Consulting on a total of eight Napa Valley projects, including Scarecrow, Monsieur Etain, Keever Vineyards, Kelly Fleming, Lindstrom Wines, Barbour Vineyards, and Corra, her own, Celia Welch says, “I’ve made wine from every nook and cranny of Napa over the course of my career.” And because the brands are small, her work is sustainable and intimate. For example, Corra has only one wine, made from four lots; and the three facilities from which she works are relatively close, so she doesn’t have to travel much. Harvesting from Calistoga in the north to South Napa, the workload is diffused over space and time.
”I take full responsibility for each project,” said Celia, explaining how she works closely with each vineyard manager, overseeing the irrigation, leaf thinning and harvesting of each block. ”There isn’t a procedure that I haven’t directed [for each vintage]. I don’t delegate any winemaking decisions,” she added. ”Each year is so unique, I can’t just call in directions.”
In the winery, Celia works with a combination of natural and commercial yeasts, making the call when the grapes are harvested. If the fruit has been pecked by birds, she explained, there’s a greater potential for bacteria, so she could either blast the wine with sulfites or use commercial yeast; and so she chooses the latter. Bloom, she said, is actually killed off when the wine hits 3% abv. With natural inoculations, it’s the yeast that’s already present in the winery that completes the fermentation.
At times, Celia prefers selected yeasts because they leave no trace of residual sugar. When the actual fermentation is completed, nothing can then spoil the wine, because the nutrients have been depleted. With this, Celia can use less sulfites and not filter the wines, because at this point they’re complete, stable and consistent.
“I want my role in all of this to be invisible,” she said, speaking of her winemaking process. ”If there is a thumbprint, it’s in the texture.” With tannins and notes as finely woven as silk.
Regards,
Tom
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