Our winemaking is straightforward and stripped of pretense, yet precise, attentive, and uncompromising.

Technically good wines–those that are “clean” with consistent varietal character across vintages–are relatively easy to produce in most temperate regions. Wines that tell a story of place and time are more challenging. The goals are always the same - balance, harmony, depth, and longevity, with the fresh acidity that is  required for the dining table. Producing wine with these characteristics requires rigorous attention to every detail, relentless intellectual curiosity, persistent questioning, and undying patience.

Most of the winemaking occurs in the vineyard. It begins when the buds are formed a full sixteen months before the fruit will be harvested. During the vintage, we use canopy height, cover crops, irrigation, and nutrients to balance the vines. Too little or too much energy at the wrong time will result in slow, irregular ripening, bitter tannins, and poor color. Picking is based on taste to find the best combination of flavors, tannins, and acid.

Once in the cellar, there are no recipes for making Dodon wines.  We start by respecting the fruit and the people who grew it. We adapt our methods to each lot to create the right conditions  for the wine to express the site and the vintage. Decisions about extraction - its length and temperature, and the amount of pumping over - are based on the character of the fruit and evolution of the wine. Pressing is done when the tannins have shifted, and barrels are selected based specifically on the nature of the wine after pressing. The wines are aged until they are ready for the bottle, kept in a cool, quiet spot, and stirred occasionally, and then held in bottle until they are ready for your table.