2020 Elon Must

A blend of 41% Blaufränkisch, 31% Traminette, 21% Vidal Blanc, 4% Chambourcin and 3% Petit Manseng. If we were ever to take a stab at Beaujolais Nouveau, this is it. Bright and high energy (like us!) and full of dry, crunchy red fruit. Cranberry, crabapple and watermelon rind all over the nose and palate. There's a subtle herby-citrus on the palate as well. A slight chill brings out the brambly red fruit that blaufrankisch is famed for. This is perfect for this time of year – sippin outside with your crew, bonfire, music, you see it, we know you do. 34 cases produced.

FRUIT SOURCES
Oxeye Blaufrankisch, Barren Ridge Traminette, Bluestone Chambourcin, Sherman Ridge Vidal blanc and Petit Manseng, all from the Shenandoah Valley

WINEMAKING
This has nothing to do with the winemaking , but I do want to make clear that I (Ben) am not an Elon fan boy. There may or may not be folks involved with Lightwell who are enthralled, waiting for his next move, but my stance is that we are messing with the guy with this wine name and banking on the fact that we made too little to be cease and desisted. As for the winemaking: Traminette can be a little much, but sometimes its the best thing to do with the loud, aromatic grapes is to lean into them and macerate them, full on skin contact. This is a rambling red/white coferment, and the Traminette waving frantically at you, but in a good way. Nothing added until a bit of SO2 at bottling.

CHEMISTRY
pH: 3.7
TA: 5.4 g/L
Free SO2 at bottling: 8 ppm (27 ppm total)
Alcohol: 10.7% abv
RS: 0.2 g/L
Malic Acid: 0.01 g/L
Acetic acid at bottling: 0.51 g/L