Volante Vineyards Certified Sustainable by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance
On August 1, 2019, Volante Vineyards of Sonoma County was CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLE by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, a leader in promoting sustainable winegrowing practices within the California wine community.
This designation ensures that our vineyard and winery operations are good for the environment, the regional community, the grapes, and, of course, the wine! To be CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLE, vineyards and wineries must meet the following requirements, which are verified during annual third-party audits:
- Annual Self-Assessment
- Minimum Score Threshold
- Prerequisite Practices
- Comply with Restrictions on Crop Protection Materials
- Sustainability Performance Metrics: Water, Energy, Nitrogen & GHGs
- Continuous Improvement
- Annual 3rd Party Audit
- Chain of Custody Audits
To learn more, visit the CSWA website.
Volante Syrah Named Best of California at 2009 California State Fair
2005 Syrah Sets the Gold Standard at Two Other Competitions
The grapes for this wine came from a 2.1 acre hillside vineyard at the top of McCoy Vineyards; 6923 Plum Ranch Road, near Santa Rosa.
The vineyard elevation is about 1600 feet. The vineyard overlooks the “Valley of the Moon” and San Pablo Bay. The soil is rocky. Pruning is “quadrilateral” with 5 x 9 spacing. 1.1 acres of the vines are clone 1 on 5C with the other acre being clone 174 on 110R. The site is “cool climate” with winds from the south off San Pablo Bay and winds from the West off the Pacific Ocean.
We handpicked the grapes on October 31, netting 6.5 tons. The fruit was immediately destemmed and crushed with open rollers to allow maximum whole berries. The fruit was crushed into the macro bins and dumped into an open-top fermenter and allowed to cold soak for 3 days. Analysis revealed a brix of 26.1, pH of 3.73, and titrable acidity of 0.474 g/100ml.
Fermentation was done at 86 to 90 degrees F with punchdowns 3 times daily above 12 brix and twice daily below 12 brix. After pressing the wine was barreled. We used 38% new oak with 50% American oak from Seguin Moreau and 50% French oak from Radoux.
We bottled this wine on August 23, 2007, after adding a small amount of Zinfandel to the final blend. The final composition was 97.56% Syrah and 2.44% Zinfandel. We netted 425 cases of a delightful, cool-climate Syrah with aromas and flavors of spicy plum and dusty, dark berry fruits that finishes with well-defined but soft tannins. Alcohol was 14.4% by volume.
All Awards Won by 2005 Volante Vineyards Syrah
- Best of California – 2009 California State Fair
- Double Gold – 2009 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
- Double Gold – 2009 California State Fair
- Best of Class – 2009 California State Fair
- Gold – 2009 Orange County Fair
Volante Syrah Named Best of Class at 2007 California State Fair
2004 Syrah Also Given Chairman’s Award at Orange County Fair
This delicious Syrah starts off with immense dark color. The aroma features a combination of spicy blackberry and spicy blueberry that segues into a mouthful of youthful and bright dark fruit flavors that are framed and enhanced by great acidity. Dark fruit flavors continue throughout a long finish, providing a rich, vibrant aftertaste.
All Awards Won by 2004 Volante Vineyards Syrah
- Double Gold – 2007 California State Fair
- 98 Points – 2007 California State Fair
- Best of Class – 2007 California State Fair
- Gold – 2007 Orange County Fair
- Chairman’s Award- 2007 Orange County Fair
Volante Zinfandel Wins Double Gold
2004 Zinfandel Named One of Sonoma County’s Finest
At the 2006 California State Fair Wine Competition, the 2004 Zinfandel from Volante Vineyards won the following distinctive awards
- Double Gold
- 98 Points
- Best of Region (tie)
- Best of Class
We are deeply honored by this award and thank all of our customers for making the 2004 Volante Vineyards Zinfandel one of the most highly honored wines at the 2006 California State Fair Wine Competition.