Arista’s 2018 wines, which release on June 21st, mark a much-anticipated milestone as the inaugural vintage crushed in their new, customized estate winery. Designed to better capture and express the characteristics of their sites, this winery was a dream of the McWilliams family since their first vintage in 2002, and its influence is already apparent in the elevated character of the 2018 wines, which release on February 1, 2021.

Arista has always prioritized a natural, minimally invasive approach to winemaking, with spontaneous fermentation caused by native yeasts lending a complexity and character to wine that is every bit as much a part of terroir as the site, soil, climate, and other aspects of their Russian River Valley vineyards. The new winery allows better temperature control for cooler, slower ferments, which develop complex flavor and aroma compounds by keeping the wine active and undergoing transformation for longer. Slower fermentation also produces a natural, protective layer of carbon dioxide, necessitating only one minimal sulfur addition just prior to bottling.

Arista’s 2018 offering of estate and single vineyard Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, as a result, express the wines’ site and character more fully than ever, with an exciting new level of quality that is gaining notice and foreshadows impressive vintages for 2019, 2020 and beyond.

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