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The South Block Riesling benefits from direct late day sun and cool gentle breezes off the Lake. In the fall, warmer breezes can be felt. September 2023 brought a lot of rain and moisture which caused ou Riesling to stall out at 15 Brix. On top of that, a great deal of cluster breakdown was taking hold. The Frontenac Gris; however - was an astounding 27 Brix but had it’s own unique challenge : Lady Bugs. They swarmed the clusters in late October and they were completely taking over. On November 3rd- after a cool windy evening, the Harvest for the “Forget Me, Not Rows” began. This continued into November 4th as the Team was meticulous in cluster selection. Cluster by cluster, our Cellar Lead carefully inspected and collected only the suitable bunches. Alot of fruit was left to hang - more so than 2022. Once crushed and destemmed, right before Novemberfest - the fermentation began in stainless with our Chardonnay Yeast working away. Skin contact was for a total of 13 days. The Blue Bluff Ratchet press was then used and a beautiful 100L was pressed out. Not using any enzymes caused quite a bit of build-up of pectin and lees which was racked off after 2 weeks. During the Cold Stabilized with the other whites, the wine began to show it’s real character and began to round out. There was light filtering 2 weeks before bottling which allowed the “Forget Me, Not” Orange Wine to be really develop into it’s own. From start to finish - this wine is truly : Unforgettable.
