Archive for the 'Pinot Noir' Category

Pinot Noir Pioneer

Published on July 28, 2010 in Pinot Noir. 0 Comments

As I have been gathering information for our wholesalers on the upcoming release of the 09 Santa Barbara Winery Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills, I again am reminded and proud of the pioneering efforts of our winemaker Bruce McGuire for Pinot Noir in Santa Barbara County.  I sat down with Bruce yesterday to get a little bit more background on the history of Pinot Noir at Santa Barbara Winery and Lafond Vineyard.  Our first Pinot Noir was planted at Lafond Vineyard in 1982, Martin Ray Clone.  This was after Bruce came on board as winemaker in 1981 and forecasted that Pinot Noir would be an excellent varietal to plant in the cool western Santa Ynez Valley, what is now the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. 1986 marked the first vintage of production of Santa Barbara Winery Pinot Noir.  One block remains at Lafond Vineyard of the original Martin Ray clone planting, it represents a portion of the 09 Pinot from 27 year old vines.

Look at what Pinot Noir has become today.  It is the shining star of the Sta. Rita Hills, garnering press, accolades, and enthusiasm as a world class varietal terroir marriage.  Aside from the Pinot we have planted at Lafond, we have additional 13 acres that we farm and manage across the road at Arita Hills Vineyard.  Recently we leased an additional 37 acres from Burning Creek Ranch Vineyard, also a stone’s throw from Lafond on Santa Rosa Road.  This was planted to 8 clones, further demonstrating our dedication to the Pinot Noir program, and will come online in 2011.

Joanie Hudson, Director of National and International Marketing, Santa Barbara Winery / Lafond Winery & Vineyards

Bottling 2009 Pinot Noir

Published on June 9, 2010 in Bottling and Pinot Noir. 0 Comments

This week the production staff is busy bottling 2009 Santa Barbara Winery Pinot Noir Central Coast.  The 2009 marks the 10th vintage of our “color label” Pinot Noir, made from select vineyard lots at Scheid Vineyard in Monterey County.

The bottling process requires numerous hands and bodies, to complete each task of the line.  Next time you open a case of wine, take note of all of the little steps that much be completed to get the finished product – wine into the bottle, front and back labels placed in the correct position on the bottle, corks, foil capsule placement and sealing, 12 bottles into box, sticker for identity on box, cases placed on pallets and systematically moved out of the way via fork lift.  It’s around this time of year when you can hear clanking glass bottles from the tasting room, and a chugging vessel to move wine from tank to bottling line.

We have our own bottling line at Santa Barbara Winery, so this all takes place right downtown.  All bottling for both Santa Barbara Winery and Lafond takes place at our Anacapa Street facility.

Come on in to the tasting room and taste our summertime seasonal 2009 Rose of Syrah (new release, and new label art!).

Joanie Hudson, Director of National and International Marketing, Santa Barbara Winery / Lafond Winery & Vineyards

Wine Enthusiast Magazine Scores, July 2010

Published on May 25, 2010 in Chardonnay, Lafond Winery, Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara Winery, Santa Brabara Winery Resrve Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Wine News and Winery News. 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

90 Santa Barbara Winery 2008 Sauvignon Blanc (Santa Ynez Valley); $15. A beautiful Sauvignon Blanc that shows why this warmish Santa Barbara County valley is such a natural home for the variety. With crisp acidity and a creamy texture, it’s dry and minerally, with interestingly rich flavors of citrus fruits, melons and pears, and a touch of smoky oak. Editors’ Choice. —S.H.

87 Santa Barbara Winery 2008 ZCS (California); $13. This blend of Zinfandel, Carignane and Sangiovese probably tastes like the red wines the immigrants drank years ago. It’s bone dry and rustic and clean and pure, with modest alcohol. Wash it down with salumi, pasta marinara, or just a plain roast chicken.—S.H.

92 Santa Barbara Winery 2007 Reserve Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills); $22. This is an elaborate, oaky Chardonnay made in the popular style that has made California Chard such a success. It’s rich in pineapple jam, apricot, buttered toast, vanilla and leesy flavors, and grows better as it warms in the glass. —S.H. 

 90 Lafond 2007 SRH Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills); $22. Good price for such a nice Chardonnay from the Santa Rita Hills. The wine is very dry and crisp in acidity, with a bracing mouthfeel that offers rich, oak inspired flavors of pineapples, pears and green apples. Nice now with Ahi tuna tartare or grilled salmon. —S.H.

 90 Lafond 2006 Pinot Noir Lafond Vineyard (Sta. Rita Hills); $48.This is a big, ripe, full-bodied and oaky Pinot Noir. It’s too powerful to drink now, unless you don’t mind immaturity. The raspberry, cherry and blood orange flavors are of the pie-filling type,and the oak sticks out in smoky, vanilla sweetness. Give it 4–5 years in the cellar to come around. Cellar Selection. —S.H.

Pressing Pinot Noir Lafond Vineyards

Published on September 24, 2009 in Harvest and Pinot Noir. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

I took a day trip out to Lafond Winery yesterday to catch up with our winemaker, Bruce, and see how the red wine harvesting was progressing.  Little did I know I would find myself ten feet deep in a fermentor bin with a shovel and rubber boots halfway through the day.  I now longer need to ask myself how our production staff can be completely covered in all things grapes and water by the end of each Harvest day.

Pinot Noir is the first to come off of the vines, and we started harvesting it a couple of weeks ago (early September).  After the fruit comes off of the vines, it is crushed and subsequently fermented over an approximately two week period on the skins.  Depending on the size of the lot the fruit ferments in an appropriately sized vessel.  

Yesterday, we pressed the juices off of the skins that had finished fermentation inside of the stainless steel containers.  The free run juice is first extracted from the vessel and then it is a more laborious process to get the rest of the juice.  After the free run juice is pumped out, the bin is left full of the remaining grape skins.  We then shovel out those skins into bins, which are then taken out to the press.  For the skins that we cannot reach from just shoveling from the outside through a relatively small whole, I put on my gear and hopped into the bin.  Let me just say, after this experience, my respect for our production staff sky rocketed, my arms are exploding with soreness this morning.  But how fun!  Then we sprayed down the tanks and got them squeaky clean and took all of the bins full of skins to the delicate press, which extracts the remainder of the juice that needs to be gently separated.  

This was just one day, don’t ever let anybody tell you that winemaking is “easy.”  

If you are local or in the area, come visit the Lafond Winery and Santa Barbara Winery Tasting Rooms to experience Harvest first-hand.  

Joanie Hudson, Director National and International Marketing, Santa Barbara Winery / Lafond Winery & Vineyards

Lafond Winery New Release

Published on April 13, 2009 in Lafond Winery, New Releases and Pinot Noir. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

2006 Pinot Noir Clone 115 from the Lafond Vineyards

Nestled in the Santa Rita Hills of the western Santa Ynez Valley, Lafond Vineyard is ideally situated to produce Pinot Noir exhibiting the unique and exotic flavor profile one finds in only a few regions of the world.

Specific areas within our vineyard exhibit elevated concentration and complexity due to soil and exposure to the elements. We have also planted eight distinct clones of Pinot Noir, each with subtle differences in flavor and aroma.

After several years of working with the eight Pinot Noir clones planted in Lafond Vineyard, Bruce has become very familiar with the attributes of each particular clone and uses them accordingly in each of the Pinot Noirs he makes.

Bruce felt that the vines were now old enough for small batches of individual clones to be bottled, thus showing off their character and the flavor profile each brings to the blending regimen. Clone 115 was grown across the river from its’ sister bottling, Clone Martin Ray.

The soils are different but, farming and vinification are identical. The comparison of these two clones from the same vintage gives one the winemaker’s view of a rather new element in winemaking as the availability of many Pinot Noir clones is a viticultural story less than twenty years old in North America.

The complexity and depth of flavor make this Pinot Noir a great match with savory foods such as lamb, Copper River salmon, and hearty mushroom dishes.

Suggested Retail: 45.00/750ml
To order:

Passport Pairings

Published on January 5, 2009 in Joanie Hudson, Pinot Noir and Restaurant News. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

I am eagerly awaiting the first Wednesday of the month with our new Passport to the World of Wine series now in full swing.  Pinot Noir will be this coming Wednesday, giving tasters and visitors the opportunity to taste five different pinot noirs from around the world (this time being New Zealand, France, Oregon, and two from the Sta Rita Hills). 

The tasting menu that will pair alongside each of these wines demonstrates the versatility of the grape in terms of matching with a variety of different weights and flavors, particularly dependent upon style.  Sesame tuna on cucumber discs will be the starting point paired with the New Zealander from a winery called Wild Earth. 

Baked Camambert cheese on crostini drizzled with a nutty pear walnut dressing will be served with the French Burgundy. 

Mushroom and Bacon Tartlets will be paired with Oregon’s Willamette Valley Pinot.

Pulled Lamb Sliders will go alongside the Santa Barbara Winery and Lafond Pinots.

All of these wines are served at the Bistro, so it’s a nice way to get a sampling of their new wine list.

Passport to the World of Wine, Pierre Lafond Bistro

January 7, 2009

25.00 per person

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery