Winemaking

Successful winemaking must be a cooperative effort on behalf of our vineyard and winemaking teams.  Under the direction of the winemaking team, our grapes are grown to the highest standards to ensure the product quality.  The field staff monitors the vineyard throughout the year and the blocks yielding the desired qualities set by the winemaking team are picked and delivered to the winery for processing.

Once the grapes arrive at the winery they are again inspected for quality.  For our white wine program a whole cluster press is used to extract the juice.  After a gentle pressing, the juice is immediately transferred to stainless steel fermenters for a 24 hour cold settling.  The white juice will ferment for approximately 30 days at 55F until “dry”, yielding no residual sugar.  Post primary fermentation the whites are fined and filtered before bottling the following spring to preserve the aromatic qualities in each variety.

Red grapes are de-stemmed and pumped directly into the fermentation tanks. We utilize both static and open top fermenters in our program.  During fermentation the must is allowed to reach temperatures up to 85F to extract the intense color and flavors the Donati wines are known for.  The red varietals will ferment for 7-10 days, then the wine is racked to another tank and the remaining skins, seeds, and pulp is gently pressed.

The aging process for our red wines begins in a combination of both French and American oak barrels from a select group of coopers.  The red wines are barrel aged for 12-18 months. During this time, a continuous sensory assessment of each lot gives us the ability to designate the premium lots for our higher-end wines.  When those lots are selected the wine is racked and blended and stored in barrels until bottling.  The red wines are bottled “un-fined and unfiltered” to preserve natural flavors and aromas the grape varietals have to offer.

Overall, the winemaking team brings hands-on experience, analytic knowledge and a strong dedication to the industry. We are here to make the best wines possible to share with you. Please visit our web page detailing the varietals and blends that we have to offer.

Enologist Ian Hudson has been with Donati Family Vineyard since 2007.  Along with his winemaking background, Ian has provided a fresh outlook on winemaking style and vineyard practices.

“I believe that the vineyard dictates our style and that style is what sets us apart from any other winegrower out there.”

His enology career started at California State University, Fresno where his winemaking skills were developed.  His belief of learning a solid background of theory and skill set has given him more of an understanding of what it takes to become successful in the wine industry. While attending Fresno State, Ian began his career as an intern at Scheid Vineyards in Monterey County.  It was at Scheid where he was able to mature as young intern into an integral part of the Scheid winemaking team.

His Bachelor of Science was obtained at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.  While attending Cal Poly, Ian met the Donati family and began his career in the tasting room and performing routine cellar work to help develop his winemaking skills. Ian’s tenure with Donati family Vineyard has helped develop wines that show the true character of the Donati family’s estate vineyard.

Denise Valoff joined the Donati Family Vineyard team in December of 2007 as the Assistant Winemaker. She has been involved in the wine industry for the past 15 years and gained her knowledge primarily through hands-on experience.

Not knowing that it would lead to a career, she began working in the laboratory at Meridian Vineyards while attending Cal Poly. After working one harvest she was hooked and continued to work throughout her college years. Upon graduation she went on to become the Assistant Winemaker for Chumeia Vineyards. Her knowledge began to grow rapidly being exposed to the different faucets of wine production by working in the cellar, processing fruit, and bottling. Her degree in Food Science gave her strength in the chemistry side of winemaking however, the sensory side of winemaking has been a continual learning experience. Moving on from there she went to work for the custom side of the business for Courtside Cellars. She managed the laboratory, ensuring product quality through science. Being a large scale facility she gained more experience in the lab setting through automation, however, knew that she wanted to be a part of winemaking again.

Thus, her passion and dedication for the industry brought her back to a place such as Donati Family Vineyard where she is involved in all aspects of wine production on a daily basis. “The greatest reward about our jobs is seeing people enjoy what you have worked so hard to make. Working with an agricultural product has its challenges; you never know what Mother Nature may bring and then you try to make a high quality product that a wide variety of individuals will enjoy. This constant challenge is what makes winemaking exciting”.