Working together with Vineyard Manager Ruben Solorzano, Dees and the vineyard team embody the concept of winemaking in the vineyard. Only about 10-percent of the winemaking work takes place in the winery, and there, it is kept simple. All the JONATA wines are now made at a state-of-the-art facility designed specifically for the vinification of vineyards, located at its sister property, The Hilt Estate, just a short 30-minute drive west.
At the time of harvest each individual vineyard block is picked and vinified separately. Ageing protocol varies between neutral barrels to preserve the fruit, while other times allowing some use of new oak to complement the wine’s depth and opulence.
While JONATA’s portfolio of blends is less than conventional, each wine is firmly rooted in reflecting the personality of the site. When Dees sits down to craft the blends for each vintage, he looks for the wines with a voice distinct enough to demand to be bottled. If any wines fall below these standards, they are not released.
Most JONATA wines are variety driven, but the compositions each year vary based on what the vineyard and vintage dictates. “Varietal purity is overrated,” says Dees. “We have the luxury of working with well over 100 lots from 14 varieties and numerous individual vineyard blocks, which allows us to add more flavors and depth.”
The most distinct wine produced every year by JONATA is Todos, which is referred to by Dees as “our vineyard in a bottle” because it is mosaic of the varieties grown on the JONATA estate. According to Matt, the rough recipe for the blend is “approximately 1/3 Syrah, 1/3 Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1/3 chaos.”
