Do you ever wonder how your favorite glass of wine comes to be? From the vineyard to the winemaking process, many pieces have to fit together for you to enjoy that stunning glass of wine.
At Paloma Vineyard, located right on the border of picturesque Sonoma County and Napa Valley County, every bottle of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon is an expression of our love and passion for making wine. From the spectacular terroir we are graced with, to our meticulous sustainable farming practices, and our modest approach to the winemaking process, we continue to make some very special wines 3 decades into our craft.
Join us in this glance at Paloma Vineyard’s journey from grapes to wine. Learn about our estate vineyard and how we craft our signature red wines—which have won countless awards and accolades over the years.
Sustainable Farming
At Paloma Vineyard, a key tenet of our holistic viticulture approach is incorporating organic farming practices. We understand that healthy soils lead to better vine health and, ultimately, higher-quality fruit. By managing our estate-grown grapes organically, we are managing for the present and the future.
Paloma manages its soil health utilizing an assortment of cover crops to improve soil nutrients, retain winter rainwater in the ground for the summer months, and maintain soil stability on the steep terraces layering our 15 planted acres. We manage mold and mildew using organic sprays and by implementing varying trellis systems to optimize sunlight and airflow. We also continue to test different varietals and rootstocks to better understand what grows best where; the better suited the plant is for the environment, the less input it requires from us. This is at the core of quality sustainable farming.
Our Modest Winemaking Process
For nearly 30 years, our winemaking process has remained more or less the same. We believe that a simple approach to winemaking allows the quality of the farming to shine through in our handcrafted wines.
It starts in the vineyard through our harvesting selection process. For weeks we walk the vineyard, testing sugar levels and tasting grapes. We pick small sections only as the grapes are absolutely at the ripeness that we desire. From the vineyard to the winery, we continue our hand processing of the grapes using small batch bin fermentation. Each bin is scoured for impurities and hand-punched down three times daily until fermentation is complete. Now, no longer grapes juice, the wine is moved to barrel where we tie in a light amount of oak by introducing one-third new French oak barrels to each lot.
From the bins to the barrels, we keep each pick separate, allowing them to develop their rich, complex flavor profile before we begin the final step of the winemaking process, blending, nearly 18 months later.
Final Thoughts
At Paloma Vineyard, winemaking is as much a passion as it is a science. From our high-quality farming practices to our simple winemaking process, every step is done with care to ensure that each bottle of our award-winning wine continues to express our unique terroir.
If you have never visited our small, family-owned and operated estate before, or even if you have, we would love to host you. Book your next wine tasting right here! Or if you just need a few bottles in your cellar, check out our online store!