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Founded in 2003 by winemakers Stewart Boedecker and Athena Pappas, Boedecker Cellars hand crafts small lots of structured, food oriented wines. We focus on Pinot Noir, bottling cuvees that bear the name and reflect the individual palate of each winemaker: Stewart and Athena.
The Stewart is our red fruited Pinot Noir full of bright acidity, soft tannins and herbal aromatics created mainly from Wadenswil and Pommard. The essence of the Athena cuvee shows a black to blue fruit core, heartier tannins and spice, components redolent of the clones developed in Dijon.
As the climate, the vineyard and the clones all influence the distinctiveness of the wine; our goal is to not only preserve these differences but let them shine.
For example, while the grapes are hand sorted in the vineyard, we once again sort them in the winery. We ferment in small lots, maintain each vineyard separately and monitor each lot by hand, by smell and by taste.
Once in barrel, the wines age for 18+ months. The barrels are all French oak, the wine is aged 9-10 months sur lie, on 30% new oak, the aged another 9-10 months off lees in all neutral barrels.
In order to determine which barrel of wine will bear the name of Stewart or Athena, we blind taste through each barrel, as many as 40 barrels at a time, discussing body, character, what it is the wine makes us ‘see’ and what we ‘feel’.
A little bit of ‘blue’ and ‘earth’, combined with a bit of ‘lively’ and ‘ red’ can create an experience that awakens senses far beyond the palate. Memories come alive, bodies tingle. And we remember why we love the winemaking so very much.
Philosophy
Boedecker Cellars have bottled our wines in lightweight bottles with screwcap closures since our beginning. For us it is a practical matter; we guide the wines with care diligence from vineyard to bottle. Our wines reflect our passions; lightweight packaging honors the environment, stelvin closures honor the wines.
harvey steiman at large