We travel to California wine country often and, within the last year and a half, we have discovered five wineries who are using concrete eggs for either fermenting or aging wine. The eggs are limited in use at these five wineries, with stainless tanks and oak barrels the mainstay of wine production. But the concrete egg tank for wine is catching on. We previously posted an article on three wineries using the concrete egg and here are two more wineries using concrete egg tanks for wine.
Two concrete eggs at the new Comstock winery on Dry Creek Road
Comstock Wines on Dry Creek Road
Comstock Wines is a new winery, and the tasting room currently under construction should open in mid-August. For now, tasting is done in temporary quarters at the Comstock winery. Comstock has only been open a few weeks but has garnered enough attention to have 105 wine folks sign up for their wine club. For the two concrete eggs pictured above, Winemaker Chris Russi plans to use the two for Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Comstock Wines is one of the first wineries you will see on Dry Creek Road as you travel west from Highway 101. You can’t miss the huge dark barn-like structure to the left. The tasting room is open daily 10:30am to 4:30pm.
Williams Selyem in Russia River Valley
Concrete egg at Williams Selyem used for Chenin Blanc
At the Williams Selyem winery, Pinot Noir is the speciality but the winemaker also likes to make small lots of various varietals. This small concrete egg tank is used at the winery exclusively for producing Chenin Blanc. We spotted at least three of these tanks around the Williams Selyem wine cellars. Williams Selyem is open by appointment and only to those on their allocation list. See our review of this Russian River Valley winery.