WINEMAKING

At Mattebella Vineyards, we believe that great wines start from in the vines and the role of the winemaker is more akin to that of a shepherd than that of a magician.  The North Fork of Long Island enjoys an exceptional terroir and we embrace it with every winemaking decision we make.  All viticulture and winemaking efforts are closely coordinated.  Our wines are made using time tested, traditional winemaking techniques and, therefore, there is minimal tinkering and reliable quality.

To fully understand the nuances of Mattebella Vineyards’ diverse clone and rootstock planting, we hand harvest each clone with care and separate them into small lots.  This enables us to better understand the flavor profiles and other important components available in our vineyard so they can be consistently used as tools to make the best possible wines.

The process begins with delicate pressing of our fruit utilizing a Europress (a fine bladder press from Europe); this minimizes the extraction of negative phenolic compounds from the skins and seeds (thereby avoiding resulting bitterness) and allows retention of a more delicate, livelier fruit and acidity.  With our red wines, we engage in punch down fermentations by hand for quality extraction of tannins and other important components.

Mattebella Vineyards’ commitment to quality over quantity is transparent in the wines we make.  Our family hopes that you experience as much pleasure in drinking and sharing our wines as we do in making them for you.