How Our Wine Is Made: Inside the Tranquillity Winemaking Process

How Our Wine Is Made: Inside the Tranquillity Winemaking Process

Is the wine at Tranquillity Vineyard really made on site? Yes, every bottle is produced right here in Middlebury, CT, in a working winemaking and aging facility that most guests never see. Tranquillity is a true winery, not just a tasting room, and this article walks through how the wine gets from grape to glass on our 45 acre estate along Lake Quassapaug.

Who makes the wine at Tranquillity Vineyard?

Head Winemaker Frank Renaldi leads production. Frank brings more than 25 years of winemaking experience and has worked with grapes and juice from California, the Finger Lakes, Chile, Italy, and South Africa. He has also consulted for wineries across Connecticut and New York. That range shows up in the cellar, where classic technique meets a willingness to experiment with styles that suit Connecticut drinkers.

Where do the grapes come from?

Our estate sits on what remains of the original 300 acre J.H. Whittemore estate, Tranquillity Farm, developed in the 1890s by industrialist John H. Whittemore with architecture by McKim, Mead & White. Today the Yimoyines family stewards the land, chosen by the Whittemore heirs to carry the property forward. Frank works with estate fruit alongside carefully selected grapes and juice from premier growing regions, a common approach for boutique East Coast wineries that lets each wine start with the best possible raw material.

What happens in the production room?

Once fruit arrives, it is crushed and pressed, then fermented under close temperature control. Fermentation is where sugar becomes alcohol, a process we explain in plain language in our post on alcohol in wine. Reds spend time on their skins to build color and structure, which is where tannins come from. If that word is new to you, our guide to wine tannins covers it. From there, wines move into the aging facility, where they rest in tank or barrel until they are ready.

Blending, finishing, and bottling

Before bottling, Frank tastes through every lot and decides what stands alone and what becomes part of a blend. Blending is one of the most creative steps in the cellar, and Frank wrote about it in The Art of Blending Wines. Fortified styles get their own treatment, described in What Makes a Wine Into a Port. Every finished wine is bottled and poured steps from where it was made.

Can I see the winemaking facility?

Yes. The Exclusive Guided Tour, $50 per person, includes the history of the farm, a walk through the winemaking and wine aging facility, and a sampling of our wines. Plan on 1.5 to 2 hours, and reservations are definitely recommended. Email taste@tranquillityvineyard.com or book online to see where the wine in your glass actually begins.

Frequently Asked Questions