To preserve Chardonnay 446’s balance of bright acidity and lush tropical flavors it is best to crush the grapes immediately after picking – which we can do because our winery is right in our vineyard. This is a luxury most often reserved for estate wines with luxury prices. 446 is a San Bernabe wine all the way; we harvested a little riper than others because we can run the grapes into our cool winery-in-the-vineyard so swiftly. Winemaker James Ewart knows these grapes well: he has walked the vineyard and made wine here for the better part of two decades. James gently pressed the fruit, then fermented part of the juice in stainless steel and part in oak barrels, according to each lot’s acidity level. After fermentation, a portion of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation for added body and complexity.