole berries in small, open-topped fermenting vats. They are gently hand-punched twice a day resulting in soft, juicy flavors.

The maceration period lasts 12 to 21 days, and the wine is pressed while the flavors are still fresh and the tannins are silky smooth. Pressing is achieved by gravity-flow as gently as possible in a computer-controlled press. The wine is then aged in small French oak barrels for 9 to 30 months prior to bottling.

Final Steps:

All Girardet wines are bottled on-site using our state-of-the-art bottling line to ensure the highest level of consistency. The wines are also packaged and cellared on-site prior to release.

We invite you to join us for tastings and a tour of our facility.