California Pinot Noir

Question 1

Kosta Browne

• Regions of Production?
• Winery Location?
• Year Established?

Answer 1

• Regions of Production: Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast AVA
• Winery Location: Sebastopol
• Est.: 1997

Question 2

Kosta Brown

(est. 1997 / Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast / / Sebastopol)

• Summary?
• Top 6 Pinot Noir Produced?

Answer 2

• Summary: Dan Kosta and Michael Browne worked together at Santa Rosa’s John Ash & Co. Restaurant as GM and sommelier, respectively. With dreams of starting a winery, they saved a portion of tips from each shift until they had enough for a hand-crank destemmer and a half ton of Pinot Noir from Everett Ridge in Russian River Valley. Without any winemaking experience, the duo managed to sell out their first few vintages, eventually bringing on a third partner, Chris Costello. When all six Pinot Noir bottlings from the 2003 vintage received multiple scores at or above 90 points, popularity skyrocketed. The winery then received multiple top-10 placements in Wine Spectator’s Annual Top 100 Wines, culminating with Wine of the Year in 2011 for their 2009 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir—the only Pinot Noir that has received this honor. The majority stake of Kosta Browne was sold to Vincraft Group in 2009, private equity firm J.W. Childs Associates in 2015, and Duckhorn Wine Company in 2018. Founders Kosta and Browne stepped down in 2017, and Nico Cueva is currently the winemaker.
• Top 6 Pinot
  
  • Cohn Vineyard (RRV): Inaugural vintage 2000
  • Giusti Vineyard (RRV): 2004
  • Keefer Ranch (RRV): 2005
  • Koplen Vineyard (RRV): 2001
  • Gap’s Crown Vineyard (SC): 2006
  • Kanzler Vineyard (SC): 2002

Question 3

Kosta Browne est. 1997

• Brief Description of Style & Vinification Techniques?

Answer 3

Kosta Browne made a name for itself with a ripe, fruit-forward style of wines, routinely picking Pinot Noir close to 26 Brix and aging in generous amounts of new French oak. However, Nico Cueva has begun experimenting with more restrained techniques as of 2017: natural fermentations, incorporating large foudres, and selecting lighter toast oak barrels. It remains to be seen how much this will reflect in the wines

Question 4

Name a producer who makes Pinot Noir from Rutherford, Napa Valley.

Answer 4

El Molino

• Region of Production: Rutherford AVA
• Winery Location: Saint Helena, CA
• Year Established: 1871
• Summary: In the 1840s, Dr. Edward Bale was given a land grant in Napa and built a mill on the property, which became a focal point for the developing community. Later, he left land to his daughter, Caroline, and her husband Charles Krug. In 1871, Colonel W.W. Lyman purchased the Bale Mill and built a wine cellar on the property. Most of the original fruit was sold to Napa Valley Wine Company in bulk, but a small portion was bottled each year, on advice from Krug. Though it enjoyed many successful vintages despite Prohibition, the estate eventually fell into disrepair. Van and Nancy Haven bought El Molino in 1943, but the winery’s modern era didn’t come until 1978, when it was purchased by Reginald and Marie Oliver. They moved to the estate in St. Helena in 1981, renovating it in time for the 1987 harvest and producing 18 vintages before the estate was left to their daughter, Lily, and her husband, Jon Berlin. Jon studied enology in New Zealand and came with experience in New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, and California.
• Vineyard Holdings:
  
  • Starr Vineyard (68 acres): The original plantings consisted of 30 acres of Chardonnay, the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, planted in 1978. Reginald replanted six acres of Pinot Noir shortly after purchase near BV’s 1 Block, from which André Tchelistcheff produced BV’s early successful Pinot Noir.
• Average Total Production: 1,300 cases
• Top Pinot Noir Wines Produced & Inaugural Vintages:
  
  • Rutherford (Rutherford AVA): Inaugural vintage 1987.
• Brief Description of Style & Vinification Techniques: El Molino uses a significant amount of whole cluster in the native, open-top fermentations of its Pinot Noir. The wines are aged in 70% new French oak for 10 months sur lie prior to racking and an additional 8 months in barrel, then another year in bottle before release.

Question 5

Williams Selyem

• Regions of production?
• Where is the winery located?
• When was the 1st comercial vintage?
• Who were the founders?
• What was California’s 1st Pinot Noir retailed for $100?
• Who owns it now?
• What yeast strain do Ed and Burt use?

Answer 5

Williams Selyem

• Region of Production: Russian River Valley AVA, Sonoma Coast AVA
• Winery Location: Healdsburg, CA
• Year Established: 1981
• Summary: Ed Selyem and Burt Williams founded the winery after hobby vintages in 1979 and 1980 in a Forestville garage by Williams’s house. The first commercial vintage was vinified in 1981 under the Hacienda del Rio Winery label, so-called because of the nickname Burt had for his house. They changed the name to Williams Selyem in 1984 following a cease-and-desist letter from Hacienda Winery. The winery’s popularity rose immediately after it won the Sweepstakes Award in the 1987 California State Fair. One of California’s first waiting lists for wines followed soon after, and the 1991 Williams Selyem Summa Vineyard was the state’s first Pinot Noir to retail for $100. The founders only began working full-time for their label in 1992. The winery was sold to businessman John Dyson in 1998, who built a winery and hospitality center for the estate that opened in 2010.
• Vineyard Holdings:
  
  • Drake Vineyard (34 acres): Located in the Middle Reach of Guerneville. Over 30 clones of Pinot Noir, but only Chardonnay is produced under the Williams Selyem label. Purchased in 1998.
  • Lewis MacGregor Vineyard (30 acres): Purchased in 2014 and planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
  • Vista Verde Vineyard (12 acres): Planted to Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, and Chenin Blanc at 700 to 1,000 feet above sea level. Labeled as San Benito County.
  • Williams Selyem Vineyard (30 acres): Purchased in 2002.
• Sourced Vineyards:
  
  • Olivet Lane Vineyard (60 acres): Located on the Santa Rosa Plain and owned by the Pellegrini family. Planted in 1975.
  • Terra de Promissio Vineyard (32 acres): Planted in 2002
• Average Total Production: 20,000 cases
• Top Pinot Noir Wines Produced & Inaugural Vintages:
  
  • Olivet Lane Vineyard (RRV)
  • Terra de Promissio Vineyard (SC): 2011
  • Westside Road Neighbors (RRV): Blend of fruit sourced from Allen, Bacigalupi, Bucher, Flax, Rochioli’s Riverblock Vineyard, and the Williams Selyem estate vineyards.
• Brief Description of Style & Vinification Techniques: Fermentations are started from a yeast strain Ed and Burt isolated from a Zinfandel fermentation and utilize up to 25% whole cluster. Wines are aged solely in François Frères barrels, approximately 50 to 75% new.

Question 6

Hirsch

• Year Est.?
• Who did they sell Pinot Noir to?
• In what year did they begin making estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay?
• Who was the 1st winemaker?
• Who’s making the wines now?
• East Ridge vineyard has what disease?
• West Ridge vineyard has what disease?

Answer 6

Hirsch

• Region of Production: Sonoma Coast AVA
• Winery Location: Cazadero, CA
• Year Established: 1978
• Summary: David Hirsch purchased his estate just two miles from the Pacific Ocean in 1978, driven to make site-specific Pinot Noir on the “true” Sonoma Coast. He planted Riesling and Pinot Noir in 1980 and continued to develop the estate throughout the next two decades. Hirsch sold Pinot Noir grapes to Williams Selyem, Littorai, Kistler, and other notable producers before making estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay beginning in 2002, with Vanessa Wong (now of Peay) as the first winemaker. Current winemaker Anthony Filiberti took over winemaking from Ross Cobb in 2015, drawing experience from Knez Winery and his own project, Anthill Farms. David’s daughter, Jasmine, began assisting in sales and marketing in 2008 and has helped to bring increased attention to the brand. Since 2014, all of Hirsch’s vineyards, gardens, and orchards have been farmed biodynamically.
• Vineyard Holdings:
  
  • Estate Vineyard (72 acres): 68 acres planted to Pinot Noir.
  • East Ridge: Steep sloped, east-facing hills protected from the coastal winds. Two-thirds of the block has phylloxera, naturally reducing yields. One-third planted in 1990, the rest in 2003.
  • West Ridge: Vines with leafroll virus are planted on heavy clay soils on the west ridge of the property.
  • Block 8: A smaller block within West Ridge that has a higher content of iron oxide and red rock. Planted in 1993.
• Average Total Production: 5,500 cases
• Top Pinot Noir Wines Produced & Inaugural Vintages:
  
  • San Andreas Fault (SC): A blend from over 30 vineyard blocks.
  • Reserve (SC): Made from a barrel selection of the best and oldest vineyard blocks.
  • Block 8 (SC)
  • East Ridge (SC)
  • West Ridge (SC)
• Brief Description of Style & Vinification Techniques: Hirsch gravitates toward a non-interventionist approach, employing gentle handling throughout the winemaking process. Fruit is sorted twice: once in the vineyard and again in the winery. No pumpovers are used. Whole-cluster inclusion is typically little to none, and use of new French oak is minimal. Racking and blending are not done until bottling, and the wines are bottled unfiltered.

Question 7

Littorai

• What 3 Regions of Production?
• Winery Location?
• Year Est.?
• Name 4 single vineyard Pinot Noirs from Anderson Valley.
• Name 3 single vineyard Pinot Noirs from Sonoma Coast.
• Name 1 single vineyard Pinot Noir from Russian River Valley.

Answer 7

Littorai

• Region of Production: Sonoma Coast AVA, Russian River Valley AVA, Anderson Valley AVA
• Winery Location: Sebastopol
• Year Established: 1993
• Summary: Littorai founder Ted Lemon was first exposed to the world of wine as a high school student studying abroad at the University of Dijon. After college, he went back to France to study winemaking and apprenticed with Domaines Dujac, Georges Roumier, and Bruno Clair. After returning to the US to work with Josh Jensen at Calera, he was invited back to Burgundy in 1982 to become the winemaker at Domaine Guy Roulot—becoming the first American to work as a winemaker and vineyard manager in Burgundy. Ted returned to the US in 1985 for a role at Chateau Woltner in Howell Mountain. He and his wife, Heidi, founded Littorai in 1993. In 2001, he began conversion to biodynamic farming on his estate vineyards. Today, all preparations are made by hand from the estate farm, and polyculture farming is incorporated when possible. Ted prefers to balance the vineyard for a homogenous ripening cycle, avoiding multiple harvests on the same site. As of 2015, 35% of the winery’s production was estate. Most vineyard sources are organically and biodynamically farmed. For its farming contracts, Littorai is the originator in California of the by-the-acre system, in which the farmer is paid for quality not quantity. A new winery with a 10,000-case production capacity was completed in 2008.
• Vineyard Holdings:
  
  • Pivot Vineyard (30 acres): Three acres under vine with five different clones of Pinot Noir.
  • Haven Vineyard (10 acres): Five acres planted in 2001 at 1,200 feet in elevation, northwest of Occidental. Typically the last to ripen. Soils include shale, sandstone, greenstone, and Yorkville series.
• Sourced Vineyards:
  
  • Platt Vineyard: Located on the 40-acre farm west of the Littorai estate. South-facing vineyard at 500 feet.
  • Hirsch Vineyard: Littorai is the longest purchaser of Hirsch fruit, dating back to 1994. Current sourced blocks were planted in 1995 and 2001.
  • Roman Vineyards: South-facing vineyard 2.5 miles southeast of Navarro.
  • Savoy Vineyard: Planted in the early 1990s and the sole valley floor vineyard Littorai utilizes. Littorai is Savoy’s oldest client, purchasing this fruit since 1995.
  • Cerise Vineyard: Sourced from a block planted in 1997 exclusively for Littorai. Steep, south-facing slope in a warmer portion of Anderson Valley but within the fog layer.
  • One Acre Vineyard: The longest standing by-the-acre contract in California and used for Littorai’s first Pinot Noir in 1993. Northeast of Boonville at 1,600 feet elevation. Most blocks have been replanted due to phylloxera.
  • Mays Canyon Vineyard: Porter Bass vineyard on the western edge of the Russian River Valley AVA. Sourced block planted in 1999 under Ted’s direction.
  • A. Thieriot Vineyard: Southwest of Occidental and planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Littorai has farmed the site for over 10 years.
  • Wendling Vineyard: Under development.
• Average Total Production: 4,000 cases
• Top Pinot Noir Wines Produced & Inaugural Vintages:
  
  • The Haven (Sonoma Coast AVA)
  • The Pivot (Sonoma Coast AVA)
  • Platt Vineyard (Sonoma Coast AVA)
  • A. Thieriot
  • Mays Canyon (Russian River Valley AVA)
  • Roman Vineyard (Anderson Valley AVA)
  • Savoy Vineyard (Anderson Valley AVA)
  • Cerise Vineyard (Anderson Valley AVA)
  • One Acre Vineyard (Anderson Valley AVA)
• Brief Description of Style & Vinification Techniques: Estate vineyards are farmed biodynamically, and every step is taken to ensure vineyard expression from grape to bottle. The entire winemaking process is gravity flow, minimal new oak is used, and all wines are bottled without fining or filtration.

Question 8

Who did Ted Lemon apprentice with in France after studying at the University of Dijon?

What domaine hired Ted Lemon to be the first American to make wine in Burgundy?

Answer 8

• Dujac, Georges Roumier, Bruno Clair
• Domaine Guy Roulot, 1982
• Worked for Josh Jensen at Calera before Guy Roulot
• 1985, returned to U.S. to work for Ch. Woltner in Howell Mountain
• Est. winery with wife Heidi, in 1993

Question 9

Radio Coteau

• Radio Coteau is a French expression for what?
• Who founded Radio Coteau in 2002?

Answer 9

​Radio-Coteau

• Region of Production: Russian River Valley AVA, Anderson Valley AVA, Sonoma Coast AVA
• Winery Location: Sebastopol, CA
• Year Established: 2002
• Summary: Radio-Coteau, a colloquial French expression that means “word of mouth”, was founded by winemaker Eric Sussman in 2002. After studying agriculture at Cornell University, Eric ventured to Washington State and then to France, where he worked at Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Domaine Comte Armand, and Domaine Jacques Prieur. Back in California, he worked at Bonny Doon, then at Dehlinger as assistant winemaker from 1998 to 2001. Radio-Coteau is based in Russian River Valley but produces a range of wines including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel, and Riesling from the Mendocino, Sonoma, and Sonoma Coast appellations. The estate winery became Demeter Biodynamic Certified in 2009.
• Vineyard Holdings:
  
  • Harrison Grade Vineyard: The estate vineyard, located in the Sonoma Coast AVA within Occidental. Planted in 1999.
  • Lemorel Vineyard (42 acres): Located in the Sonoma Coast AVA within Occidental, 800 feet above sea level on Goldridge soil. Planted mostly to Zinfandel, with 10 acres replanted to Pinot Noir at the time of purchase in 2012.
• Sourced Vineyards:
  
  • Dierke Vineyard: Located in western Sebastopol, with Goldridge soil. Planted in 2006.
  • Terra Neuma Vineyard: Biodynamic certified vineyard in Bodega owned and farmed by Benziger. Planted in 2002.
  • Laguna Ridge Vineyard: Located on Laguna Road in Sebastopol. Planted in 2008.
  • Alberigi Vineyard: Located on Vine Hill Road in Sebastopol and farmed entirely by Radio-Coteau. Planted in 2001.
  • Savoy Vineyard: Cliff Lede vineyard in northwest Philo. Planted in the early- to mid-1990s.
• Average Total Production: Unknown
• Top Pinot Noir Wines Produced & Inaugural Vintages:
  
  • La Neblina (Sonoma Coast AVA): Spanish for “fog,” La Neblina is a blend of five west Sonoma County coastal vineyard sites.
  • Dierke (Sonoma Coast AVA)
  • Terra Neuma (Sonoma Coast AVA)
  • Laguna (Russian River Valley AVA)
  • Alberigi Vineyard (Russian River Valley AVA): 20% whole-cluster fermentation.
  • Savoy (Anderson Valley AVA)
• Brief Description of Style & Vinification Techniques: Radio-Coteau focuses on vineyard expression, with a hands-off approach. Fermentations are native, typically with a small portion of whole clusters included. All wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered. Alcohol levels are modest.