To most wine lovers, the father of American pinot noir is David Lett, who courageously planted the Eyrie Vineyards in Oregon’s Willamette Valley in 1966. French Burgundy, whose essence is pinot noir, is one of the great wines of the world. But before Mr. Lett, no one had produced anything resembling fine Burgundy in this country. His first wines, in 1970, proved that America could indeed make good pinot noir. Oregonians, in fact, have made pinot noir their signature grape.
Californians had been working with pinot noir for years, with meager success. The state, so the common wisdom held, was just too hot for the delicate grape. At first, hopes were high; pinot noir plantings went from about 500 acres in 1959 to 10,000 in the mid-’60s. The wines improved, but not enough; true Burgundian style was still elusive. By the late ’70s California pinot noir was down to about 8,000 acres. Privately, many California winemakers thought they should leave pinot noir to the Oregonians.But some Californians hung in, and eventually they succeeded. Today there are well over 20,000 acres of pinot noir throughout the state. What made the difference, aside from persistence, had little to do with winemaking. The revolution of the early 1980s was in the vineyard; it was the development of the proper clones — plants reproduced asexually that retain the genetic characteristics of the parents. Cloning means, in effect, pulling a branch or a leaf off a desirable plant and sticking it in the ground until it roots and grows.
The pinot noir vine is notoriously unstable. It produces hundreds of clones or strains. In the ’70s, French scientists began selecting the actual strains in Burgundy’s vineyards and cloning them for use elsewhere. Carefully selected and planted, these 1970s clones, known as Dijon clones, have revolutionized the growing of pinot noir grapes and the production of pinot noir wine in California.
Someone once called pinot noir “the heartbreak grape.” Winemaking is always a risky business. From bud-break in the spring until the finished wine appears in the fall, there are 100 things that can go wrong. Cabernet and merlot, even chardonnay, which is a pinot noir relative, can withstand some problems, like unexpected rain or cold or heat; not pinot noir. Even the new clones don’t always come through; in spite of everything, a wine that should be exquisite can wind up thin and disappointing.
“Pinot noir,” Matt Kramer wrote in his book “New California Wine,” “is a form of madness for both producer and drinker alike. Both persist because a great pinot noir brings you as close to God as any wine can.”
Originally, it was thought that the only good California region for pinot noir was the Central Coast, from Santa Barbara north (the locale for the light-hearted pinot noir movie “Sideways”). In fact, good pinot is now produced all over the state. Oregon, too, has extended it vineyards beyond their beginnings in the Willamette Valley.
Recommending pinots is risky, but some California producers who regularly do it well include Marcassin, Kistler, Williams Selyem, Merry Edwards and Rochioli — all at the top of the scale and expensive. Edna Valley, Bear Boat and Estancia are among the more reasonably priced California labels. In Oregon, Ken Wright Cellars, Domaine Drouhin and Domaine Serene are among the best; Ponzi, Erath Vineyards and Benton Lane are close behind.
Appellations producing the most Pinot Noir wines:
Other appellations producing Pinot Noir wines:
No comments:
Post a Comment