The pinot noir grapes are hand harvested when ripe – that is to say when the sugar, acid and flavor all come into balance, usually between 23° and 26° brix (percent sugar).

The grapes are fermented in open-top fermenters using native yeast. Most fermentations are whole cluster (uncrushed). Warm fermentations up to 90°F are encouraged. The fermenting wines are punched down two to three times daily. Individual lots are pressed after a minimum of 14 days in the fermenter, and are then settled overnight before being moved to barrels (by gravity, of course!).

All the pinot noir wines are aged in 60 gallon French oak barrels in Calera’s two barrel cellars. The single-vineyard pinots receive sixteen months of aging in barrels, 30% of which are new each vintage. The Central Coast wine is aged in barrels, 12-15% of which are new, for 10 to 11 months.

After barrel aging, the pinots noirs are racked to tanks and fined with egg whites to ensure clarity prior to bottling. After settling they are bottled unfiltered.

The grapes from our 6.1 acre viognier vineyard are hand harvested when very ripe, between 24.5° and 25° brix (percent sugar). This allows for full development of the peach, melon, and tropical fruit flavors that are the hallmark of great viognier. Harvest is usually early to mid October.

Upon arrival at the winery the grapes are pressed, whole cluster, to separate the juice from the skins and seeds. After overnight settling, the juice is moved by gravity to neutral oak barrels for fermentation. The primary fermentation is carried out by native yeast and malolactic fermentation is encouraged to completion.

The viognier lots stay in the same neutral barrels (10-13 years old) in which they were fermented for about five months.

Once the wines have settled and cleared post-fermentation, the barrels are racked together in preparation for bottling. The wine is bottled in the early spring after a light fining with bentonite to ensure stability, and a loose polish filtration to ensure clarity.

Chardonnay grapes from both Calera’s Mt. Harlan vineyard, and from contract growers in the Central Coast are harvested between 23.5° and 24° brix (percent sugar), a level of maturity that allows for full varietal expression.

At the winery, the chardonnay from all sources are handled the same way. After whole cluster pressing, and overnight settling, the juice is moved by gravity to 60 gallon French oak barrels in Calera’s lower barrel cellar. The primary fermentation is carried out by native yeast and malolactic fermentation is encouraged to completion. Barrels are stirred weekly until the end of malolactic fermentation.

Chardonnay is aged for seven to ten months on the lees, in the same barrels in which the wine underwent fermentation. For Mt. Harlan Chardonnay 25-30% new oak is used each year. The Central Coast Chardonnay is aged in barrels of which 10% to 15% are new.

After nine to ten months in the barrel blend tastings determine the final composition of each of the wines, and the barrels are racked together in preparation for bottling. The wines are bottled in early summer after a light fining with bentonite to ensure stability, and a loose polish filtration to ensure clarity.