Lightwell Survey

COUNTRY: United States

REGION: Virgina

After connecting over a long-time love of low-intervention wines, Ben Jordan (Early Mountain Vineyards) and Sebastian Zutant (D.C. wine director and restauranteur) produced the first vintage of their joint project Lightwell Survey in 2015. They have a creative perspective on the historic landscape of Virginia wine and are constantly exploring new ways to express the terroir of the Shenandoah Valley. In their own words, “we aim for a bullseye yet prefer to land slightly off center.” Rounding out the team is Sebastian’s brother Jay Zutant (business operations) , Julian Caustrita (brand and marketing) and John DeNapoli (labels).  Ben seeks out higher elevation, cooler sites in northwest Virginia. The wines are fermented with native yeasts, no to minimal additional sulfur, and are only filtered if required for stability.

CUVÉES

“The Way It Was Before”

egion: Virginia 
Grape: 63% Chambourcin, 25% Petite Manseng, 7% Vidal Blanc, 2% Riesling, 2% Chardonel, 1% Traminette
Vineyard: Sherman Ridge Vineyard, Bluestone Vineyard, Rainbow Hill Vineyard, Shenandoah Vineyards, Middlebrook
Winemaking: Chambourcin grapes floated in pressed white grape juice. 
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: 14ppm added

“Between the Dark and the Light”

Region: Virginia 
Grape: Chambourcin, Vidal Blanc, Ashmead’s Kernel apples
Vineyard: Bluestone Vineyard, Rainbow Hill Vineyard, Sherman Ridge Vineyard, Countryside Farm
Winemaking: whole cluster Chambourcin with direct press Vidal Blanc, halfway through fermentation apples were pressed on top of the grapes, malolactic and aging occured in neutral barrel. 
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: minimal

“Strange Collapse”

egion: Virginia 
Grape: 49% Vidal Blanc, 31% Petite Manseng, 8% Chambourcin, 8% Noiret, 4% Traminette
Vineyard: Sherman Ridge Vineyard, Bluestone, Rainbow Hill, Mowry Spring, and Barren Ridge
Winemaking: Co-ferment. Direct press and whole cluster Vidal Blanc, 6 weeks on skins. Traminette macerated 2 days. Chambourcin, Noiret, semi-carbonic. 
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none added

“Hinterman”

Region: Virginia 
Grape: 2021 – 70% Petit Manseng, 15% Riesling, 15% Vidal Blanc 2020 – 59% Petite Manseng, 41% Vidal Blanc
Vineyard: Shenandoah Valley, Sherman Ridge Vineyard
Winemaking: co-ferment in 500-600L neutral barrels, 16 month fermentation, full malolactic fermentation. 
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none added

“Colorwave”

Region: Virginia 
Grape: 44% Vidal Blanc, 33% Petit Manseng, 19% Chambourcin, 4% Traminette
Vineyard: Sherman Ridge Vineyard, Bluestone Vineyard, Rainbow Hill Vineyard, Barren Ridge Vineyard
Winemaking: Vidal Blanc – combination direct press and whole cluster with  3 weeks on the skins. Traminette – 2 day skin maceration. Chambourcin – 8 days on the skins, pressed. All grapes blended and co-fermented, aged on the lees until bottling
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none added

“Goodbye Horses”

Region: Virginia 
Grape: 2022 – 84% Riesling, 16% Petit Manseng  2021 – 75% Riesling, 25% Petite Manseng
Vineyard: 2022 – Oxeye Vineyard, Verona Farm Vineyard, Sherman Ridge Vineyard  2021 – Shenandoah Vineyards, Sherman Ridge Vineyard
Winemaking: 2022 – whole cluster pressed, co-fermented in stainless steel, aged on the lees 10 months, full malolactic. 2021 – whole cluster pressed, fermented in stainless steel. Left on the lees in barrel for 7 months
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: 2022 – 25ppm  2021 – none added

“The Weird Ones Are Wolves

Region: Virginia 
Grape: 85% Cabernet Franc, 15% Petite Manseng
Vineyard: Baer Ridge Vineyard, Sherman Ridge Vineyard
Winemaking: 15% whole cluster co-ferment
Aging: 11 months neutral 228L and 500L French barrels
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: 22ppm at bottling

“Dos Idiots”

Region: Virginia 
Grape: 52% Cabernet Franc, 48% Petite Manseng
Vineyard: Twin Notch Farm
Winemaking: 2021 – de-stemmed Cabernet Franc, Petite Manseng half direct press half whole cluster maceration. 2020 – destemmed Cabernet Franc and whole cluster Petite Manseng co-fermented
Aging: 11 months neutral 228L French barrels
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none added