An ancient Portuguese variety with a foothold in the New World, our version of Verdelho is a crisp, dry white wine with an array of nut and fruit flavors.
The Vineyard and the Grape
Located one thousand miles west of Portugal, the Azores are the home of the oldest stocks of the original Verdelho. It was here that Alta Mesa grower Ron Silva found the source wood for his labor of love, the Verdelho grape. Ron’s grandfather came to America in 1905, and Ron is the first in California to plant Verdelho. He currently offers the grapes to a handful of personally selected wineries.
Growing in its Azores home, Verdelho is essentially planted in rocks and is often blended with spirits produced from figs to make Angelica. Madeira was once produced from 70% Verdelho.
Ron’s Verdelho is planted on 101-14 and 1103 Paulsen rootstocks, and is on a quadrilateral, t-bar trellising system, with 11x6 spacing, resulting in 660 plants per acre. The vines are arranged in a North-South row orientation for even sun exposure. The shoots are heavily thinned to improve air flow, keeping mildew under control. The vineyard is farmed with sustainable methods; Ron applies natural compost which includes pumice and potassium. Hybrid mustard is planted within the rows to control bugs. Each row is individually watered as needed.
Verdelho is an early ripening grape that favors a warm climate. The valley’s heat is tempered by the afternoon winds that keep the area seven to eight degrees cooler than the surrounding Sacramento and Stockton regions.
The Vintage
The 2008 vintage was the first in which Ron had to contend with the trials and tribulations of a spring freeze. Initially there were no detectable signs of freeze damage. However, as the growing season progressed, Ron found that the cold snap made it difficult to detect ripeness in the fruit. Harvest commenced the third week of August. The grapes had concentrated flavors with a slightly higher than normal pH.
Vinification and Aging
Following a gentle whole cluster pressing, Verdelho is cold-fermented in stainless steel to preserve the freshness of the fruit. After fermentation, the wine is racked into three year-old French oak barrels. Four months in neutral oak softens the texture and adds complexity. The result is another gorgeous vintage from Silvaspoons Vineyard Verdelho. The wine was bottled in February, 2009 to capture the bright flavors and crisp acidity.
Aromas, Flavors & Palate Impressions
The 2008 Verdelho is light to medium in body. The bouquet includes honeycomb, violets, black tea and hints of walnut. In the mouth there are flavors of Fuji apple, pear, lemon and limestone. This wine is well suited to many foods due to its high acidity, and will complement crab, seasoned poultry, and Mediterranean salads especially well.
