The grapes were hand harvested and destemmed, then crushed. They were allowed skin contact for only 12 hours to get the beautiful pink color. The grapes were then pressed to a stainless-steel tank, where they were fermented at very cold temperatures very slowly. After fermentation and settling, the wine was bottled with a small amount of yeast and sugar to induce secondary fermentation. This process took about one year. After this, the bottles were riddled to bring the lees and sediment to the neck of the bottle. The necks were then frozen, and the lees were disgorged from the bottles. Finally, the bottles were topped up, and the final corks and wire hoods were put into place. 2017 was a warmer year here in Dry Creek Valley, which made for a gorgeous Sparkling Syrah. Although we picked at the same sugar level as usual, the hot and dry weather gave us tons of fruit character and allowed us to keep this wine at zero dosage.