Engelmann Cellars is a small boutique winery focusing on quality in the vineyard that is carried throughout the small batch winemaking process to create truly exceptional wines at a great value to their consumers.
By processing all wine in small batch’s, many less than 100 cases per varietal year, we can oversee all details large and small during harvest, fermentation, barrel aging and final blending before bottling.
Small batches also allow us at Engelmann Cellars to several strains of yeast during fermentation. Yeast is the organism that converts grape juice to wine. Each yeast strain spotlights a different part of the grape. So some yeast will help promote the fruity character of the grape while another may enhance the tannins or color. By using several different yeast strains we are able to blend in the complexity that each yeast strain produces. This leaves us with a finished wine with layers of complexity that will be enhanced with our premium oak barrel aging program.
All wines are aged in the climate controlled barrel room in French, American or Hungarian oak barrels for 18 to 30 months. This extended time that the wine spends in the oak barrels ads to the complexity and palatability of our award winning boutique wines. Each barrel has a unique flavor and character that it adds to the wine. This may come from the country or region of origin for the barrel or the toasting method used to toast the inside of the barrel. Here at Engelmann Cellars we prefer to use medium and medium plus barrels. These barrels will generally add spicy tones from cinnamon and cloves to vanilla and smoke. Most of our wines will be aged in a blend of different barrels for greater complexity, with the exception of some of the Platinum Series Wines. These are just some of the steps that we take at Engelmann Cellars to ensure that you get the best bottle of wine that truly show the varietal character and complexity that California wines have to offer.
