North America | Oregon | Fossil & Fawn | Only Always

Only Always

VARIETAL
46% Auxerrois, 38% Riesling, 16% Gewürztraminer

NOTES
VINEYARD: Sunnyside Vineyard. Tended by Luci Wisniewski and Tom Owen since the early 1980s, Sunnyside is a fun and funky mix of old-vine Gewürztraminer, Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, Tempranillo, Dolcetto, and Auxerrois. The vines, like many older sites in the valley, are planted on an east/west orientation instead of north/south. This is now against conventional wisdom for getting the most sun exposure, but frankly, means that the Fischers can still get beautiful, later harvest fruit coming in at moderate sugars in ever-hotter years. Some of the vines were planted on the property as early as the late 1970s, but Fossil & Fawn primarily works with their Gewürztraminer, planted in 1984, arguably one of the worst vintages in Oregon’s short viticultural history (there was snow on Mother’s Day, for crying out loud). Vines are own-rooted into the brilliantly red volcanic soils on the gentle southwest slope of Sunnyside, at 700’ elevation.

VINIFICATION: Fruit was lightly pressed and racked to barrel where fermentation happened spontaneously in French oak of varying ages over the course of 7 months. Bottled without fining or filtration.