About this winery
All of Sea Smoke’s grapes come from a rugged, foggy (or “sea smoky”) vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills region of Santa Barbara County. From these grapes, the Sea Smoke team creates two beautiful Pinot Noirs: Southing and Ten as well as Chardonnay and a 100% Pinot Noir méthode champenoise sparkling wine called Sea Spray. The Sea Smoke vineyard is planted with 10 different clones of Pinot Noir as well as Chardonnay spread across 39 hectares, creating many combinations of soil, clone and...
See the SEA SMOKE detail page for more information on this brand
Product notes
Southing refers to the south-facing hillside bluffs found on our estate vineyard. Each year, our goal for this wine is to create the ideal marriage of complexity and elegance. Southing is a true expression of the terroir of Sea Smoke Vineyard: seductive flavors and fine tannins complimented by cool climate acidity.
Production notes
Hand-harvested, clusters were sorted in the vineyard
and then gently destemmed following an evening in our cold room.
All ‘jack stems’ were removed on the sorting table. Musts were cold
soaked in open-top fermenters for five days, and then inoculated with
cultured yeasts to begin slow fermentation. Each tank was manually
punched down two times per day, with a total maceration time of fourteen to eighteen days. Upon completion of primary fermentation and
maceration, all free run wine was transferred to tank for settling and
then pressed at extremely low pressure (0.08 bars) to avoid extracting
bitterness. After settling overnight both free-run and press wines were
racked to barrels. Southing was bottled with no fining and no filtration.
Tasting notes
Each year, our goal for Southing is to create the ideal
marriage of complexity and elegance. The ever-changing nose of the
Southing exhibits Montmorency cherry, sage, hibiscus and subtle
baking spices. The fine tannins and minerality are enhanced by our
estate vineyard’s characteristic cool climate acidity.