Stark Conde The Field Blend 2021

That old saying, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts," is the inspira­tion when blending this wine. The idea is to find the perfect balance between the richness and texture of the Roussanne and Viognier and balance that with the bright fruit and acidity of the Chenin and Verdelho.

This is our only "estate" white wine. We have one block on the farm - the bottom vineyard, just as you drive into our gate - that is quite different than all the other blocks. Because it sits at a bottom of a steep slope as well as being very close to the river, it has a number of different geological influences: there are 11 different soil types in this 2-hectare block! Faced with this difficult situation, we tried to turn it into a positive and decided to plant a mix of varieties that could be picked together to make up one wine. All the grapes are picked on the same day, pressed together and fermented together - hence the name, The Field Blend. The wine was 100% barrel fermented in neutral oak -just a small percent ( ±5%) of new oak was used - and aged for 8 months with regular lees stirring.

This is our "estate" white blend. We have one block on the farm - the bottom vineyard, just as you drive into our gate - that is quite different than all the other blocks. Because it sits at a bottom of a steep slope as well as being very close to the river, it has a number of different geological influences: there are 11 different soil types in this 2-hectare block! Faced with this difficult situation, we tried to turn it into a positive and decided to plant a mix of varieties that could be picked together to make up one wine. All the grapes are picked on the same day, pressed together and fermented together - hence the name, The Field Blend. The wine was 100% barrel fermented in neutral oak -just a small percentage ( ±5%) of new oak was used - and aged for 8 months with regular lees stirring.