Eleanor & Ray Heald (ERH): What is the unique Leelanau Peninsula character of each of the grapes grown on the Shady Lane estate? Let's start with Riesling.

Adam Satchwell (AS): Because of the influence of both Lake Michigan and Grand Traverse Bay, delayed bud break allows us to miss spring frosts. The length of the growing season (fruit set in late June) allows us to get good flavors and structure while retaining specific Leelanau Peninsula AVA (LP) characteristics. We pick Riesling at the end of October and sometimes not until early November.

ERH: What typical LP Riesling characteristics are evident?

AS: White peach aromas are typical and, depending on the exact block and exposure, there are citrus tending to grapefruit notes, with some lime and sometimes lemon oil. These are complemented by a honeysuckle floral aspect, which is unique to LP. When Riesling gets riper, like it does in California, this floral component is lost.

Flavors also express a lot of peach. In better years, tartaric acid tends to be dominant, yet there's always a noticeable malic acid quality that comes across as green apple. Again, because of the cooler climate, terpenes are not lost to ripeness and alcohols range 10.5 to 11.5 percent for the Shady Lane style. This level of alcohol volatilizes and carries the characteristics without over-powering them.

ERH: What are the typical Brix levels at harvest?

AS: For the semi-dry style, 20º Brix.

ERH: Do clonal variations make a difference in the characteristics you described?

AS: Clonal differences are less pronounced than those in a variety such as Pinot Noir, where it can be dramatic. As newer Riesling vineyard blocks come on, however, I am noticing more differences. Inherent aromas and flavors I discussed have more to do with LP's climate.

ERH: What are typical Pinot Gris, which you bottle as Pinot Grigio, characteristics?

AS: Currently, we're purchasing this fruit. It's planted on the estate but not yet bearing. We look forward to full production in 2009. I'm a big fan of Alsace Pinot Gris and that's what I wanted to make and did the first year to great disappointment. In the next vintage, I switched to the grigio style, stainless steel, some lees management to build body but aimed toward melon and herbal characteristics.

ERH: What are typical LP Pinot Noir characteristics?

AS: We have about seven acres of Pinot Noir. The original planting was Clone 2A. New plantings are split almost equally among Dijon clones 115, 114, 777 and Pommard 5. From these, there are two different bottlings, a regular and a reserve. Selections are made prior to blending and the two bottlings are not the same clonal mix.

ERH: What differences do you notice among the clones?

AS: Clone 2A has a pretty high-toned cherry note. That's the beauty and also the fault of this clone. It sings one note beautifully but the rest of the orchestra is left behind because the musicians never get off the bus. As a proportion of the blend, it's important.

Clone 115 has beautiful pure raspberry and cherry fruit where Clone 114 tends toward darker fruits such as plum. Clone 777, at least on this property, is not quite as easy to pigeonhole. It does offer better tannins for structure, however. All the Dijon clones have good color.

ERH: What style are you projecting for Cabernet Franc from the estate when you get a sizeable crop in 2008?

AS: Having worked with some purchased LP Cabernet Franc, there's a style that I've always considered my target. I picked clones and rootstocks to further the goal of imitating a Loire Valley, Chinon-style of Cabernet Franc. French studies and tasting trials indicate that 214 on 3309 is the combination that accentuates violet character. To me, that's Cab Franc! Clone 623 offers characteristic blueberry notes.

ERH: One of the early plantings was Vignoles. Is it still one of the estate varieties? If yes, what wine is produced with it?

AS: We've been using it in our house white called Serenity, which is typically a blend of 70 to 75 percent Vignoles and the balance Chardonnay. Lately, we've started to make Late Harvest Vignoles and that's a big shift in emphasis for us. I'm convinced that the reason Vignoles grows on this planet is for a late harvest wine. It's the variety's most beautiful expression and if it's managed well on LP, we get a good level of botrytis.

ERH: How do you believe that the Shady Lane estate is different from other parcels in the LP AVA?

AS: In talking to other vineyard owners and managers, what strikes me as the physical difference of the Shady Lane estate is the combination of light soils and mineral components, particularly the level of calcium compound content. No other LP vineyard has it. I believe that there's something in the soil/calcium compound combination that makes Shady Lane estate wines unique.

ERH: How many more acres are plantable on the estate?

AS: About five and then we're tapped out. That's about 1/3 of the full estate acreage and a good percentage for LP. Due to the lay of the land, it takes about 40 acres to get 10 plantable to wine grapes.

ERH: Because of the strong and long hours of sunlight at the 45th parallel North, what are you doing to prevent sunburn?

AS: I don't do a lot of leaf pulling. On Riesling - none. Minimal on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and only on the east side of the trellis.

ERH: In your early winemaking years, your uncle, winemaker Jed Steele, was a guiding influence. What did you learn from him that you applied to winemaking in the LP and more particularly at Shady Lane?

AS: I started working with Jed when I was 20 years old and on and off until I was 25. I've always considered Jed a tremendous technician but where I believe he shines is in that slightly harder to define area of intuition. It's the same ability that great chefs have. They look at raw ingredients and imagine where they're going to take them. They need the technical aspects to carry them to that point, but to envision the end, one needs intuition. Jed has marvelous intuition. He did things that at the time others had not done and may have been considered winemaking heresy.

An example is Pinot Noir Rosé that was barrel fermented and put through malolactic fermentation. It had not been done before, yet Jed knew that would carry Pinot Noir flavors to advantage.

ERH: How have you used your intuition?

AS: Standard operating procedure for Pinot Noir in LP was following a traditional Oregon regimen and with good results. But in 2005, I realized that one element of LP Pinot Noir is pure fruit aromas. What I thought was missing in Shady Lane Pinot Noir was structure - all those interesting elements that lie under the great fruit. So, I thought that I could sacrifice some fruit. I no longer use a dedicated prefermentation maceration (cold soak) and I used a lower yeast inoculation rate to simulate some of the aspects of uninoculated fermentation and the associated lag phase. I also stopped using enzymes because the extracted flavors were unattractive and bitter.

I begin fermentation at a low temperature, so in effect, I am doing cold soak. Fermentation overall is slow and long but it reaches higher maximum temperature (90 to 95 degrees F in the cap). Punch down cap management varies from bin to bin and is different in various fermentation phases. What started as intuition has been confirmed now through practice.

ERH: If we look forward five years, what changes do you envision for Shady Lane and the wines of LP in general?

AS: Although I believe that we've made great strides, I'd like to nail down Pinot Noir and, as LP vineyards mature, that will happen. Older vineyards offer better flavors. We'll continue to learn to identify and further the whole idea of aromatic white varieties, one of the great promises of this AVA.

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TASTING NOTES FOR NEWLY-RELEASED SHADY LANE CELLARS WINES
Estate Riesling 2006 ($18) at 11.5 percent alcohol and 0.30 percent residual sugar epitomizes the terms fresh and racy. Minimal handling, cool fermentation at 65 degrees F and five months lees contact crafted this dry, minerally style. Overall generous body carries the racy acidity well. Serve it with fresh oysters, crab cakes, whitefish paté or poached trout.

Semi-Dry Riesling 2006 ($15) at 2.8 percent residual sugar and 11.5 percent alcohol comes across balanced and not at all sweet-flavored. To attain this style, roughly 70 percent of the grapes were de-stemmed and pressed immediately. The remainder was pressed whole cluster. Cool fermentation at about 62 degrees F followed with some tanks fermenting to dryness and others arrested by chilling and the addition of SO2. Honeysuckle and green apple aromas are complemented by white peach, green apple, citrus and lime flavors. As an aperitif or main dish complement, this wine is versatile enough to pair with nearly any dish, including spicy Thai and Indian curries, but not steak.