Noisy Water Winery

A Journey To The Bottle

Now that harvest is underway, we are beginning the journey to the bottle. White grapes are harvested before red grapes, but grapes that will be used to make sparkling wine are harvested before anything, because of the lower sugar requirement. Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are up next while Pinot Noir, Malbec and Merlot follow. Finally, the more robust red grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah are last, as they have the highest Brix level, perfect for making bold red wines. 

Read More About The Journey

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The Full Journey:

1. The Press: This is when we squeeze the grape juice out. Once the grapes are pressed, the skins, seeds, and stems clump together into "cake", which can be returned to the vineyard soil as a fertilizer. White grapes are pressed right after harvest, but red grapes aren't pressed until after primary fermentation, which is the next step.
2. Primary Fermentation: Now in juice form, we wait until the yeast converts the sugar in the grapes into alcohol. Red Wine is then pressed and pumped into barrels for aging, while white wine skips step 3 and begins the bottling process.
3. Aging: During this period, months can pass before the wine is ready. This is also when malolactic fermentation occurs. The naturally occurring malic acid gets turned into lactic acid, giving wine that signature buttery, creamy or nutty mouthfeel.
4. Racking & Bottling: When the aging comes to an end, we will start tasting the wine and making sure the final product is just right. Before bottling, the wine is racked, filtered, or both to remove sediment and clarify the wine. Then it is bottling time!

EARLY HARVEST WINES

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LATE HARVEST WINES

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Finding The Perfect Brix

Brix is a common term used in wine making-so what does it mean? Brix is the measurement of sugar level in a fruit. Sugar plays a huge role in making yeast, which is what makes wine contain alcohol! The amount of sugar in the grapes determines how much alcohol will be in the wine so as you probably would guess, finding out the sugar levels of each variety of grape is one of the key factors that lets us know when it is time to harvest. The pH, skin color, fruit acids and seed ripeness are also factors we evaluate before harvesting!

Read More On Brix

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Hear it from the Winemaker

FIND THE PERFECT BRIX FOR YOU

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🍇Time on the Vine and Nature's Variables:🍇

Harvest season is upon us-the moment of the year that all of our efforts and preparations have led up to! Harvesting doesn't happen on an annual day of the year though. Mother Nature decides when the grapes are ready and harvesting varies every year! Typically in July-August the grapes begin to ripen. They transition from small green clusters to colorful bulbous beauties. Witnessing it is as magical as it seems as a grape can change colors dramatically even just over night. Hues of translucent gold and purple-ruby sweep the fields as the grapes bulge into their best selves and then, and only then, are they ready for the picking. Until this moment, we wait for Mother Nature's green light.

So what natural occurrences can happen that define when we harvest?

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HOW WE DECIDE WHEN TO HARVEST

LATE & EARLY HARVESTS

Some grapes are picked early or late on purpose. Select early-picked grapes are typically used for some whites and sparkling wines for their high acidity. Other grapes can be picked almost a month later for wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. A late-harvest grape typically is sweeter and less acidic the longer it stays on the vine.

Early Harvest Wines:

BRIGHT ∙ ACIDIC ∙ CRSIP

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Late Harvest Wines:

RICH ∙ BOLD ∙ BALANCED

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🍇 Port Wine: Here's The Scoop: 🍇

Port has been made for centuries dating back all the way to 1174! Traditionally port wine was made in Portugal’s Douro Valley when the English started sourcing their red wine in Portugal after they boycotted French wine in the 17th century. To help preserve the wine on their journey in giant ships back to England, the Englishmen added brandy to the red wine to fortify it and make sure it wouldn't spoil during the ship's journey. As a result, it accidentally made one of the world's most unique and diverse beverages. 

Read More On Port Wine 

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HOW ITS MADE

During fermentation, when the alcohol level of a wine reaches a certain point, it is fortified with brandy. This brings the fermentation process to a halt, preventing the grape sugar to convert into alcohol any further. The nuances of fruit in the young wine are captured in the process, leaving behind a port of its own uniqueness.

PORTS FOR YOU

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Choose your experience! Join us in the Library and taste our private collection of past vintages in a vertical tasting, or come out to Enchanted Vine for a winery tour and proprietary wine tasting! Better yet...do both!!!

Library Tasting
Join us in the Library for an exclusive 1 hour guided vertical wine tasting from our private supply of past vintage wines!

The Library Tasting includes:
One Current Vintage White, One Library Vintage White
One Current Vintage Red, One Library Vintage Red
(Sweet & Dry options available!)

Cost is $40/person

Available Friday - Sunday

4 PERSON MINIMUMS

Winery Tour & Proprietary Tasting

Take a tour of our 5 acre property, venue, and working production facility at Enchanted Vine in Alto, just 15 min. from Midtown Ruidoso!

Throughout this experience you will receive a tank sample, barrel sample and a lineup of a current vintage red, white & rose! All made from our flagship vineyard the Forbidden Desert Vineyard in Engle, NM!

Tours are 1 hour and cost $60/person.
Available Thursday - Monday

4 PERSON MINIMUMS

Inspiration

Wild White is a marriage of two ancient beverages, tea and wine , and a celebration of nature's complexities.  It reminds us that the most beautiful things are prolific and independent: they are wild!

Taste

Crisp and bright with nuances of green apple, honey, herbs, lemon, and wildflowers.  

$1 of each bottle sold is donated to EcoServants

VINTAGE 2020

VARIETAL Skin-Fermented Chenin Blanc

APPELLATION Forbidden Desert, Engle NM

HARVEST DATE 08/21/2019

SUGAR 24.5 Brix at Harvest

ALCOHOL % 12.5

Want first pick of our new wines and invitations to our release parties? Join the Taste of New Mexico Wine Club!