This is our inaugural vintage.

This story was originally published in September, following our first vintage. It gives a sense of our expectations and optimism for the wines of 2020 while outlining how each wine was harvested and made.

Things are finally settling down from harvest. Early, you say? Indeed. While others are still watching and measuring their fruit, the Southern California heat and the normal ripening schedule of our desert-sourced berries put us out ahead of many of our friends and colleagues this year.

Here’s what happened, what our first impressions are, and what to expect from Herrmann York’s 2020 vintage.

Alicante Bouschet

We still picked this surprisingly versatile varietal with the freshness of rosé but chose to crush and destem before press rather than directly pressing the whole clusters so we could obtain the right balance of color and quantity. Big, juicy berries gave us just shy of 120 gallons, which went directly into barrels (neutral French oak) for primary fermentation. Our wines fermented vigorously this year without the addition of selected yeast, and the Alicante Bouschet was no exception. It was dry in five days and is now settling in stainless before we pump it back into barrels for malolactic conversion.

first impressions

While we originally thought it would be on the darker side, it now looks like a strawberry Starburst.

What to expect

Electric wild strawberries and cream.

Specs

2020 Alicante Bouschet

Color: Rosé

Varieties: 100% Alicante Bouschet

Expected ABV: 12.9%

Vineyard: Chavez Vineyard, Lake Los Angeles, CA

Muscat

We picked just a bit later than we hoped but ended up with some very aromatic fruit. We chose to hand crush and destem, rather than direct press, with half pressed to stainless steel (dry) to ferment and half left to ferment on skins until dry (amber). We also decided to keep the dry and amber versions separate this year, partly for the learning experience, and partly because each became such distinct wines. The skin contact finished quickly, but the pressed juice took its slow-and-steady time. As of the writing of this, it still has not dried out completely.

First impressions

Dry: Typical Muscat aromas, grapefruit, apples.

Amber: Raw Cashews and caramel with a spritz of grapefruit. Trailmix.

What to expect:

Fruity, refreshing, easy to drink both chilled (dry) and at room temperature (amber).

Spec

2020 Dry Muscat/Amber Muscat

Color: White/Amber

Varieties: 100% Muscat

Expected ABV:13.5%

Vineyard: Chavez Vineyard, Lake Los Angeles, CA

Zinfandel

In the face of a heat wave and quite a bit of potential for bird damage, we took the fruit just a bit early this year. This turned out to be the right decision. Color extraction at crush was incredible, and we ended up with a ruby, fruity, acidic, medium bodied red wine after just five days in the fermenter. We racked to stainless where it will settle, then we will rack to barrel to let it undergo malolactic fermentation. It is difficult to tell at this point how long this wine will need to age, but we plan to check on it again in six months to get a better idea of the bottling schedule.

First impressions

Lots of raspberries and blackberries, not quite as dark in color as we expected but time will tell. Tannins are a bit chalky, but they should integrate nicely with a bit of age.

What to expect

Approachable, lively, and fruity, with a higher acid. Medium bodied with medium/low soft tannins.

Specs

2020 Okneski Zinfandel

Color: Red

Varieties: 100% Zinfandel

Expected ABV: 13.8%

Vineyard: Okneski Vineyard, Redlands, CA

Los Empleados

We didn’t originally have this one in our imagined vintage, but we are already very proud of it. For this one, we let the vineyard drive, and it produced, as the kids are saying, a “crushable”, “chillable” wine. We picked a day, harvested an equal amount of all Efran Chavez’s favorite varieties, then crushed and fermented them together. What we got was a twisty, fruity, easy drinking field blend that will probably not see a whole lot of barrel time.

First impressions

This promises to be a drinker — ready and most interesting right off the shelf. It has a fruity character and wild, rich purple color.

What to expect

A wine meant to be drunk cold and immediately with a large group of friends.

Specs

2020 Los Empleados

Color: Red

Varieties: Field Blend of Alicante Bouschet, Chardonnay, Muscat, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Viognier, and Zinfandel.

Expected ABV: 14.7%

Vineyard: Chavez Vineyard, Lake Los Angeles, CA