Ashanta Embryo II Syrah 2021

This Syrah was hand-harvested by Will, Chenoa, and Chenoa’s aunt, Sarah Ashton. It was de-stemmed and crushed into an open top fermentor, where it was punched down twice a day by hand for two weeks. It was pressed into French Neutral Oak where it aged for 8 months, and racked once on NYE.

No additions or subtractions. Unfined, unfiltered, zero SO2.

13% abv

5th generation Oakland native and 3rd generation winemaker, Chenoa Ashton-Lewis, and cinematographer, Will Basanta, got fully bitten by the winemaking bug in October of 2019 when last minute they bombed up to Sonoma Mountain from Los Angeles, on the news that Chenoa’s family vineyard still had unsold grapes that were quickly turning to bird fodder. With the help of family and friends they jumped in, picking and crushing to make an experimental Syrah and Pinot Noir co-ferment. The single barrel was then stored in a tent for 8 months on the family’s organic, 50-year-old vineyard, planted by Chenoa’s grandparents in the early 1970s.