Wine process Vimeo
Pure, From Ground to Glass
Woodriver Cellars was founded on a couple of basic principles -- start with the best ingredients possible, and don't cut any corners. This means that every step in the wine making process is handled with the utmost detail.

Before the first vine comes alive in spring, we spend time preparing the soil in our vineyard and pruning the canopies. This insures that each grape on every vine receives the proper amount of nourishment. When a vineyard isn't pruned correctly, a large number of grapes will attempt to ripen on a single root system. Although this produces more, the result is a less than ideal batch of grapes. By preparing and pruning, we create optimal conditions in our vineyard to produce amazing, juicy grapes.

Next, we remove the grapes from the vines. There are a couple ways to go about this: The easiest and most cost effective way is to use a large machine, called a harvester, that can clear the grapes off hundreds of vines in very little time. The downside is that it has no real control as to what is being picked. Less desirable grapes often get mixed in with the good ones using this method. The other way is to cut every grape cluster off the vine by hand. This is how we do things here at Woodriver Cellars. We do so to ensure the quality of the grapes; making sure they are ready to harvest, but not over-ripe. Wineries like to talk about what goes into their wines that make them great. At WRC, we're just as excited about what we keep out.

After the grapes have been crushed and de-stemmed, we let them soak, drawing tannins, flavor and color from the skins. Then we finish fermenting and aging exclusively in French oak barrels. When it comes to barrels, there are several different options to choose from. We've chosen quality barrels in order to produce quality wine. After all the work of growing and picking the grapes by hand, we just couldn't allow ourselves to put our hard earned harvest into low quality barrels. The results of tightly grained wood present themselves as complex flavor profiles, such as vanilla, spice and butter. It takes a little longer for the French oak to pass along its benefits, but we're in no hurry.

The final step in the process is bottling. Each wine has unique, subtle characteristics that can be diluted if the wrong bottle or cork is used. With each new wine we spend significant time, carefully considering the size and coloring of our bottles. We make sure the bottle will enhance the wine and not detract from it.

After putting on the labels and storing the bottles for months, and sometimes years, it's delivered to our tasting room for you to enjoy. When you pour your favorite Woodriver Cellars wine into your glass, remember that it was hand-picked, stored patiently and delivered as pure as possible. This is the result of flawless ingredients, never cutting corners and being in complete control of every step of the process. Woodriver Cellars Wine ~ Pure From Ground to Glass.