Copy of Cracked Egg (566 x 400 px) (1)

2024 Cracked Egg Viognier

Accolades: Gold, 90 Points – Orange County Fair

The 2024 Cracked Egg Viognier was both fermented and aged in our 4-ton concrete egg tanks. These striking vessels aren’t just conversation pieces—they play a vital role in how this wine develops.

Concrete egg fermenters are prized for their natural thermal stability and unique shape, which encourages a gentle, continuous movement of the wine (a process known as convection). This keeps the lees suspended throughout fermentation and aging, enhancing mouthfeel, richness, and texture without any mechanical stirring.

More importantly, the porous nature of concrete allows for micro-oxygenation—tiny amounts of oxygen slowly interact with the wine over time, which helps to soften acidity, enhance aromatic complexity, and create a beautifully rounded palate. Unlike oak, concrete imparts no flavor, so what you taste is a pure expression of Viognier—elegant, vibrant, and true to varietal character, with subtle minerality and a lifted, creamy finish.

This vintage of Cracked Egg Viognier is a standout—fresh and floral, with a silky weight and refined structure, thanks in part to the gentle magic of concrete aging.

Why do we call it Cracked Egg?

Well in 2020, the year we purchased the egg, we had it delivered on the back of a flatbed tractor-trailer. Weighing in at over 5,000lbs, we need a special forklift to off-load the egg and put it in its final resting place in the winery. Unfortunately, while Charlie Havill was using this new piece of equipment and off-loading the egg, he backed over uneven ground and dropped the egg off the forks! It luckily landed horizontally on the flatbed trailer instead of rolling all the way down the hill or shattering.

After inspection, we realized we missed near-disaster of the Humpty Dumpty style and scrambled to get the egg upright and safely into where it rests now. With only superficial cracks and dents, the concrete egg works as designed, but there remains very clear damage to this day. Thus the cracked-egg Viognier namesake got its name!!!

From the most stressful delivery to incredibly delicious and crisp white wine, this mishap will forever live on in the name and label design of the shelf of your homes or your local wine shop! With Charlie as the rooster and the machinery to represent the forklift, every bit of detail of this vintage and label tells the story. Crack open a bottle and enjoy!