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Gewürztraminer - which is actually a pinkish, even red colour - is rarely left on its skins. The variety's intense phenolics (the things that make it so exquisitely perfumed) are also prone to making wine bitter. In the fun and experimental spirit of Chic Fille, however, we decided to challenge conventional wisdom and see for ourselves...
Putting aside a small lot of fully intact Gewürztraminer to soak on its skins. We vigilantly tasted the juice each day and, to our delight, found it kept tasting better and better. After one full week on skins, natural fermentation finally kicked in - courtesy of wild yeasts - and we allowed the juice to soak a couple days more, for a total of nine days on skins. We were so thrilled with the results of this first mini experiment (using fruit from our Con Vida Vineyard) that we replicated the process again with grapes from our This Is It Vineyard.
Our This Is It Vineyard is planted on the highest spot of a higher altitude parcel on the Naramata Bench. This is a very cool location so the grapes ripen slowly and retain a great amount of acidity - Gewürztraminer has the lowest acidity of any grape and loses it quickly, so the cooler temperature makes a big difference.
As with all Chic Fille wines, these are natural wines - ambiently fermented, unfined, and have only minimal sulphur additions before bottling. Production is very small and quantities extremely limited.
Curious to learn more about orange wine? Read our journal entry
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Chic Fille is a fun, experimental project made by JoieFarm winemaker Heidi Noble and apprentice winemaker Alyssa Hubert. It was initiated by a keen interest to learn and teach at JoieFarm and inspired by Heidi’s desire to revisit techniques that she used when first teaching herself how to make wine.
This on-going series highlights innovative, improvisational, and collaborative winemaking over the course of each vintage, often using singular techniques such as native fermentation, lees contact, skin contact, and semi-carbonic ferments. These wines distinctly reflect vintage, variety and vineyard site.
Chic Fille are natural wines: ambiently fermented, unfined, and have only minimal sulphur additions before bottling. Production is very small and quantities extremely limited.
Varietal: Gewürztraminer 100%
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