Grapes were hand-picked and delivered to the winery on October 1 (Coyote Canyon Primitivo), October 14 (StoneTree Petite Sirah & Primitivo) and October 16 (StoneTree Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Primitivo). The fruit was sorted by hand, de-stemmed, and placed into 1-1/2 ton open top fermenters.
After a passive soak and initial spontaneous fermentation, the must was inoculated or allowed to ferment on its own. The resulting cap was punched down by hand on an as needed basis (at least once daily) until fermentation proceeded to dryness. The duration of skin contact ranged from 20 to 25 days prior to pressing.
Barrel Aging: The wine was raised in a mixture of oak barrels; two of which were new Hungarian, the other six were previously used and from French coopers and forests.