The winemaking team of Charlie Edson, Kevin Uhl and Cristin Hosmer carefully craft Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Auxerrois and a variety of other wines for your pleasure. Manufacturing between 8-10,000 cases a year for Bel Lago and several other custom clients requires a lot of hard work. The winemaking season begins with Cherries in late July/ early August. Purchased from Cherry Bay Orchards, the Balaton and Montmorency cherries pressed fresh make an excellent cherry wine. We process between 35-50 tons of Cherries annually.
Many of our white wines are fermented in stainless steel, such as Pinot Grigio and the varieties used to make Leelanau Primavera. However, Chardonnay and Auxerrois are fermented and aged in oak barrels. The backbone of many of our wines is nice bright acid.
The production of red wine differs greatly from the production of white and cherry wine. First and foremost, red wines begin fermentation in contact with the skins and seeds. Bel Lago’s red wines also include tannins and a secondary fermentation called malolactic fermentation. We have a diverse set of barrels available from all over France and the United States, which assist in the development of the red wines by concentrating flavors and imparting a toasty quality to our red blends and Pinot Noir.
Finishing decisions and bottling are the most important past of the winemaking process at Bel Lago. Many of our blends are very complex, pulling together small lots of several varieties and adding the perfect level of sweetness, are important aspects of our annual winemaking.
