10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Skipstone
One of the best parts about running purple cork is getting to learn from winemakers on the virtual tastings. As much as I try to know and study our winery partners, I still learn something new every time!
Here are 10 things you might not know about Skipstone, an Alexander Valley winery and ranch making exceptional wines with an exceptional team:
Skipstone is a tiny boutique winery compared to their big producing neighbors. With their meticulous focus on the land, Skipstone’s entire production is just about 2 tons per acre, and therefore about 2,000 cases annually. That’s 50 times less than Silver Oak, also in Alexander Valley, making roughly 100,000 cases a year.
Their Viognier is fermented in a big concrete egg, harking back to some ancient winemaking practices. Our friends at Wine Folly help break down some of the benefits. Since concrete is semi-porous, it offers a way to expose the wine to small levels of aeration. The Viognier in this case begins to age gradually, developing more flavor, softening tannins, and improving mouthfeel. Wines aged in the airless environment of stainless steel take much longer to achieve similar levels of aging.
They have a famous winemaker. Skipstone’s winemaking consultant is Philippe Melka, a “star among stars” you might say. Melka is a Bordeaux-blending legend who has experience crafting wines worth hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars (Chateau Petrus, Hundred Acre and other cult labels).
They have hillside vineyards. The Skipstone Vineyard encompasses 30 organically farmed acres forming an amphitheater surrounded by steep mountain slopes. These steep slopes help force the vines to struggle (this is a good thing) and brings out intensity and complexity in the fruit.
It gets hot in Alexander Valley...really hot. This also adds depth and complexity to the fruit and wines, with optimal sun exposure during the day balanced by cooling breezes off of the Russian River. This means that Skipstone can get both ripeness and long hang time, the best of both worlds.
They attach all of the bottle labels by hand. Sounds crazy right? It’s because the paper they have always used for the distinctive labels is too thick for machines. Even at 2,000 cases, that is still a lot of handiwork!
Their Oliver’s Blend is truly exceptional, year after year. It’s a blend of Cabernet Sauvignons from up to 20 individual small lots, each with a different soil type, exposure and clonal selection. It’s an exceptionally complex wine and one of our favorite bottles to showcase on purple cork virtual tastings.
They also make an impressive (French) Champagne with the help of Champagne house Diebolt-Vallois—one of my favorite Blanc de Blancs producers. It’s 100% made in Champagne, France from special grand cru grapes, then shipped to Alexander Valley for all of us to enjoy. Why Champagne? The owner’s wife loves Champagne. A very smart lady.
They started making a second label red wine in 2017 called Preface that doesn’t sacrifice anything on quality. According to Somm Select, “If you want an affordable luxury red raised by winemaking legend Philippe Melka, today’s 2017 is the smartest investment you can make.” It really is. The 2018 Preface is predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon.
They don’t take themselves too seriously. Serious wines (and these are very serious wines) taste even better when enjoyed with friends and some laughs. A purple cork tasting with Skipstone is guaranteed to have exceptional wine and we’ll also have a lot of fun with their awesome team.
The limited production of Skipstone wines makes availability very scarce. The best way to find these wines is to join Skipstone’s mailing list or plan a tasting with purple cork.
