2007 Cabernet Franc WINEMAKER NOTES The summer of 2007 was memorable. Spectacular conditions in June - warm, dry and breezy - allowed for a near perfect fruit set and subsequent large yields. It was a long, hot summer with a remarkable stretch of blue skies and plenty of sunshine in late August and throughout September. An intensive regimen of leaf removal (to better expose the fruit to the sun and air) and fruit-thinning, or "green-harvesting", was performed to lower yields and remove unripe fruit. The nearly ideal weather conditions combined with these viticultural practices allowed for the Cabernet Franc grapes to achieve maximum ripeness. The vineyard yielded about 2.5 tons per acre. The grapes were sent through the crusher-destemmer with the rollers set wide apart to retain a larger number of whole berries. Next, the grapes were sorted to remove MOG (matter other than grape) and any unripe or undesirable fruit. The must was inoculated immediately with both yeast and malolactic bacteria. This practice, called co-inoculation, marks an innovation in the red wine program at Paumanok. It resulted in the completion of malolactic fermentation prior to the completion of alcoholic fermentation. This has the major advantage of allowing the winemaker to rapidly protect the wine with sulfites (as opposed to waiting weeks or months after alcoholic fermentation for malolactic fermentation to complete). Delestage (complete drainage of free run and then irrigating over the cap, also called "rack and return") was done to achieve thorough, gentle extraction while minimizing the extraction of harsher tannins by the elimination of seeds as the cap settles during delestage. This method ensures that only the softest tannins are extracted. After the fermentation was complete, the free run was drained into oak barrels. The must was pressed and, after clarification, was also moved to oak barrels. After 14 months in French oak barrels the Cabernet Franc was bottled. 10% was bottled under screw cap, the remainder under cork. TASTING NOTES Offers attractive aromas of black cherry, prune, rich earth and more subtle notes of vanilla and sweet spice. It is medium to full-bodied with soft but firm tannins.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION Appellation: North Fork of Long Island Variety: 84% Cabernet Franc, 16% Merlot Cooperage: 20% new and 80% older French oak barrels Alcohol: 13.0% pH: 3.66 Total acidity: 6.7 g/l Harvest Date: October 18 & 21, 2007 Brix at Harvest: 22.5 & 23.8 Residual Sugar: 0.1% Bottling Date: April 21, 2009 Release Date: December 1, 2009 Production: 870 cases BUY NOW!