Behind the Scenes: Springtime Winemaking
Visitors often ask what we’re doing in the cellar in the spring. It’s an excellent question because, while harvest in the fall is exciting and busy, the quieter months that follow are just as important to crafting great wine.
Gentle Winemaking at Novelty Hill Januik
At Novelty Hill Januik, our winemaking approach is gentle and hands-off, but that doesn’t mean we’re sitting on the beach sipping mai-tais this time of year. Instead, the cellar team carefully monitors and nurtures the wines as they age. Approximately 90% of our winemaking efforts after harvest involve patiently checking on each lot and gently guiding their development to ensure aging progresses smoothly.
Managing Wine Lots with Care
Because we source grapes from across the Columbia Valley, we handle many individual wine lots—some are small, just two or three barrels, and others can be more than thirty. We regularly use a gentle gravity-based racking process to transfer wines from barrel to barrel with a siphon. This keeps each lot healthy and stable without disturbing its delicate nature. Winemaker Scott Moeller and I also continuously taste wines to identify which lots stand out each vintage.
Blending: The Art of Winemaking
My favorite part of winemaking comes next: blending. It’s meticulous but rewarding, and it’s where we turn winemaking into art. We begin by sampling wines we’ve carefully nurtured, then combine different lots to see how they complement each other. Each blend, sometimes simple, sometimes incredibly complex, helps us refine our choices. For Januik and Novelty Hill, this means comparing numerous combinations—dozens or even hundreds—until we find the perfect harmony. Imagine fashion designers selecting fabrics, refining their textures, and ultimately creating the ideal garment. In winemaking, the grapes are our fabric, careful aging is our craftsmanship, and blending is our artistic expression.
Experience the Winemaking Process
The best part? Visitors at Novelty Hill Januik have the unique chance to see some of this in action. Our Woodinville winery is built to give visitors an authentic peek behind the curtain into the fascinating world of winemaking. We invite you to visit soon.
Andrew Januik, Winemaker
