Rumpelstiltskin Wines
Dobričić
Skin Fermented Gewurztraminer
Appassimento
Dobričić is a rare heritage grape grown on the island of Šolta in Croatia that we are now growing in our family vineyard in the Russian River Valley. This 2021 vintage is a racy, fruit-driven Mediterranean style red wine showing black plums, red spice and ample freshness. Only 17 cases were produced. $35.00/ bottle. Purchase here
Appassimento
Skin Fermented Gewurztraminer
Appassimento
Made via the painstaking appassimento process and aged in cask for many years, the resulting wine is garnet with slight bricking toward the rim. It has deep and savory aromas of dark cherry, dried black figs, tobacco, weathered wood, tar, star anise and gunsmoke. On the palate the wine is explosively rich, full and concentrated. The tannins are nicely integrated. Our Appassimento wine tastes wholly Italian despite its Sonoma County heritage. $95.00/ bottle. Purchase here
94 points Best of Class 2021 West Coast Wine Competition
94 points Double Gold Award 2022 All Americas Wine Competition January 2022
91 points Gold Award Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge April 2021
90 points Wine & Spirits Magazine June 2021
Skin Fermented Gewurztraminer
Skin Fermented Gewurztraminer
Skin Fermented Gewurztraminer
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Showcasing a golden-orange hue, this wine has bright aromas of dried orange rind, citrus zest, hazelnuts and exotic spice. On the palate it is full bodied and slightly oily in texture with lingering fine-grained tannins. $32.00/ bottle. Purchase here
Best of Class - 2021 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Appassimento
Rumpelstiltskin Wines is our endeavor to bring some of the more unusual and obscure wine styles from the old world but made from local grapes. Appassimento is both the name for our red wine and the name of a traditional winemaking process in Northern Italy that involves partially air-drying whole clusters of grapes after they are harvested. This technique produces a more concentrated wine than the grapes would normally make. The most well-known example of Appassimento is Amarone from Italy’s Valpolicella region.
We hand harvest whole clusters into table grape boxes that we’ve adapted for air-drying by cutting off the sides. The fruit must be placed in the boxes only one layer high, otherwise the grapes could rot during the drying process.
We hand stack the boxes in the drying warehouse, the “fruttaio”, with space between the boxes to allow for air circulation. Fans and humidity control are employed in the fruttaio to increase air circulation and discourage rot. Often we need to turn the clusters over several times during the drying process.
After a few weeks, the berries begin to wither and lose some moisture through the skins. The stems and seeds mature and turn brown. We select a few boxes to monitor weight loss from week to week. This particular batch of Merlot lost 25% of its weight. The Brix began at 22.6 and finished at 25.1 over 59 days.
Following a three day cold-soak, VQ15 (Rockpile) yeast is added to begin fermentation. The must is pumped-over two or three times per day, and after 12 days on the skins the wine is pressed off. Managing the fermentation is demanding since the wine can reach higher alcohols than many dry wines. We age this wine in large cask for a long periods of time to develop savory complexity and approximate a traditional style.
The resulting wine is garnet in color with slight bricking toward the rim. It has deep and savory aromas of dark cherry, dried black figs, tobacco, weathered wood, tar, star anise and gunsmoke. On the palate the wine is rich, full and concentrated. The tannins are seamlessly integrated. Our Rumpelstiltskin Appassimento tastes wholly Italian despite its Sonoma County heritage.
2007 Rumpelstiltskin Appassimento
Russian River Valley
Sonoma County
$75
Skin Fermented Gewurztraminer
Rumpelstiltskin Wines is our endeavor to bring some of the more unusual and obscure wine styles from the old world but made from local grapes. Skin-fermented white wines (also called “amber wines,” “orange wines,” or “vini macerate”) originated in the Caucasus Mountains in present day Republic of Georgia on the Black Sea.
Traditionally, whole clusters of grapes including the stems, skins, juice and seeds are placed into qvevri (clay amphora). At the end of fermentation they are sealed up and not touched for 5 or 6 months. The result is an amber-colored wine with considerable texture and structure; tasting more like a red wine.
Winemakers in Italy, Croatia, Slovenia and Hungry also have a rich tradition of Amber wine making. Many of those winemakers are committed to natural, bio-dynamic, organic or non-manipulative philosophies.
We selected Gewurztraminer to use for our amber wine, anticipating that the gorgeous tropical fruit character will show through the more savory flavors that are developed through skin fermentation and long aging. We also blended in 15% Pinot Gris, a more phenolic variety, to add structure.
Following a one day cold-soak, the must was inoculated with "Biodiva" Torulaspora delbrueckii yeast followed by D254 yeast and fermented in stainless steel tanks. After two weeks fermenting with the skins the must was pressed, then aged two months in neutral oak barrels for secondary fermentation. The wine was then aged three years in stainless steel barrels.
The resulting wine has a golden orange hue. It shows bright aromas of dried orange rind, hazelnuts and exotic spice. On the palate the wine is full bodied and slightly oily in texture with lingering fine-grained tannins.
Skin-Fermented white wines are bold and flavorful. They pair well with equally bold foods, including curry dishes, Moroccan, Korean and Japanese cuisine. Classic pairings include cured meats, pizza and stuffed mushrooms.
2016 Rumpelstiltskin Skin Fermented Gewurztraminer
Russian River Valley
Sonoma County
$32
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