Introduction
Nestled in the southern part of Litchfield
Hills in western Connecticut, Tallwood Vineyards is located in the heart of the
Connecticut Viniculture Region. The vineyard is a labor of love of a family that enjoys
wine. Our wine is aged in new oak barrels with an emphasis on natural wine production with
no added sulfites.
Tallwood’s specialty is gift wines for special occasions. Whether
you are celebrating a birthday, holiday, or just a special occasion, Tallwood has the
custom label designed and ready just for you.
Selecting the right
grapes
Selecting wine grapes is a delicate
process. Our suppliers acquire grapes that are grown in a variety of regions around the
world, from Piedmonte Italy to Bordeaux France, to the North Fork of Long Island or Napa
Valley California. Our Family has traveled the world looking for the proper source of
grapes for each year's production. Our suppliers then arrange for the shipment and
delivery of grapes to our production facility.
Grinding and fermentation
The grapes are sorted to remove clusters,
which become moldy as well as MOG (material other then grape). The grape clusters
are then fed into a crusher de-stemmer where the grapes are removed from the stems.
The de-stemming process prevents the stems from mixing in the fermentation vat.
The result will keep the harsh
flavors and acids of the stems, from changing the flavor of the wine. The fermentation
vats are monitored for sugar content, throughout the week they remain in the plastic vats.
Crushing and barreling
After the week of fermenting the
juices are crushed out of the chunks of grapes. After the juice is separated from
the chunks it is moved into oak barrels for aging. Once the barrels are filled a secondary
fermentation is started. It is this secondary fermentation that softens the malic
acids and allows the wine to achieve a smooth silky flavor. The wine is then aged in small
oak barrels for the next year. During the year the wine will settle, the clarity of the
wine will be set and the flavors of the oak will be extracted.
Bottling
During the 2nd year
after fermentation, the wine will be racked to holding vessel where the aging process will
continue. At the end of the 2nd year, the wine is then moved on to the bottling
process where each bottle is filled and corked using specially selected corks. The
bottle is then laid on its side in our temperature- controlled wine cellar and waits for
its label and shipping.
A member of the Tallwood
Vineyards team meticulously cares for each bottle. It is this care and pride which
allows you to enjoy a wonderful wine with your friends, family or food. |
