Take a closer look at the journey wine takes from the barrel to the bottle. Find out how each step and factor plays a role in creating the flavors and quality you love in your favorite wine. Learn how our Head Winemaker, Drew Perry, uses aging, blending and time to get the perfect flavor. This process shows not only the skills needed but also the dedication that turns grapes into the wines we enjoy.
What’s it like blending wines from different barrels? Do you ever feel like a mad scientist?
Drew: We keep varieties pretty independent and rate every single barrel by personal preference. Winemaking is guiding the process, blending is just a small part of it. The hope would be that it is good enough on its own to begin with. The wine is being made with the winemaker and cellar team starting in the vineyard and working with the team there making good decisions.
What do you mean when you say you “rate” the barrels?
Drew: If we have 4 different barrels of Pinot Noir I will rank them 1 through 4. Barrel toast gets taken into account and what will highlight the varieties. We could end up with two blends “barrel 1 and barrel 3” or we could blend barrels 2, 3 and 4 together and keep barrel 1 separate. It all depends on the vintage.
What processes have to happen in between the barrel and the bottle?
Drew: Once we get everything blended we evaluate to determine if we need to do any last second changes. We ideally give the wine a whole month to come together after blending but before bottling. Before bottling we do a filtration step that stabilizes the wine and allows for aging.
How does wine change as it ages in the bottle? Any magical transformations to expect?
Drew: It really depends on the variety but you hope for an evolution that continues to improve the wine beyond what you had time to do in the cellar. About a year down the road the wine will start to taste more similar to what the wine tasted like right before filtering.
Are there certain indicators during winemaking that hint at how well a wine will age?
Drew: Aging is difficult to determine and not something we have a ton of control over. Vintage is going to set the baseline of what you could do.
Any vintages you are particularly interested in seeing how they turn out? 
Drew: 2024 will be so interesting to see what happens, the most interesting vintage in probably like 12 years. We were hitting chemistry that we haven’t seen, more development in our reds than we have ever seen. I will be curious to see how our decisions in the cellar pan out over time.
What advice would you give someone interested in starting to age Michigan wine at home?
Drew: There are so many overlooked positive qualities of young wine. People often wait too long to open up bottles. You need to have more than one of everything, you’ll want to see its phases. Buy three and open them at least a year apart.
How do you stay passionate about each vintage despite the challenges and changes nature throws your way?
Drew: The desire to continually improve and exceed expectations definitely drives me. Every year is a new shot to try and take what you’re given and make the best of it.
As blending and bottling season rolls on, we’re excited to see what this year’s vintage brings. Every year, the hard work done in the vineyards, the skills of the winemakers, and the unique growing conditions blend to form a unique wine profile. We’re enthusiastic about this year’s vintage and can’t wait to taste the special features this harvest has contributed.
