It All Begins in the Vineyard!
Our goal at DANCIN Vineyards is to produce the healthiest fruit. To accomplish this, we continually assess the status and requirements of our grapevines throughout the season and tailor our activities accordingly. This diligent care produces smaller berries and more concentrated clusters for our Southern Oregon winery. This allows our winemaking team to let nature take the lead, with limited intervention.
Our wine grapes are hand-sorted up to three separate times on the morning of harvest; once in the field while picking, once on an inclined sorting table feeding the destemmer, and once again, if necessary, as destemmed individual berries passing over a grated, vibrating sorting table sifting out any green berries, raisins, or other undesirable materials. The fruit is then provided the opportunity to cold soak for up to seven days while the native yeast fermentation at nature's timing, begins. The fermenting must is then punched down one to two times daily during peak fermentation, which lasts about 10 to 14 days. The fermented grapes are pressed, and the wine moved directly to barrel where it will undergo malolactic fermentation and age on lees until the following spring, when they are racked off the lees and blended.
Winemaking
The winemaking philosophy embraced by DANCIN is in many ways a return to the traditional methods that were largely forgotten during the modernization of winemaking in the second half of the 20th century. These include techniques such as native yeast fermentation, fermentations which are punched down by hand up to three times daily, minimal sulfites used during processing, and moving the wine by gravity whenever possible to create a truly authentic wine. This is especially important with delicate and sensitive Pinot noir and Chardonnay, where every racking, addition, or deviation can alter the intended essence of the wine. It has become apparent that these techniques, which were once considered inefficient and old-school, have in fact proven to be the true path to hand-made, artisanal wine for our site here in the Rogue Valley.
Our estate winery consists of two separate spaces built into the Southern Oregon hillside which facilitates the art of gravity fed winemaking. This furthers our goal of not detracting from the desirable, hard-earned nuance and finesse that was so carefully coaxed out of the fruit during fermentation. We look forward to you experiencing our award-winning wine. Shop online for wine here.